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Rice Football 2022: Concerns after spring ball? — Patreon Q&A

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It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Rice football this spring. The April 2022 Patreon Q&A focuses on the concerns outstanding after spring practices.

It’s almost impossible to leave the spring without feeling some sort of optimism regarding the team as a whole. This year’s Rice football spring sessions were no different. And while much has been written to this point about what went right this spring, it also seems prudent to address the questions regarding what I saw that didn’t fill me with hope.

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Rice Football Recruiting: JUCO OL Weston Kropp commits to Owls

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The 2022 Rice Football recruiting class has added experience up front, earning a commitment from JUCO offensive lineman Weston Kropp.

Adding an experienced piece along the offensive line has been on the to-do list for the 2022 Rice football recruiting class since the Early Signing Period. The Owls were content with their pair of high school scholarship signees at the position, but hoped to add one proven player that could contend for time in the rotation, at the very least.

After a few months of searching, Rice has found their guy, landing a commitment from JUCO offensive lineman Weston Kropp. Kropp was lightly recruited out of high school, mainly receiving offers from a handful of JUCOs. He spent the 2021 season at Jones College where he appeared in eight games.

Kropp joins what has become a tidal wave of young offensive lineman commitments this week. The Owls picked up three additions in the 2023 class — Nate Bledsoe, Luke Needham and Peyton Farmer. Kropp will have the benefit of having a year of college ball under his belt and he’ll be with the Owls this season.

Kropp has experience at center, something that undoubtedly made him an intriguing addition for the Owls. Prior to his addition, Braedon Nutter, a starting guard, was slated to be the backup center, inevitably causing mass shuffling along the line if a change needed to be made.

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On the tape, Kropp checks a lot of boxes. He’s quick off the ball and holds up well in pass protection. Getting his 6-foot-4, 300-pound frame in the weight room with strength coach Hans Straub should only serve to accentuate his strong talent base. He’ll have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

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Rice Baseball bats quiet in sweep by No. 6 Southern Miss

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Rice Baseball was swept by No. 6 Southern Miss despite numerous chances to make the series much closer early in the weekend.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball drops series 3-0

From a pitcher’s duel to a blowout-shortened game, Rice baseball saw everything in their weekend sweep by Southern Miss — everything except for runs. The Owls have lost four consecutive conference series and enter the last few weeks of the regular season with an 11-29 overall record, 4-14 in conference play. Here are a few takeaways from the weekend.

1. Situational hitting

Finding base runners was challenging this weekend, but for the most part, Rice had opportunities to drive in runs but did not capitalize. Rice was 1-for-2 with runners in scoring position in Friday night’s 1-0 pitcher’s duel, then 2-for-12 on Saturday and 1-for-6 on Sunday.

The Owls had one two-out RBI. Southern Miss had eight. There wasn’t any way to squint at the boxscore and walk away feeling comfortable with what the lineup was able to do in situations where one hit had the potential to tangibly impact the bottom line.

Last Time Out: Rice baseball sweeps season series over SHSU with midweek win

For the weekend, Rice hit .167 when the bases were empty. The Owls hit .128 with runners on in any capacity, tallying five total hits when they had anyone on base in the three game series. The Southern Miss pitching was tremendous, but Rice wasn’t exactly putting their best foot forward at the plate either.

2. Strikeouts

Rice baseball hitters struck out 42 times in 25 innings, a rate of roughly 1.7 batters per inning. When more than half of your at bats don’t get the ball in play at all, you have a problem. There were several occasions where those punchouts killed golden run scoring opportunities.

Friday, Top 7. With Rice trailing 1-0 and Aaron Smigelski at second base, Pierce Gallo struck out. The runner would never advance. Rice would lose 1-0.

Saturday, Top 3. Rice had the bases loaded with no outs and had already forced Southern Miss to go to the bullpen. After an infield fly from Galo, Jack Ben-Shoshan struck out looking, handing a two-out situation to Justin Long who grounded out. Rice wouldn’t score again for the rest of the game.

It’s not an individual problem, and those two examples aren’t meant to isolate the players themselves, moreso they point to a trend that has proven extremely detrimental to this team over the past several weeks.

3. Silver linings

  • Aaron Smigelski had a sold weekend at the plate, accounting for three of the Owls’ 13 hits.
  • Manny Garza went 2-for-3 on Sunday, his second multi-hit game of the year. He’s batting .438 on the season after recently returning to the lineup after injuries kept him on the shelf for several weeks.
  • The defense turned three double-plays on Saturday, a season high. Fielding was altogether better on the whole. Rice committed four errors in three games, but had just one error in the first two games combined.
  • Cooper Chandler was fantastic on Friday night, throwing a season-long seven innings.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Southern Miss 1 – Rice 0

The first seven Rice batters struck out and the offense didn’t collect their first hit until the fourth inning. On most days, particularly away from the confines of Reckling Park, that would have left the Owls in a sizable hole. That wasn’t the case this time around, thanks to the near-flawless outing of Cooper Chandler.

Chandler allowed a leadoff double in the sixth which would come around to score on a sacrifice fly, but otherwise he was superb, allowing five hits in 7.0 innings with four strikeouts and no walks. Matthew Linskey followed with a spotless eighth, but the bats never got going. Rice managed three total hits, two of which came in the fourth inning when Nathan Becker was thrown out at the plate.

SATURDAY | Southern Miss 6 – Rice 3

Rice got another strong outing on the mound on Saturday, this time from Alex DeLeon who cruised through four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. Rice led 3-1 at the time, cobbling together a few runs in the second and third innings. It wouldn’t be enough. When DeLeon was ambushed, the situation devolved quickly.

Southern Miss led off that inning with back-to-back doubles followed by a home run. David Shaw would finish the free, but the damage had been done. Trailing 6-3, the Rice offense wouldn’t score again, despite Shaw finishing out the game with an impressive 3.2 innings of one-run ball.

SUNDAY | Southern Miss 12 – Rice 2 (7 innings)

That one crooked inning would do Rice in again on Sunday, but early on everything seemed to be in line with the beginnings of the first two contests of the weekend. Southern Miss scratched across singular runs in the second and third off starter Thomas Burbank. Rice tied the game up in the second on a two-run home run from Nathan Becker.

Even when Southern Miss answer in the fifth with three runs against Roel Garcia, it didn’t feel like the game was out of reach. But that would prove to only be the tip of the iceberg. Southern Miss erupted for seven runs in the seventh inning, ending with a grand slam to put the home team ahead 12-2. The game was called at that point, leaving Rice to head back home on a low note after two much more competitive games.

ON DECK | vs Western Kentucky (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: Kansas State transfer Seryee Lewis commits to Owls

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The first new addition of the offseason for Rice basketball has been announced. Kansas State transfer Seryee Lewis has committed to the Owls.

The Transfer Portal has become a fixture in college athletics and has become particularly entrenched in college basketball. Rice basketball knows the ebbs and flows of the portal all too well, but they’ve largely been able to down out the somber news with the exciting announcements. This week’s signing falls in the latter category. Kansas State transfer forward Seryee Lewis has committed to the Owls.

A former prep basketball product from Arizona, Lewis committed to Kansas State out of high school, turning down offers from Georgetown, Saint Louis, Illinois-Chicago and others. The three-star prospect was a top 400 player in the nation and the No. 20 player from the state of Arizona. This time around Lewis was pursued by UNLV, Depaul and Cal Berkley, eventually choosing Rice basketball.

Lewis told The Roost Rice was “the place I wanted to be,” voicing his support of what he called “the future plan with the program.”

Coming off the bench during his freshman season with the Wildcats, Lewis played in 18 contests including nine conference games. He’s scored a career-high nine points against No. 2 Baylor in 2021 and is a career 62.5 percent shooter from the floor. Lewis missed the entirety of last season after suffering a preseason injury.

Lewis said the year off has given him time to “recover and work on my game” and that his return would be “something very special to see.” Practically, that means another top-flight rebounded for the Owls. Lewis touts that as one of the strongest aspects of his game along with his versatility.

Head coach Scott Pera announced Lewis had signed his grant-in-aid paperwork on Wednesday, saying Lewis “checks all of the boxes we look for in a student-athlete. He is motivated in the classroom and on the court. He will add value to everything we do as a program.”

Excluding the incoming freshman signees, Lewis is the first new addition to the Rice basketball roster for the upcoming season. You can follow all offseason roster moves with our Rice basketball roster tracker here.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2023 OL Peyton Farmer commits to Owls

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The 2023 Rice Football recruiting class keeps adding in the trenches. Offensive lineman Peyton Farmer has committed to the Owls.

The good times keep rolling for the 2023 Rice football recruiting class. The Owls have been reeling in commit after commit after a productive set of visits this spring and they aren’t slowing down anytime soon. Rice has now landed its second commitment of the day. Ridge Point offensive lineman Peyton Farmer has committed to the Owls.

Continuing a theme that has become fairly commonplace around South Main in recent years, Rice was the first to offer Farmer and led wire-to-wire from that point onward in his recruitment. His only other offer would come in mid-April from San Diego State. At that point, the Owls’ had already built a strong relationship and gotten him on campus for Junior Day.

Farmer made the move from defense this past season. Despite his newness to the position, he impressed, allowing one sack throughout the length of the entire season. Unsurprisingly, Farmer says pass protection is one aspect of his game of which he’s most proud.

The Ridge Point product marks the third offensive line commitment announced in the 2023 Rice Football Recruiting class this week. This trio — Farmer, Luke Needham and Nate Bledsoe — will form the nucleus of blockers around quarterback Chase Jenkins, the only non-lineman in the class so far.

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Farmer stands out as the big guy among the big guys on his high school film. Primary spending time at right tackle his junior season, he showcased an ability to create good position with his feet and drive defensive lineman back with his strength. He seems to be a relatively balanced player, showcasing an ability to pick up pass rushers and open up running lanes downfield as well.

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