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Rice Baseball: Struggles continue as Owls drop series to Harvard, 3-1

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Rice Baseball averted the sweep, but still turned in a rather poor outing against Harvard in the Owls’ second home series loss of the season.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball drops series 3-1

Perhaps someone just needs to whisper “It’s Sunday” into the Rice baseball dugout every day. Two of the Owls’ three wins this year have come in the final game of their weekend series with the other coming in a midweek tilt at Houston Baptist. Rice picked up its third win of the year this weekend, but it came with a tangible cost — three more painful losses. What did we learn from the 1-3 weekend and what’s next for Rice baseball?

1. Mayday, offense

It wasn’t until the shadows started to creep across the diamond at Reckling Park late Saturday afternoon that the Rice offense even began to consider showing up for the week. Rice was blanked 9-0 by Baylor on Wednesday. On Friday night, Harvard skunked the Owls 3-0. Then Rice failed to scratch across even a singular run through five innings on the first half of Saturday’s doubleheader.

Even when accounting for the nine-run outburst on Sunday afternoon, Rice accumulated 12 runs in fives games this week dating back to the Baylor disaster. That’s an average of 2.4 runs per game. While there are days when a team can get away with that low of a run total, more often than not, you’re going to need more oomph to win college baseball game these days, you just are.

Last Time Out: Baylor blanks Owls in midweek tilt

Head coach Jose Cruz Jr. did what he could on Sunday to spark the sluggish unit. He flipped up the batting order and shuffled names around. That did help, but the bulk of the production still came from the core of Guy Garibay, Austin Bulman, Connor Walsh and Nathan Becker, four guys who were likely to be in the lineup in some capacity anyway.

Whether it’s improved approaches, better plate discipline or all of the above, the task in the batter’s box has reached critical levels of importance.

2. Starting pitching might be coming around

For the first weekend this year, Rice baseball had more decent outings from the bulk of their starting rotation. Cooper Chandler went 5.0 innings and allowed two earned runs with six strikeouts, by far his best outing of the season. On Saturday, Roel Garcia went four scoreless frames. More length would have been a bonus for both of them, but leaving the game midway through without putting the team in a large hole is a win for now.

Thomas Burbank was really the only starter who had a “bad” outing. His 3.0 inning, three-run performance will be colored by the double he surrendered on his final pitch which allowed two to score and staked Harvard to an early 3-0 lead. At that point in the series, Rice simply had to try someone else to attempt to salvage a split.

Lastly, Alex DeLeon earned the win on Sunday with four innings of two-run ball. He only struck out one batter but competed well, giving up one home run in an otherwise quality outing. That quartet was far from perfect, but none of them singlehandedly lost Rice games. That hasn’t been the case in previous weekends to date.

3. It’s going to be a long season

Rice baseball is 3-9 through their first 12 games. It’s true, starting off with No. 1 ranked Texas in Austin was a brutal welcoming to a new era at South Main, but the Owls have played the next nine games at Reckling Park. And if the likes of Lamar and Harvard can reprise the fabled murder’s row of the Yankee greats, how will this team respond to above-average teams. Like, Baylor, perhaps?

This isn’t a call for anyone to throw in the towels, heaven’s no. But it is a sobering reminder that this young team is going to need to develop from the ground up. There’s a ton of talent standing on the grass at Reckling right now. Every piece just isn’t fully in sync with each other.

To his credit, Cruz Jr. didn’t place the bar as high as those outside the program might have initially demanded it. “I’m not going to promise the moon right now,” he said during the lead up to the season. “I will say we will be better than we were the last couple years.”

Rice was 2-14 in 2020 and 23-29-1 last season. This iteration of Rice baseball is already above the 2020 club. They’ve got a ways to go until they’re anywhere in the ballpark of .500. That’s probably okay, but it’s going to have to take some getting used to as they grow and develop in real time.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Harvard 3 – Rice 0

Harvard struck first with a leadoff double to set the table in the second inning. They followed it up with a manufactured run via a couple of singles in these second. Despite cobbling together just one hit through three innings, Rice still had an opportunity to answer with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third with no outs. Austin Bulman struck out and Guy Garibay lined out to right field to end the threat.

Neither team would score for the next six innings. Harvard pushed across an insurance run in the ninth courtesy of a Rice error. The Owls went quietly. Rice had three times as many strikeouts (15) as hits (5) for the day. Had it not been for quality outings on the mound from Chandler, Garret Zaskoda, David Shaw and DeLeon, there wouldn’t have been anything positive to take away from this game.

SATURDAY (AM) | Harvard 2 – Rice 1

The offense was equally disappointing in the first end of Saturday’s double header. The Owls sent the minimum to the plate five times in the seven-inning game and scored just one run. That came in the bottom half of the sixth inning which had just seen the Rice defense commit two errors, contributing to Harvard’s only two runs of the game.

Once more, the Rice pitching staff was fine. Garcia had a strong performance. Even though Brandon Deskins was charged with the games’ only two runs, neither was earned and he pitched relatively well. The defense just did not help him out.

SATURDAY (PM) | Harvard 6 – Rice 3

The back end of the doubleheader featured some of the Owls’ more disappointing outings on the mound from the weekend. Burbank was hit hard, giving up three extra-base hits in three innings. Mark Perkins recorded just as many outs as he handed out walks (two apiece) and Dalton Wood’s struggles with the strikeout continued. His three runs allowed in the fifth inning sunk any chance Rice had of mounting a comeback.

Rice got two runs back in the fifth via a fielder’s choice followed by a well-placed double by Bulman. A sac fly from Garibay would make it 6-3 in the seventh, but the hole was just too big to overcome.

SUNDAY | Rice 9 – Harvard 6

Three games’ worth (or more) of frustration boiled over on Sunday as Rice delivered a three-spot in the first inning, two more runs in the second and another in the third. Harvard would score twice against DeLeon, but the Rice bats did not slow down. Rice scored at least one run in five of the first six innings, staking the bullpen to a 9-2 lead and asking them for nine outs.

For the most part, Tom Vincent and Reed Gallant threw strikes. Each walked just one batter in more than one inning of work (2.0 for Vincent, 1.1 for Gallant). While each was credited with two runs, the cushion they were pitching with was sufficient to net Rice the win.

ON DECK | Rice baseball vs Houston (Tues)

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Rice Women’s Basketball rains down threes in rout of UTSA

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Rice Women’s Basketball utilized a barrage of three-point shots to post a dominant victory over UTSA in their final game of the regular season.

From the moment Maya Bokunewicz opened the scoring with a three-pointer it was abundantly clear Rice women’s basketball has not come down from their recent run from elevated play. Winners of five of their last six, the Owls came out firing in their season final against UTSA and showed continued composure when the Roadrunners were able to tie the game midway through the first quarter.

Rice wouldn’t run away with this game as they had in their previous outing against UTEP, but even when UTSA was able to trim the Owls’ margin, the Roadrunners never once took the lead. UTSA’s longest run of the first half was a 6-0 spurt which enabled them to tie the game. Every other burst was no better than a minor 3-0 streak in favor of the visitors.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball blasts UTEP in runaway win

Rice women’s basketball would break things wide open to start the second half. The Owls’ first five shots of the quarter were three-pointers. Four of them hit home, catapulting the home team to a commanding 19-point advantage. From that point on, Rice could have just played out the string. Instead, they poured it on.

The sizable lead grew even larger until the Owls’ advantage nearly doubled up the Roadrunners. The advantage grew to be as large as 39-points, further reinforcing Rice was playing their best basketball of the season on the cusp of postseason play.

Player Spotlight | Ashlee Austin

Winning games with a “team effort” might be a cliche as old as the sport itself, but it frequently rings true with Rice women’s basketball. The Owls spread out their scoring as they typically do, but it’s hard to ignore the consistent production of Ashlee Austin, no matter how effective her teammates have been. Saturday’s win over UTSA marked her tenth consecutive outing of double-digit points and her seventh 20+ point game. She finished with 21 points and seven rebounds.

Stat Corner | Going deep

The three-point shot has been part of the Owls’ offensive attack this season, although to a lesser degree than the Rice men. On Saturday, the women lit up the scoreboard with some long-distance shots of their own. Rice women’s basketball hit 14 three-pointers, crushing their previous season-high (10 at Middle Tennessee, Jan. 7.).

Bokunewicz led the charge, converting seven of the Owls’ 14 triples on her own, tying a school record.

Final Box | Rice 86 – UTSA 48

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball clinched a first-round bye in the Conference USA Tournament with their win over UTEP on Thursday. As Saturday’s games wrap up they’ll have a better understanding of where they’ll fall in the final seeding. Regardless, their first game of the Conference USA Tournament will be played on Wednesday, March 9.

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Rice Basketball runs out of threes in narrow road loss at UTEP

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Rice Basketball ran out of three-pointers in the final moments, falling to UTEP on the road despite a sizable second-half lead.

Max Fiedler and Chris Mullins got Rice basketball off to as good of a start as could have been asked for in their Thursday night road tilt with the UTEP Miners. The senior duo put up the first five points of the game, staking the visiting Owls to an early 5-0 lead. It wouldn’t last.

No sooner had the Owls exhaled from the quick run than UTEP had the lead, and then some. The Miners reeled off a 13-0 run of their own, quickly turning what had been an auspicious start for Rice into a full-scale battle. UTEP’s lead would grow to as many as 12 points before Rice started to chip away in earnest. Mullins laid one in to start a run, which would balloon to a 13-2 Rice streak resulting in a halftime tie.

Last Time Out: Rice Basketball rallies past Southern Miss on Senior Day

Rice leveled the game with a smattering of offensive sets and firm defense. In the second half, their spark came from deep. Carl Pierre seemingly couldn’t miss from long range, pulling Rice along with him as he rained down three after three. He helped the Owls open up an 11-point lead which might have been safe had it not been for a furious assault in the paint from the Miners.

UTEP would pull things back to even, setting up a thrilling final few minutes. Pierre would put Rice in front with a pair of free throws with 58 seconds to play. UTEP crept back in front with three free throw makes in their next two possessions, sending the ball back to Rice for what could have been the game-tying shot, but it would not fall.

Mullins and Pierre each had a chance at the equalizing three, as would Fiedler from half court, but none of them could put it in. On a night of so many threes, Rice fell one three short.

Player Spotlight | Carl Pierre

On paper, the addition of Pierre from the Transfer Portal seemed like a nice win for the Owls. At a minimum, the veteran three-point shooter would give Rice another weapon on the outside. The best-case scenario? Rice basketball might be living it right now.

Pierre set the program record for three-pointers in a season with his outburst against UTEP. He and Travis Evee collectively became the Rice duo with the most total triples between them in a single campaign. Rice was already an offensive centered around good three-point shooting when Pierre arrived. He’s taken it to another level.

Stat Corner | Three-falling

On his way to his record-setting performance, Pierre knocked down six threes. It was the fourth time this season he’s made that many triples in a game. He’s made at least one three-pointer in all but two games this season. His shooting stroke has been crucial to the Owls’ offensive rhythm.

Final Box | UTEP 70 – Rice 67

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball has one final road tilt in the regular season. They finish the regular season on Saturday, Mar. 5 at 2:00 p.m. in San Antonio against UTSA. From there, it’s onto the Conference USA Tournament, the opening rounds of which tip-off on Mar. 8.

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Rice Women’s Basketball blasts UTEP in runaway win

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Rice Women’s Basketball blasted past UTEP at home, locking up a first-round bye in the Conference USA Tournament win the win.

Maya Bokunewicz put up a three-pointer for the first shot of a midweek game between Rice women’s basketball and UTEP. It bounced off the mark before being recovered by Trinity Gooden who converted on the second-chance attempt to put Rice in front 2-0. In a dramatic divergence from the Owls’ last game where nothing would go in, even the missed shots turned into points on Thursday night.

The 2-0 lead quickly snowballed into a 22-7 lead which grew into a monstrous 28-point halftime advantage in favor of the Owls. That’s the sort of thing that happens when one team finds their stroke and shoots 57.6 from the field in the first two quarters.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball rallies past Southern Miss in huge road win

Bokunewicz and Malia Fisher each had double-digit points before the halftime buzzer sounded. Destiny Jackson, Ashlee Austin and Trinity Gooden would join them in double figures before the night was through. And although they would cool down, averaging just 46.4 percent from the field for the game, their sizable lead was never in jeopardy.

The win secures Rice women’s basketball a top-five finish in the West, even if UTEP should win this coming Saturday. Rice will earn a bye in the first round of the conference tournament whereas UTEP will face seventh seed UTSA for a spot in the Day 2 games.

Player Spotlight | Malia Fisher

Fisher continues her bid for Conference USA Freshman of the Year with another dominant game, tying her career-high with 20 points on the way to another double-double. She also had three assists and two steals. Her versatility provides a spark to this team in a myriad of ways and has been crucial in their recent hot streak.

Stat Corner | 31

Two weeks ago following a narrow win over UAB, Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds said she expected her team to be in a lot of close games. Games that — in her words — were going to “come down to the wire”. True to her prediction, Rice did play several neck-and-neck contests. Thursday’s win over UTEP was anything but close.

Rice led by as many as 31 points, essentially putting the game on ice by the midpoint of the very first quarter. It was one of the most dominant performances of the season and it came within days of the Conference USA Tournament.

Final Box | Rice 82 – UTEP 62

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball has one more game remaining in the regular season. The Owls will host UTSA on Mar. 5, Senior Day. From there, it’s onto the Conference USA Tournament with the Owls’ final seeding still to be determined.

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Sloppy performance doors Rice Baseball against Baylor in midweek tilt

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Rice baseball couldn’t hold on to the ball in a sloppy midweek loss to Baylor, committing four errors for the first time since the 2020 season.

The starting rotation had been an adventure for Rice baseball in the early outings of the 2022 season. Parker Smith, the Owls’ midweek starter, had delivered the unquestionably best appearance to date when he pitched six scoreless innings in a win against Houston Baptist last Tuesday. He got off to a solid start against Baylor this week, but left the game in the fifth with his team trailing 5-0.

Although he’ll be credited with the loss in the box score, he’s only going to be charged with one earned run. That’s because Rice committed four errors in the contest, fumbling away any chance of toppling an in-state on a beautiful evening at Reckling Park. A leaping grab by Justin Dunlap might have been the only bright spot.

The first blow came in the second inning. Following a strikeout and a single, the third batter ripped a ball down the right field line to Guy Garibay. It was fielded cleanly and relayed into the infield where it was mishandled and allowed to roll all the way to the left field wall. One run scored. Smith worked out of the rest of the frame without further damage.

Last Time Out : Takeaways from Rice Baseball 2-1 series loss to Lamar

Both teams swapped zeroes in the third and fourth innings before disaster struck in the fifth. What should have been a one-out lineout to Justin Dunlap bounced off his glove to the fence, putting runners on second and third. What should have been a routine groundout on the following play allowed both runs to score when the ball ricocheted off the glove of Austin Bulman into the outfield.

The next Baylor batter deposited the ball over the left field fence. 5-0. And every single run could be traced back to a booted ball or an off-target throw. Baylor would tack on three more run, two via wild pitches, before the final out. Rice mistakes were the overarching theme of the evening.

What it means

The four errors are the most committed by any Rice baseball team in a single game since March 3, 2020 against Louisiana. They’d only had a pair of three-error games since the 2020 season began, one of which came last week against Houston Baptist. In fact, Rice committed at least one error in every game this season. They’ve played eight.

There were always going to be bumps and bruises as the Owls learned to fly under a new head coach. But several of the players that have committed these infractions are seasoned baseball players who haven’t forgotten how to play. Whatever the reason, the problem has to be addressed. Rice is beating themselves just as much as other teams are winning through pure ability and talent.

ON DECK | Lamar

Rice baseball is in the midst of a 17-game homestand which continues on Friday when Harvard comes to town. The Owls will play a four-game set with the Crimson, including a Saturday doubleheader.

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