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Rice Baseball falls victim to big bats of Texas A&M

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Rice Baseball hung around for a while but couldn’t go the distance against the homerun-heavy Texas A&M offense, which blasted four longballs to down the Owls.

Texas A&M needed just one batter, leadoff man Gavin Grahovac, to take a lead over Rice baseball in their midweek tilt. Two batters later, the Aggies were leading 2-0, courtesy of a second solo home run in the opening inning. Rice hurler Mauricio Rodriguez commanded the ball fairly well from that point onward, striking out six in 3.2 innings, but several wild pitches and some miscues around him saw him leave the game trailing 6-1.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball salvages one at Charlotte

The Owls’ only score to that point was a solo blast from Manny Garza, who put one over the right field wall in the third inning. The lone run wouldn’t be nearly enough against the Aggie onslaught. Texas A&M added two more home runs in the fourth, part of a four-run frame charged to Jackson Mayo that ensured the home team would be in the driver’s seat.

The Aggies scored two more in the fifth before Rice stole a run back in the sixth. The dam finally broke in the sixth when the back end of the Owls’ bullpen walked in five straight runs. After a quiet seventh, the game was officially decided via a run-rule.

What it means | Not the same game

Texas A&M baseball entered Tuesday as the No. 3 team in the nation. They had been the top-ranked squad until dropping two games this weekend, the first time they’d been beaten twice in a row this year. They responded by run-ruling LSU in the series finale before moving on to the Owls, their final non-conference opponent of the regular season.

Thanks to their victory over Rice, Texas A&M will finish the season a perfect 25-0 in nonconference play. They’ve only lost eight games all season long. The Aggie faithful will be disappointed with this season if they’re not playing in Omaha in a month’s time.

To put it plainly, these are two teams on different strata of the sport with very different expectations and very different goals. Pulling off a midweek win over a team of this caliber would have been nice but nothing about the Owls’ current aspirations changes with Tuesday’s defeat. The Owls have to turn the page and move on quickly. Lamar comes to Reckling tomorrow and would love nothing more than to avenge last week’s result in Beaumont.

ON DECK | vs Lamar (Wed), vs FAU (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Football Recruiting: CB Faybian Marks commits to Owls

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One of the final touches of an already strong 2024 Rice Football recruiting class, Utah corner Faybian Marks has committed to the Owls.

Finding reinforcements at the corner position was one of the top priorities for Rice football recruiting following spring practices. After taking a few weeks to assess the mark, the Owls have zeroed in on their man and landed a commitment from former Utah corner Faybian Marks,

Marks is originally a class of 2020 player from Richmond, Texas who picked the Utes over offers from Baylor, Kansas State, Kansas, Washington State and others. He saw action immediately upon his arrival in Salt Lake, appearing in 32 games across four seasons with the Utes, including seven starts.

Injuries suffered midway through the 2021 season seemed to hamper his ascent. He spent most of the last two seasons operating as a reserve and playing special teams but still possesses a skillset that makes him an intriguing add for the Owls.

Marks told The Roost the Owls’ culture and environment are what set Rice football apart saying it “just felt like I was apart of the family as soon as I got there.”

He’ll add competition to a corner room that is relatively unproven at the FBS level outside of returning starter Sean Fresch. Max Ahoia had played well at the other corner spot through the spring, but even if the staff believes in Ahoia it was always going to be prudent to get another playmaker in that room.

At a minimum, one of the two becomes quality depth with the upside that either Marks or Ahoia becomes a true difference maker. Regardless of the outcome, adding a player of Marks’ resume to the fold is a definite win.

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On the field, Rice is getting a seasoned veteran with plenty of in-game experience. Marks prides himself on his speed and physicality, two things that show up in his highlights. He’s a willing tackle and has the speed to stay step for step with receivers on the outside. The George Ranch High School native returns to Texas with the intent of making plays on the field. He’ll be an interesting name to follow during camp as he battles with Ahoia for playing time.

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Rice Baseball salvages series finale against Charlotte

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Rice Baseball dropped a Friday doubleheader but rallied to salvage the series finale on Sunday against Charlotte, avoiding a sweep.

FRIDAY (AM) | Charlotte 5 – Rice 4

It took Parker Smith a while to settle in on the road against the Charlotte bats. He labored through the first and second innings, giving up three runs, no thanks to the defense behind him. By the third inning, he was in a groove, battling through 6.1 innings and surrendering five runs, only three of which were earned.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball hangs on to beat Lamar

The suspect defensive showing — the Owls were officially saddled with two errors — wasn’t assuaged by offensive production. Rice scored one run apiece in the fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, failing to convert in clutch situations and falling in a one-run game that could have gone quite differently.

FRIDAY (PM) | Charlotte 9 – Rice 3

Rice struck first in the second game of the Friday doubleheader, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the third, grabbing two runs from a bases-loaded, no-out situation. That would prove to be a crucial missed opportunity to do more damage when Owls’ starter JD McCracken failed to make it through the fourth inning, ceding to Jackson Blank with Rice trailing 4-2 in the fourth.

Blank and Tyler Hamilton would wade through the remainder of the game, combing to allow 11 hits and five runs. The offense was done, though. Rice managed just one more run for the remainder of the contest, an RBI single from Ben Dukes in the seventh.

SUNDAY | Rice 8 – Charlotte 5

Things started off sour for Rice baseball in the series finale. Starter Tucker Alch was lifted in the second inning after allowing four runs. Being forced to bring in Davion Hickson that early certainly wasn’t the plan, but he delivered five dazzling, scoreless innings anyway, striking out 10 of the 19 batters he faced. That respite allowed the Rice bats to get rolling.

More: Jose Cruz Jr. and the trajectory of Rice Baseball

Rice scored three in the fourth, two in the fifth, two more in the sixth and another in the seventh. All but two of those eight runs came via the long ball, of which the Owls had three on the day. Staked to an 8-4 advantage Tom Vincent finished the final 2.1 innings, securing the win.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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ON DECK | at Texas A&M (Tues), vs Lamar (Wed), vs FAU (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball 2024: MLB Owls Update – May 2

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The 2024 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are busy on the mound and at the plate. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls.

Tyler Duffey – Kansas City Royals

Duffey saw action in his second game since being called up this week, working 1.2 innings against the Blue Jays on Monday. He allowed two hits and one run while striking out two of the eight batters he faced.

Through May 2, Duffey has a 2.45 ERA with a 1.091 WHIP. He’s averaging 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

Dane Myers – Miami Marlins

Myers was called up at the end of April and wasted no time making his mark on the Marlins roster. He tripled in his first game and then hit a walk-off winner two days later. His family was in the stands for the big moment.

Through May 2, Myers is hitting .455 with one extra-base hit, three walks and two strikeouts. His OPS is 1.136 and he’s collected five RBI.

Injured List

J.T. Chargois – Miami Marlins

Chargois reportedly suffered a setback in his rehab from neck spasms this week. No timetable has been provided for his potential return to the roster.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon is expected to miss a lengthy amount of time after suffering a partial tear in his left hamstring in late April. There is no timetable for his return as of yet, a frustrating development after a red-hot end of the month prior to suffering the injury.

Through May 2, Rendon is hitting .267 with three extra-base hits, six walks and 15 strikeouts. His OPS is .632 and he’s collected three RBI.

Glenn Otto – San Diego Padres

Prior to the beginning of the season, Otto was placed on the 15-Day Injured List on March 19 with a right teres major strain.

Knocking on the Door

The following Owls began the season in AAA:

  • Matt Canterino – St Paul Saints (Twins)
  • Tyler Duffey – Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals) *promoted
  • Jon Duplantier – Syracuse Mets (Mets)
  • Tristan Gray – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins)
  • Evan Kravetz – Louisville Bats (Reds)
  • Lucas Luetge – Worcester Red Sox (Red Sox)
  • Dane Myers – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins) *promoted
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Rice Baseball hangs on to beat Lamar on the road

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Rice Baseball struck early and executed down the stretch to take down a 34-win Lamar squad on the road.

Rice baseball continued its recent them of strong starts, jumping on top of the hosting Lamar Cardinals with a 4-run second inning on Wednesday night. Kyle McDonald got the first run across in his return to the lineup after battling injuries, scoring Jack Riedel on a sacrifice fly. Tobias Motley and Jacob Devenny added RBI hits of their own in the inning. Pierce Gallo tacked on one more run in the third.

Staked to a 5-0 lead, Rice pitching was tasked with fulfilling their end of the bargain. Karl Ralamb drew the start, but quickly ceded the mound to Mauricio Rodriguez in what would become a true bullpen game. No Rice pitcher worked more than 1.2 innings.

Rodriguez, Jackson Mayo and Mark Perkins were each charged with two runs apiece, but by the time Perkins was charged with his second run and Reed Gallant had entered the game, the Owls had built enough of a cushion to weather a few missteps from the back end of the bullpen.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball tops AAC-leading UTSA in best of three

Leading 8-6 after six innings, head coach Jose Cruz Jr. turned the ball over to his most trusted options. Jackson Blank, Tom Vincent and Davion Hickson finished the game, allowing no more runs and securing the win.

What it means | Just keep winning

Lamar is a good baseball team and, by record, a better baseball team than Rice baseball has proven itself to be to this point, at least on paper. But Rice hasn’t been playing like the team that got off to such a slow start, quite the contrary. This version of the Owls looks as good as it has ever looked under Cruz. Winning games like this further solidifies that notion.

Rice has won nine of their last 11 including back-to-back midweek contests against Lamar and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. They’ve got a tough road ahead of them, including a rematch with Lamar next week and a trip to play at No. 1 Texas A&M. But the more wins they can stack along the way, the better.

ON DECK | at Charlotte (Fri-Sun)

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