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Rice Baseball: Previewing the Louisiana Tech series

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Rice baseball made up significant ground against Middle Tennessee. They’ll seek to keep climbing the CUSA ranks against Louisiana Tech this weekend.

Listen online // Watch Friday (CUSA TV) // Watch Saturday (CUSA TV) // Watch Sunday (CUSA TV)

If Rice is going to make a move in Conference USA, the time is now. The Owls sit at 9-9 on the edge of a conference tournament berth. A series win over Louisiana Tech, who some consider to be the favorite to with the league, would be huge for this team as they enter the final stretch. Here’s how the Owls stack up against the visiting Bulldogs:

Projected Pitching Matchups

Friday – 6:30 pm: Matt Canterino (5-4, 2.97) vs Matt Miller (5-0, 2.95)
Saturday – 2:00 pm: Evan Kravetz (3-2, 4.18)  vs Logan Robbins (3-2, 6.31)
Sunday – 1:00 pm: Jackson Parthasarathy (3-6, 4.50) vs Logan Bailey (5-4, 5.88)

Louisiana Tech Pitching

The Bulldogs rank third in CUSA with a staff ERA of 4.45. Their 2.47 strikeout to walk ratio is eerily similar to the Owls’ own rate of 2.59. Aside from what should be a fairly even contest between Matt Miller and Matt Canterino on Friday night, Rice has the slight edge in the starting rotation.

It’s the bullpen that might give the Bulldogs the greatest reason for optimism. Jonathan Fincher has been almost unhittable out of the pen and brings a 1.03 WHIP into the weekend over 20 appearances. Braxton Smith has been another extremely reliable option, allowing no runs in six of his last seven appearances. If Louisiana Tech finds themselves in a jam, he could be the man called upon during multiple games this series to work around the trouble spots.

Louisiana Tech Hitting

The most intimidating facet of the Louisiana Tech lineup is its depth. The Bulldogs don’t have anyone on their team hitting .400, but they do have six regulars batting better than .270. No player is a home run king, but six guys have four or more on the season.

Outfielder Mason Mallard leads the way, sporting a glowing 1.018 OPS with a team-high 50 runs scored. He’s one of four Bulldogs to start each of the teams 41 games. The other three, outfielder Parker Bates, shortstop Taylor Young and designated hitter Steele Netterville are all well-rounded hitters. Netterville leads the team with 24 extra-base hits and seven home runs.

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NFL Draft: Where does Jack Fox fit among teams looking for punters?

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The NFL Draft is Jack Fox’s first opportunity to catch on with a pro team. Which destinations are the best fits for Rice Football‘s former punter?

Jack Fox is looking to catch on with an NFL team. Whether that’s through the NFL Draft or as a free agent, Fox is going to be in an NFL camp this summer. Where that camp will be held remains an unknown. Fox has been in contact with roughly a dozen teams since the NFL Combine.

More: Jack Fox’s journey from a small school in Missouri to the NFL Draft

The Los Angeles Chargers current punter is signed on a short-term futures contract, but they aren’t the only team which will be looking earnestly for an answer at the position in this draft class. Painting with an extremely broad brush, here’s a rough approximation of which landing spots would set Fox up for the most success, both in the near term and the future.

Unlikely to be in the market (10 teams)

These 10 teams have secured some of the best punters in the league and have them under contract until at least 2022. All of these contracts were signed in 2017 or later and carry multi-million dollar values. These teams might bring on a free agent punter for some workouts, but the chances of a newcomer supplanting these 10 is less likely than some of other opportunities.

Neutral (12)

The group below is where the realm of possibility starts to grow significantly. This group is largely a tick below the best of the best. NFL teams are always looking to improve at every position, opening the door open to competition. Any punter who is drafted or signs with one these teams is going to have a fair shot to win the job.

Favorable spots (10)

These 10 teams seem to be in the market for a replacement at the position. Some have been actively looking for their options while others haven’t openly expressed interest but could use an upgrade.

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NFL Draft: New wave of Owls hopes to join Rice’s list of NFL draftees

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The NFL Draft will get underway on Thursday night as Jack Fox and several former Rice football players wait to hear their name called.

Beginning with John Slyvester in 1936, there have been 140 Rice Football players selected in the NFL Draft. The Owls have had seven first round selections, most recently running back Earl Cooper, taken by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980 NFL Draft.

Rice has nine former players active in the NFL right now. Four of them were drafted, Christian Covington (6th round), Luke Wilson (5th), Phillip Gaines (3rd), Vance McDonald (2nd). The other five earned their spot as undrafted free agents. It’s not the easy route, but several Owls have done it — and earned second contracts.

Although several Rice players hope to pursue an NFL future, Jack Fox presumably has the best chance to hear his name called with one of the 254 selections. If he is picked, Fox will become the first Rice football player drafted since Christian Covington was selected by the Houston Texans in 2015.

Other Owls like Aston Walter, Graysen Schantz and Giovanni Gentosi will most likely look to sign with a team as undrafted free agents. Each participated in Rice football’s 2019 Pro Day and have had various opportunities to work out in front on NFL teams. For now, though, the long wait begins.

TV schedule

  • Round 1 – Thursday, April 25, 8:00 p.m. ET
  • Round 2-3 – Friday, April 26: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • Round 4-7 – Saturday, April 27: 12:00 p.m. ET

All rounds are available to watch on ABC, ESPN, NFL Network.

Here’s every Rice football player drafted since the NFL Draft took on its current seven-round format in 1994.

RkYear▼LgRndPickTmPlayerPos
12015NFL6216HOUChristian CovingtonDT
22014NFL387KANPhillip GainesDB
32013NFL255SFOVance McDonaldTE
42013NFL5158SEALuke WillsonTE
52012NFL7211TENScott SolomonDE
62011NFL7254HOUCheta OzougwuDE
72009NFL5152HOUJames CaseyTE
82009NFL5144JAXJarett DillardWR
92003NFL5142CLERyan PontbriandC
102003NFL6176JAXBrandon GreenDE
111997NFL5152PHIN.D. KaluDE
121994NFL245ATLBert EmanuelWR
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Rice Baseball: Evan Kravetz seeks to end senior season on high note

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Rice baseball pitcher Evan Kravetz thought he’d be pitching out of the bullpen this year. Instead, he’s become a staple in the starting rotation.

The 2019 Rice baseball season was met by many with guarded optimism. The Owls had hired energetic coach Matt Bragga from Tennessee Tech and had seemed to have enough pitching to be competitive from game to game. The supposed pitching strength relied on the arms of Matt Canterino and Addison Moss, arguably the best one-two punch in Conference USA.

That duo never materialized as expected. Moss was scratched from opening weekend with injury concerns, opening up the door for someone else to make a start in the rotation. That someone would end up becoming senior southpaw Evan Kravetz.

“I found out like two days before the opener,” Kravetz recounted, following his career-best 13 strikeout performance against Middle Tennessee over the weekend. His seven-inning, one-hit gem helped secure a series win and would eventually lead to the first home sweep of the Matt Bragga era at Rice.

Win or lose, good or bad, Kravetz maintains he’s thankful for the opportunity. “Every Saturday I pitch like I don’t know if there’s going to be another Saturday to pitch on, so I’m just going to keep doing that and trying to win games,” he said.

Staying the course

It doesn’t look like Kravetz is in any danger of missing out on a start any time soon. He leads all Rice pitchers with 77 strikeouts, one more than staff ace Matt Canterino who entered the season as a consensus Top 5 round prospect in the upcoming MLB Draft.  Kravetz had made four starts at Rice prior to this season. He’ll come close to matching his previous total career innings pitched at Rice (90.1) this season if Rice makes it to the conference tournament.

Coach Bragga was effusive in his praise following Kravetz’s latest performance. “[He’s] been awesome,” Bragga declared. “It’s been phenomenal the year he’s had.” Rather than stop there, Bragga asserted Kravetz might not be done when his days at Rice are over. “I’ll be shocked if they (Kravetz and Matt Canterino) don’t both go in the top 10 rounds come [the MLB Draft]”

All Kravetz wanted was an opportunity. He got his chance and made the most of it.

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Rice Baseball sweeps MTSU, earns Matt Bragga’s first home sweep

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Rice baseball picked up their first home series sweep under head coach Matt Bragga, winning three games against Middle Tennessee State to improve to .500 in conference play.

Rice entered Easter weekend with a bad taste in their mouth. The Owls had blasted Charlotte in their series opener and outscored them by 10 runs over the course of three games only to drop the series. With no midweek game to take their mind off the tough blow, all efforts turned to Middle Tennessee.

Coach Bragga’s charge to his team this weekend was straightforward. “We need to start making a move if we’re going to make one.” Rice made their move, sweeping their second conference opponent this season. Here are some notes on an encouraging series at Reckling Park.

THURSDAY | Rice 10 – MTSU 4

Rice RBI leader Andrew Dunlap got things going in the series opener with an RBI single in the first inning. The Owls took the 1-0 lead into the third where they broke the game open, batting around and scoring eight runs on six hits and four walks. Justin Collins and Braden Comeaux picked up two RBI apiece, with four other Owls driving in one run during the big inning.

The nine-run cushion was more than enough for Matt Canterino, who put together what was arguably his best outing of the season. He struck out 10 in seven innings, earning his team-leading fifth win of the season. Middle Tennessee would tack on four against Rice reliever Drake Greenwood, but the sizable lead would hold for the Owls’ fourth-straight win in series openers.

FRIDAY | Rice 7 – MTSU 2

The Owls’ bats got off to a slightly slower start on Friday night, but once they woke up, they caught fire. Two home runs, one by Cade Edwards another Dominic Cox, put Rice ahead 2-0 in the fourth inning. Then the Owls exploded for five runs in the fifth.

Bradley Gneiting, Trei Cruz, and Andrew Dunlap strung together three consecutive RBI hits. Dunlap came around to score the seventh run on an error. The 7-0 lead would hold until the ninth inning where once more MTSU would collect a flurry of hits, scoring two, not enough to give the Owls much of a scare.

SATURDAY |Rice 7 – MTSU 5

For the first time in the weekend, Rice was forced to come from behind. Starting pitcher Jackson Parthasarathy wasn’t as sharp as his predecessors on the mound. He would have been serviceable had the defense not committed three errors on the day, two of which resulted in three unearned runs charged to Parthasarathy.

Trailing 4-0 after Parthasarathy was removed midway through the third inning, Rice began to chip away. Rice got two in the third, one in the fourth and one in the fifth before tying the game in the seventh on a Cade Edwards sac fly. Justin Collins would drive a two-out single to left later in the inning, scoring what would be the game-winning run.

MTSU didn’t make it easy, loading the bases in the ninth. With the tying run in scoring position, Kendall Jeffries induced a double-play to clinch the victory and the series sweep.

TAKEAWAYS | Rice wins series 3-0

1. Pitch like this every weekend

It’s been no secret the Rice starting pitching is the strength of this team. When all three of the Owls’ rotation are locked in this team is going to have a chance to win most series. Aside from the sloppy defense on Saturday, the starting pitching was nearly as good as it’s been all season this weekend against Middle Tennessee, and the results were the first home series sweep of the Matt Bragga era.

Canterino, Kravetz and Parthasarathy combined for 27 strikeouts with five walks, and one earned runs allowed. That’s a stellar line through 16.2 innings on the bump. More length out of their Sunday starter would have been ideal, but an extremely fresh bullpen gave coach Bragga a bit more leeway with how long he left Parthasarathy on the mound. If Rice pitches this well, they’ll have a chance to win each of their remaining CUSA series.

2. Cade Edwards

The Rice lineup has become more consistent as the season has gone on. Slowly but surely the top three became the top four. Somewhat quietly, Cade Edwards has entrenched himself as part of the glue which holds this offense together. Batting fifth throughout the weekend, Edwards picked up six hits, batting .600 in the series with the go-ahead home run on Friday and the game-tying sac fly on Saturday.

Edwards is riding a 7-game hitting streak. The Rice offense has scored five or more runs in five of those seven games, and Edwards has been in the thick of the action. Bragga likes what he’s seeing from the Owls’ second baseman, calling Edwards “a real solid hitter [who has] some really good bat speed and drives through the ball really well.”

3. Come and take it

Rice has officially passed the midway point of conference play. It’s been a bumpy ride, but after starting 0-5, Rice has won nine of their next 14, pulling themselves back to .500 in conference play. It’s no guarantee of future success, but it is a testament to a team willing to fight.

With four series remaining, Rice is in the thick of the pack in Conference USA. FAU leads the way at 14-4 with the Owls five games behind, tied for fifth. They entered the weekend tied for seventh, with tiebreakers putting them in ninth place.

Winning the conference is still mathematically possible, but even without an incredible late surge, Rice has enough season left to position themselves for the conference tournament in Biloxi.

Entering the weekend D1 Baseball projected Conference USA to be a two-bid league with league-leading FAU sitting in the First Five Out. Rice has a few signature wins (TCU, Baylor), but the chances of reaching the postseason with a sub-.500 overall record will be slim to none.

Rice is 18-23 right now, meaning the most likely avenue to postseason play is a CUSA Tournament win. That’s much easier to do as a three seed than an eight-seed. Coach Bragga says he’s aware of the numbers and the scenarios, but “at the end of the day, we have to go perform. If we perform, we’ll have an opportunity, if we don’t we won’t.”

ON DECK | vs Louisiana Tech (Fri-Sun)

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