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Rice Baseball: 2021 MLB Owls update – April 17

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The 2021 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 from this week.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon played eight games this season before a strained groin landed him on the injured list at the beginning of the week. The Angels are 2-2 without Rendon in the lineup thus far. For now, the Angels will anxiously await the return of one of the most productive hitters in the league over the past couple of seasons.

Through April 17, Rendon is hitting .290 with one extra-base hit, five walks and seven strikeouts. His OPS is .765.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey’s lone outing of the week was a rough one, breaking his perfect 0.00 ERA stint through his first four appearances of the season.  Opposing batters are hitting .286 against him this year, well above his carer average against of .252.

Through April 17, Duffey has a 4.50.00 ERA with a 2.250 WHIP. He’s averaging 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

Brock Holt – Texas Rangers

This Saturday marked Holt’s return from a brief stint on the Injured List, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. He’s now reached base successfully in all five games this season and holds a .450 on-base percentage. That’s quite a bit higher than his career OBP of .338, amassed through 10 big league seasons.

Through April 17, Holt has three hits in 14 at bats, a .214 average. He’s walked six times, struck out three times and collected two RBI.

Lucas Luetege – New York Yankees

Luetege has made five appearances this season, including two this week. He went a season-long four innings on Friday against the Rays, striking out three and allowing two runs. He’s recorded three or more strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.

Through April 17, Luetge has a 6.10 ERA with a 1.258 WHIP. He’s averaging 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

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NCAA Football passes significant recruiting, transfer measures

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NCAA football passed two significant milestones this week. On-campus recruiting will resume June 1 and transfer policies have been relaxed.

This was a significant week for NCAA football. Two incredibly important announcements went forth from the D1 Council this week. Current and future recruiting cycles have been modified and player freedoms have been expanded.

Transfer Legislation

In a move long rumored to be in the works, the council passed a one-time transfer rule for all D1 student-athletes. Already in place for a myriad of Olympic sports, the most notable change was the expansion of this policy to football, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball and men’s hockey. The policy will go into place immediately, meaning athletes who transfer for the first time this summer and receive immediate eligibility for all sports.

MAC Commissioner and chair of the NCAA’s working group on transfers, Dr. Jon Steinbrecher offered his support in a statement. “Allowing student-athletes a one-time opportunity to transfer and compete immediately provides a uniform, equitable and understandable approach that benefits all student-athletes,” he said. “This decision is consistent with Division I’s goal of modernizing its rules to prioritize student-athlete opportunity and choice.”

Recruiting ramps back up

For the first time in more than a year, on-campus recruiting visits will be reopened. Programs across the country will be able to resume their normal recruiting calendars effective June 1. That means in-person evaluations and conversations for the class of 2022.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Previewing the Old Dominion Series

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Rice baseball faces another of Conference USA’s best this weekend on the road against Old Dominion. Can they surprise the Monarchs?

Still in search of their first series win of conference play, Rice baseball won’t find an easier road ahead of them this coming weekend. The nationally-ranked Old Dominion Monarchs have no intention of falling from among the top teams in the conference standings when the Owls come to town for a four-game set.

Game Notes

Times: Friday 2:00 p.m. | Saturday 1:00 p.m. / 4.00 p.m. | Sunday 11:00 a.m.
Venue: Bud Metheny Baseball Complex
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
Watch: CUSAtv

How each team fared this week

Rice baseball (14-18-1) was swept for the first time this season, falling in all four games against No. 14 Louisiana Tech at Reckling Park. Rice kept the first two games close, but was outslugged in the final half of the series. The Owls got back in the win column on Tuesday, walking off Incarnate Word in a thrilling 27-run affair.

Old Dominion (24-6) had an impressive winning streak snapped in the final game of their weekend series against Florida Atlantic. Entering the Sunday finale, they’d won 10 consecutive C-USA games. Old Dominion had a midweek against with Virginia postponed.

Probable Pitchers

Friday | Blake Brogdon (2-5, 5.71)
Saturday 1 | Roel Garcia (1-1, 4.65)
Saturday 2 | Mitchell Holcomb (4-3, 6.05)
Sunday | Brandon Deskins (1-4, 5.08)

Old Dominion Pitching

The Monarchs have been dominant on both sides of the ball, but their starting pitching might be the best contingent of any team in the conference. Three of Old Dominion’s four weekend starters (Hunter Gregory, Nick Pantos and Ryne Moore) rank inside the top eight in ERA, all coming under below 2.60. None of the three have been charged with a loss. That’s somewhat to be expected given their combined 132-to-27 strikeout to walk ratio.

Old Dominion Hitting

The bats have been equally impressive. Second baseman Carter Trice is second in C-USA with a .381 average. His .752 slugging percentage is first in the league. The lineup surrounding him has been similarly potent. The Monarchs enter the weekend with a collective .300 team average and 54 home runs, 10 more than any other team in Conference USA.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 73 – Austin Trammell talks Pro Day, NFL goals

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We catch up with former Rice football wide receiver Austin Trammell on this week’s show and discuss his Rice career, NFL aspirations and more.

Austin Trammell has been a staple of the Rice football receiving corps for what feels like forever. He won’t be catching passes at South Main this coming fall, rather opting to make a run at the NFL. We discuss that decision, his time at Rice, playing through the challenges of COVID-19 on this week’s show.

We didn’t remember to ask him about the origins of The Sheriff nickname. That’ll have to wait until he makes a return visit to the show. You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 73.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Plan on hearing more from The Roost Podcast in your feed every other week as we continue our interview series. We’ll have some returning guests and hopefully a few new Owls to talk with over the next few months.
    • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes our debriefing series on spring football.
      Become a Patron!
  • Austin Trammell joins the show to discuss…
    • What it was like playing football in 2020
    • How many quarterbacks he caught a pass from in his college career (it’s a lot!)
    • The decision not to use his extra year of eligibility
    • Pro Day and training for the NFL
    • What’s next for him and his plans for Draft Day

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Volleyball: COVID-19 ends Owls’ NCAA Tournament early

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Rice volleyball will not participate in the NCAA Tournament. The Owls’ opening-round game has been canceled because of COVID-19 protocols.

When the brackets were announced, Rice volleyball erupted with elation. Despite falling in the Conference USA Tournament Championship Game, the Owls’ body of work had earned them an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Months of hard work had paid off with the chance to compete for a national title.

And then late Wednesday night, that chance was unceremoniously ripped away.

A positive COVID-19 test within the Rice program forced the cancelation of the Owls’ opening-round game against N.C. A&T.  The Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee released a brief statement shortly after the scheduled start time of the match.

“The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee has declared the Rice-N.C. A&T match for Wednesday night at the CHI Health Center Omaha convention center a no-contest because of COVID-19 protocols. As a result, N.C. A&T will advance to the next round of the tournament. The NCAA and the committee regret that Rice student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to play in a tournament in which they earned the right to participate. Because of privacy issues we cannot provide further details.”

Rice arrived on Sunday for pre-match practices. Given a favorable draw and a head-to-head win over Texas already under their belt, the Owls had high expectations entering the week. Unfortunately, those hopes will not be realized this season.

Rice has since released a pair of statements:

“I’m heartbroken for our players, coaches, and support staff,” Rice Director of Athletics Joe Karlgaard said. “They’ve worked so hard this spring playing through difficult circumstances. Even with this terrible news, I want them to remember they’ve had a really terrific season. Rice is proud of who they are and what they’ve accomplished this year.”

“We are devastated that we won’t be able to compete in the NCAA Tournament this year,” AVCA South Region Coach of the Year Genny Volpe said. “This team deserved it, earning an at-large bid in a 48-team field and has so much to be proud of. It certainly is painful to see how much the team wanted to compete and to have to break the news to them that they couldn’t play. To compete in this tournament meant so much to all of us. Although this is a very sad moment, we know safety is the number one priority. We will be back stronger than ever. Rice Fight Never Dies.”

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