Following a midweek loss to UTRGV, Rice baseball coach David Pierce had a heart-to-heart with his team, hoping to spark change within the program.
By the time the first player rose from the dugout and began the walk back towards the locker rooms, the stands of Reckling Park had been emptied and attendants had long since finished combing the stadium seats for loose trash. Outside a few scattered family members down the right field line, the facilities were empty, with the exception of head coach David Pierce, his assistants, and every member of the Rice baseball team, huddled together in the dugout for an impromptu team meeting.
Pierce held court for 59 minutes following a 20-5 defeat at the hands of UT Rio Grande Valley. The words weren’t audible from the stands, but the tone was clear. Everyone in the dugout needed to wake up.
“We’re just really trying to find out who we are, not necessarily even as baseball players, just as teammates, the respect for each other and the accountability,” Pierce summed up after the lengthy gathering. “I think once we start becoming a closer team and chemistry’s built and accountability takes place, you won’t see those types of games.”
Pierce noted the conversation ranged from upperclassmen and underclassmen roles to leadership, body language on the field and how the players were treating each other.
“I told them, I lost my job last year. And I learned a lot about myself and learned a lot about falling back in love with just the purity of the game,” Pierce said. “And that’s really what I want them to do. Don’t worry about the record, become more involved in each other.”
Coaching isn’t a one-size-fits all type of business. And while there’s no better way to measure its effectiveness than wins and losses, there’s something to be said for the time spent in the dugout on Wednesday night by a coach whom quite easily could have assumed leadership and accountability for this program after an offseason of improvements yet instead chose to get his hands dirty in the midst of a season already veering off center.
“This could be a perfect night for us if they take it the right way,” Pierce said.
Podcast: Unpacking the Pierce hire and midseason start
Moments like this are part of what pulled Pierce back to South Main after so many years away.
“I told them every day how much I love this place and it’s my mission to get the mentality the way it’s supposed to be and [to elevate] the cultural and the standard. And I’m not gonna stop until we get that,” he declared. “And if we got guys that are just cruising, then they don’t need to play, they probably don’t need to travel and probably don’t need to be on the roster.
“But they have the opportunity right now to flip the switch and really, just get back to enjoying the game and enjoying being in a clubhouse with teammates because it’s going to pass them by.”
On Tuesday, the Texas State team Pierce was assisting at the beginning of the season defeated No. 5 Texas. Sticking around in San Marcos would have been the easier path. Yet here Pierce is, spending 59 minutes in a post game dugout, pouring his heart and soul into players someone else recruited, days removed from taking over a 5-17 team that didn’t reach that record by happenstance.
“I can handle anything. I mean, at the end of the day, I’ve been through it on both sides,” Pierce remarked, shaking off the single game result as he willed his players to see the bigger picture.
“I just was so fortunate to be a part of what Coach [Wayne Graham] started and be a piece of the nine-year share of what this place became,” he said. “And that’s my goal, my mission, to just get that attitude and the fan base excited about us playing. There’s a lot of things that need to be done. And I don’t want to get ahead of myself because I want to make sure that I do everything possible for these guys. I think they want it. They just don’t know how to get it yet.”
