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Baseball: Breaking down the 2019 offensive lineup

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Rice baseball expects to return to contention in Conference USA under the new direction of Matt Bragga. To get there the Owls’ will need to find consistent offensive production.

Although pitching is expected to take the forefront in the upcoming season, Rice baseball will bring a solid mix of offensive weapons to the plate in 2019. Matt Bragga, renowned as an offensive whisper during his time at Tennessee Tech, should be able to get the most out of the Owls’ bats.

Here’s how the main position players set up entering the spring:

C – Collins
1B – DiCaprio
2B – Edwards
SS – T. Cruz
3B – Corneaux
OF – Cox, Beaulaurier, Brewer, A. Cruz, Gneiting
DH – Duluc, Dunlap

The proven commodities

Braden Comeaux (.319/.429/.412) and Andrew Dunlap (.260/.368/.435) were two of the more reliable bats in the lineup last season and both guys return in 2019. Comeaux has the potential to lead Conference USA in hits after finishing fourth last year. Dunlap took a step back from a career-best season in 2017, but has the experience and situational awareness to be a big asset at the plate.

Catcher Justin Collins could be the most important piece, though. After showing flashes as a freshman he’s started to pick things up this offseason. During the fall exhibitions, he blasted a grand slam against Sam Houston and was near perfect Texas A&M, going 4-for-5 with a double. He’ll be asked to be a consistent run producer in the middle of the lineup in 2019.

Who else steps up?

It remains to be seen how Matt Bragga will deploy the rest of the lineup. There are an array of guys who could fill the outfield spots. Trei Cruz and Bradley Gneiting both had their moments and will be counted upon to be more or less everyday players again this season.

Dominic Cox and Dominic DiCaprio are both wildcards to watch. DiCaprio brings some pop, provided he can make enough consistent contact to earn a spot in the starting nine. The same goes for Cox who appeared in 50 games last season despite holding a .182 average.

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Baseball: Breaking down the 2019 pitching staff

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The spring is here and so is Rice baseball. The new era under Matt Bragga will begin with some familiar names led on the mound by Matt Canterino.

Matt Bragga’s first season as the head coach for Rice baseball will be underway very soon. The Owls are expected to be led by a strong presence on the mound. Here’s how the starting rotation and the bullpen project entering the 2019 season.

The Rotation

Friday: Matt Canterino (2018: 7-5, 3.06 ERA, 116K, 22BB)

There are few preseason awards which omitted the Owls’ ace. Canterino was named the CUSA Preseason Pitcher of the Year as well as an All-American by Baseball America and the National College Baseball Writer’s Association. D1 Baseball tabbed him as their CUSA Preseason Pitcher of the Year, too.

Saturday: Addison Moss (2018: 2-4, 2.43 ERA, 53K, 16BB)

Moss and Canterino could establish themselves as one of the best 1-2 punches in Conference USA. Moss didn’t earn the same preseason recognition as Canterino, but the junior hurler returns from a sophomore campaign in which he allowed 2.3 walks per nine innings and held the best ERA on the team.

Sunday and midweek starters:

Roel Garcia underwent Tommy John surgery this winter, opening the door wide open for the Sunday and midweek starting roles. Coach Bragga will have several options to choose from and we could see several guys get a shot before the rotation begins to solidify itself.

Bragga has tabbed Jackson Parthasarathy (3 starts, 6.28 ERA) and Evan Kravetz as the top two guys entering the season. Kendal Jeffries (5 starts in 2018, 4.06 ERA) and Missouri transfer Drake Greenwood could get a chance, too.

The Bullpen

This is where things get interesting. Rice should have a deep crop of arms for the staff to deploy in a variety of ways. Brandon Deskins and Zach Esquivel are both quality relief options with the latter two putting on impressive showings in the Owls’ final fall scrimmage against Texas A&M. The duo each have some tricky movement on their stuff which makes them tricky to hit provided they can stick it in the zone.

On the back end, Garrett Gayle has the arm to cement himself as the team’s primary closer this season. He posted a stunning 0.45 ERA in the Cape Cod league this summer and has topped 97 MPH on the gun. Gayle finished second on the team to Canterino in strikeouts last year.

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Owls raise the ceiling and the floor with 2019 recruiting class

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National Signing Day marked the completion of the 2019 Rice Football recruiting class. The new Owls will be met with both excitement and expectation.

Mike Bloomgren stood in front of a microphone on National Signing Day and couldn’t help but smile when he talked about the 2019 Rice football recruiting class. He has to smile. He has to give those cliched axioms. “We have addressed everything we wanted to,” he said. “We’re a year better everywhere.”

But for this team, and this recruiting class, Bloomgren’s words were much more than platitudes. That’s because the 2019 class marked a significant change. It marked the official tipping point between Year 0 and the heart of the Mike Bloomgren era.

The second-year head coach isn’t an excuse maker. He carries himself with a humble confidence, celebrating the good times and vowing to push his staff and his team through the bad. And now this team is his team.

“Two-thirds of the team are guys that we brought in,” Bloomgren acknowledged “[the 2018 and 2019 signing classes] knew the expectation when they walked in the door.” For a man who has preached Process in his first year at South Main, the rubber is beginning to meet the road.

It’s no secret Bloomgren inherited a blank slate. The roster and the direction of the Rice football program were handed to him by athletic director Joe Karlgaard when the first-time head coach was hired away from Stanford following the 2017 season. Bloomgren crafted a plan and set it in motion.

Rice Football

A lot has transpired since. Rice opened their 2018 season against Prairie View. After winning that game in thrilling fashion, the Owls put up strong performances in the next two games against Houston and Hawaii, both losses. Both defeats highlighted some glaring issues with the roster Bloomgren inherited — it wasn’t fast enough, strong enough or deep enough, not by a longshot.

In the weeks that followed Rice would win just one more game. Injuries ravaged the quarterback room and finding consistent performers on the defensive side of the ball was a weekly challenge. Freshmen, several recruited by Bloomgren in his first signing class at Rice, became stars.

Prudy Calderon and Antonio Montero built names for themselves on defense. Wiley Green, Cole Garcia and Juma Otoviano paved the way for the Owls’ climactic send-off win over Old Dominion. Despite the two-win record, there were pieces. There just needed to be more of them.

Bloomgren cut to the chase. “We need to raise the ceiling of talent on both sides of the ball all across this program, but we’ve also got to raise the floor.” He said, “We’re doing that right now.” The turnover on the roster has been hard to miss. Rice started six upperclassmen against Old Dominion — two of those will return to the roster in 2019: safety George Nyakwol and defensive tackle Myles Adams.

I love that we actually have competition. The way it’s supposed to be in college football.Mike Bloomgren

With the youth movement comes both challenge and opportunity. The incoming class has proof the team is going to start whoever earns each spot on Saturday. They’ll be competing for jobs out of the gate, something that can and must push the incumbents to work harder. “I love that we actually have competition. The way it’s supposed to be in college football,” remarked Bloomgren.

Competition. Process. Results. The wheels set in motion more than a year ago will continue to turn as the newest Owls make their way to campus, some in the spring, others in the summer. No matter when they arrive, they’ll each be asked to push themselves and this program further and harder than ever before. For Bloomgren and his staff, the future is now.

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MBB: Owls survive Marshall to earn big home win

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Rice basketball saw a massive lead evaporate but found a way to out-tough Marshall down the stretch, knocking off the Herd at home, 74-69.

This script is getting all-too familiar. No lead seems safe, no matter how impactful or impressive the Owls look in the middle portion of their games. Marshall’s biggest lead on Saturday was five points at the 12:35 mark of the first half. Rice led by 17 with 15:39 to play in the second half.

This isn’t the first, the second or even the third game which felt in hand before spiraling into a slugfest in the final moments. By the time 30 seconds remained in the contest Rice and Marshall were separated by one point, a far cry from the 17 point advantage the Owls had not that long ago.

What was different on Saturday though, was the amount of gas left in the tank. Rather than survive into two overtimes the Owls’ defense held strong in the final minute. Marshall connected one field goal in the final three minutes. This time the Owls’ were able to weather the storm. Maybe next time it might not feel as perilous.

Box

Player PTS FG 3FG FT OR DR REB A PF TO BL ST MIN +/-
PARRISH 7 3-5 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 28 11
ADAMS 6 1-5 1-4 3-4 0 3 3 0 4 0 0 1 13 6
MULLINS 12 4-5 1-1 3-7 0 8 8 4 4 6 1 3 32 -10
WILLIAMS 11 5-12 0-3 1-2 2 6 8 0 4 1 1 0 27 0
MILLORA-BROWN 10 5-10 0-0 0-0 1 5 6 4 2 1 0 0 26 7
MOORE 7 0-2 0-1 7-8 0 4 4 3 0 3 1 3 23 1
MURPHY III 11 3-9 3-7 2-3 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 20 9
MARTIN 10 3-11 1-5 3-7 1 6 7 2 4 2 0 0 28 3
PETERSON 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 -2

Player of the game – Quentin Millora-Brown

The young forward appears to be getting more and more confident with each passing game. He’s starting to assert himself in the paint and the team is finding him for high percentage shots. Millora-Brown was one of five Owls who scored in double-digits while adding six rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Up Next

Rice closes the predetermined portion of their conference schedule with a road trip to Florida. Their first game of the two-game road trip will be Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. against FIU before playing FAU on Saturday.

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Offensive lineman Justin Gooseberry commits to Owls

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Rice football picked up a commitment from another big transfer target, landing former Ouachita Baptist offensive lineman Justin Gooseberry.

Getting bigger and stronger on the offensive line was a priority once again for Rice this offseason. Ouachita Baptist transfer Justin Gooseberry fits that bill and has committed to play his final year of eligibility at South Main. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound offensive lineman joins Regan Riddle (6-foot-1, 284 pounds), Hunter Jones (6-foot-3, 270 pounds), Nick Leverett (6-foot-4, 312 pounds) and Brian Chaffin (6-foot-2, 275 pounds). That’s a lot of size.

For as long as Mike Bloomgren is at the helm, the ethos of Rice football will aspire to be built on hard-nosed running and defense. Getting to that point is a process; one that Rice is further along today than they were at this point last year. Taking the next step on that road requires a dominant offensive line. Gooseberry can play a critical role in making that hope a reality.

Gooseberry played his college ball at Ouachita Baptist, a DII school in Arkansas. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound offensive lineman was a fixture on the Tigers’ offensive line in 2018 and was tabbed an All-American by multiple media outlets including the  Division II Conference Commissioners Association and the American Football Coaches Association.

More: Cole Garcia named The Roost’s 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year

Adding Gooseberry to fellow grad transfers Nick Leverett and Brian Chaffin as well as Shea Baker, Clay Servin and Cole Garcia will makeup a formidable offensive line. It will also give the coaching staff the develop the younger guys at their own pace, rather than have to thrust players into the fire — something that became all-too prevalent in 2018.

Mike Bloomgren is doubling down on the offensive line and Gooseberry will be a welcomed addition.

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