The offense played a lot of catch-up for Rice baseball in 2021, relying on a potent top of the lineup to carry the load.
The Rice bats produced a modest .271/.356/.410 slash line by the end of the regular season, finishing more or less in the middle of the pack in most statistical categories when compared to their Conference USA peers. Championed by a stellar season from Braden Comeaux, the bulk of the heavy lifting was done by a select few hitting near the top of the lineup week in and week out.
Cade Edwards
Games – 53 | AVG .288 | OBP .355 | SLG .485 | 2B – 8 | 3B – 2 | HR – 9 | BB – 18 | K – 52
Edwards led Rice with a .308 batting average last year and wasn’t too far off that pace this season. His 19 extra-base hits were the most on the team, making good use of his spot atop the order for the majority of the season. He was one of two players to start every game for Rice this spring, racking up an 8-game and a 9-game hitting streak during conference play.
Braden Comeaux
Games – 52 | AVG .346 | OBP .419 | SLG .408 | 2B – 7 | 3B – 1 | HR – 1 | BB – 16 | K – 21
Comeaux had his best statistical season of his career during the abbreviated 2020 campaign and did not slow down entering 2021. He led the team with an eye-popping .419 on-base percentage, combing a keen eye (16 walks), good plate discipline and a skillful bat to find ways to get on base. He and Edwards set the table for this offense, giving the players that followed in the lineup plenty of RBI opportunities.
Bradley Gneiting
Games – 53 | AVG .302 | OBP .369 | SLG .481 | 2B – 10 | 3B – 0 | HR – 8 | BB – 21 | K – 42
A versatile defender, Gneiting cemented himself further into everyday playing status in 2021 with his bat. He was fractions of a point behind Edwards for the team-lead in slugging percentage, racking up 10 doubles and eight home runs. With the power came an elevated strikeout total, but he made up for that with the most productive run-scoring bat in the order. His 37 RBI were by far the most on the team.
Austin Bulman
Games – 44 | AVG .270 | OBP .352 | SLG .468 | 2B – 7 | 3B – 0 | HR – 7 | BB – 19 | K – 27
Bulman slotted into the cleanup spot for most of the year, coming on strong in the final weeks of the regular season. He provided some pop (seven home runs and seven doubles) in the middle of the order that proved to be important. He improved across the board from last year’s shortened season, seeing almost a 70-point uptick in slugging percentage and more than a 30-point lift in on-base percentage.
Hal Hughes
Games – 52 | AVG .258 | OBP .330 | SLG .362 | 2B – 6 | 3B – 1 | HR – 3 | BB – 14 | K – 18
Hughes wasn’t brought in for his bat, but the LSU transfer handled himself well with the stick, proving to be a decent contact hitter in the middle to back end of the lineup. He came through with a few important home runs. And although it wasn’t a frequent occurrence, he had just three dingers all year, Rice did win all three games in which he left the yard.
Guy Garibay
Games – 48 | AVG .234 | OBP .331 | SLG .403 | 2B – 6 | 3B – 0 | HR – 6 | BB – 22 | K – 37
Garibay pulled double duty this year, seeing success on the mound and at the plate. He was a pretty streaky hitter with the bat in his hands, collecting waves in bunches with nine multi-hit games, including a couple of three-hit outings against Texas A&M and Charlotte. He’s has power and will build on his plate discipline as he gets more experience against live college pitching.
Multi-game starters
Will Karp | Games – 48 | AVG .271 | OBP .365 | SLG .326 | 2B – 3 | 3B – 1 | HR – 1 | BB – 18 | K – 22
Justin Long | Games – 44 | AVG .257 | OBP .396 | SLG .314 | 2B – 3 | 3B – 0 | HR – 1 | BB – 21 | K – 32
Connor Walsh | Games – 31 | AVG .231 | OBP .308 | SLG .433 | 2B – 5 | 3B – 2 | HR – 4 | BB – 11 | K – 35
Nathan Becker | Games – 36 | AVG .253 | OBP .314 | SLG .495 | 2B – 5 | 3B – 0 | HR – 6 | BB – 7 | K – 21
Justin Dunlap | Games – 35 | AVG .234 | OBP .344 | SLG .355 | 2B – 4 | 3B – 0 | HR – 3 | BB – 16 | K – 26
This next group cycled in and out of the lineup during most weekends. The four-game conference series required Rice to deploy a fair amount of depth. Will Karp and Justin Long tag teamed catching duties. Freshman Nathan Becker continued to build up confidence as the year progress. Each of those guys, along with Walsh and Dunlap who had down years at the plate, played important roles this season.
Reserves
Antonio Cruz | Games – 19 | AVG .259 | OBP .355 | SLG .407 | 2B – 3 | 3B – 1 | HR – 1 | BB – 7 | K – 21
Johnny Hoyle | Games – 19 | AVG .214 | OBP .353 | SLG .214 | 2B – 0 | 3B – 0 | HR – 0 | BB – 0 | K – 4
Ben Dukes | Games – 26 | AVG .161 | OBP .316 | SLG .161 | 2B – 0 | 3B – 0 | HR – 0 | BB – 7 | K – 8
Cullen Hannigan | Games – 6 | AVG .500 | OBP .500 | SLG .500 | 2B – 0 | 3B – 0 | HR – 0 | BB – 0 | K – 1
The bench got thin quickly after the first wave of key reserves. Had Ben Dukes found more success with his bat, he likely would have gotten more opportunities. Those may come in the future. Antonio Cruz was productive when called upon, but there just weren’t very many outfield at bats to go around this year.
