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Baseball: Owls rally from early deficit to blow out Lamar

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Rice baseball proved their resiliency on Tuesday night, rallying from a four-run deficit to top Lamar at home.

A 1-0 Rice lead was quickly turned into a 5-1 deficit as freshman starting pitcher Dalton Wood struggled in his first collegiate start. Trailing after three innings, Rice turned to the bullpen and took a deep breath. The same bullpen which had control issues against Oklahoma gave the Rice offense a chance — they took it.

It wasn’t a clean game in the field; both sides committed three errors. It wasn’t a crisp game at the plate; the two teams combined to strand 24 runners on base.

Despite the mishaps, Rice erased a four-run deficit, outscoring Lamar 11-0 through the remainder of the game, winning 12-5. Here are three immediate reactions from the win.

1. Gneiting quietly building impressive season

Trei Cruz has drawn the headlines early this season. All his accolades have been well deserved, but the most productive member of the lineup since opening weekend could very well be Bradley Gneiting. The junior utility man led Conference USA in hits entering Tuesday night, adding a first-inning RBI single to give Rice the early lead.

Gneiting added a 2 RBI double in the eight to secure his 10th multi-hit game of the season. His average now sits at.363 with a .440 average with runners in scoring position. Gneiting is second on the team in runs scored (15) and has stuck out only 12 times in 78 at bats, one of the best marks on the team. If the Rice offense is working, Gneiting always seems to be a part of the action.

2. Blair Lewis has become a bullpen staple

The Rice bullpen struggle heavily in the Owls’ Saturday and Sunday losses to Oklahoma. Kendall Jeffries has been tremendous, as has Addison Moss. Jackson Tyner had a rough weekend, but for the most part, has been reliable. After that, it’s been an erratic adventure.

“[The bullpen] just hasn’t been real consistent,” Bragga said honestly after the Sunday finale. “We need to find a couple more pieces.” It’s hard to imagine omitting Blair Lewis from the arsenal of those reliable options.

Lewis threw three innings against Lamar, allowing three hits, no walks and no runs. To this point, he’s been called upon to eat innings, but he’s become one of the most reliable arms Rice has out of the pen as evidenced by his 1.74 ERA in 10.1 innings.

3. No quit

“They don’t give up.” That’s what Matt Bragga had to say about his the growth his team has shown in the first month of the season. That resiliency hasn’t resulted in wins at every opportunity, but the progress has been evident.

Rice left the bases loaded in the first and fifth innings. Entering the sixth inning the Owls trailed 5-3 despite matching Lamar nearly hit for hit. This team had given in to their season-long offensive struggles many times, but Tuesday night would not be a reprisal of those woes.

The Owls broke through with three runs in the sixth, answering Lamar’s 5-0 run with a 5-0 run of their own to retake the lead, 6-5. Given another shot with the bases loaded in the seventh, Rice scored three times, taking advantage of Lamar miscues to extend their lead to 9-5.

This team is going to have its pains at the plate. The bullpen is a work in progress and the fielding remains a concern. Despite the challenges, they don’t quit. That will pay dividends down the road.

ON DECK | vs Texas State (Wed), at FAU (Fri-Sun)

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Conference USA Basketball Tournament: Men’s and Women’s Previews

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Both Rice basketball teams qualified for the Conference USA Basketball Tournament in Frisco, Tx. Here’s a preview of the action.

Men’s Tournament – The Bracket

The Favorite: Old Dominion

After taking down Western Kentucky and UTSA, the Monarchs faded in the final two games of pod play. Their losses to Southern Miss and UAB are certainly a concern, but there was a reason this team was the only CUSA squad to win more than 20 games.

Even after dropping their final two regular season games, Old Dominion still owns a 13-5 conference record. They also beat Southern Miss and UAB earlier in the season. Led by guards B.J. Smith and Ahmad Carver, they’re going to shoot well and score a lot of points.

The Sleeper: Marshall

Marshall was one of the few teams to beat Old Dominion in the regular and could be the hottest squad in the conference in March. The Herd have won five straight, sweeping comfortably through pod play.

Champions over Western Kentucky last season, the core of the Herd lineup remains intact. Jon Elmore and C.J. Burks are once again one and two in scoring. Freshman Taevion Kinsey has come on strong lately with strong shooting performances and double-digit points in all of the Herd’s pod play victories.

The case for Rice

Unlike in other years, there is no dominant force in Conference USA. The 12-seed, Middle Tennessee, and the 1-seed, Old Dominion, are separated by five games in the standings. Four different teams, including Rice, enter Frisco 8-10 in conference play. By and large, the standings are fairly tight outside of Charlotte and UTEP, who failed to make the tournament.

Rice has proven on multiple occasions this year their best is good enough to beat even the upper end teams in CUSA. The Owls own wins over both Marshall and Southern Miss, the highest seeds on their side of the bracket and they fell to 2-seed Western Kentucky in double overtime.

The Owls haven’t been able to string together 40-minutes of top-level basketball with much consistency this year, but they have had their moments. If this team gets it in gear, they’re capable of beating anyone in this tournament.

Women’s Tournament – The Bracket

The Favorite: Rice

They say there’s a reason the games are played on the court and not a computer, but it’s hard to envision any amount of variation knocking the Owls off their perch atop Conference USA. They didn’t slow down in the final weeks of the regular season, and perhaps got even better, posting dominant wins over everyone they’ve met in March to this point.

If the season ended today, there’s a strong argument Rice is deserving of an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Two wins in Frisco should seal the deal, but these ladies have their eyes set on cutting down the nets for a reason.

The Sleeper: Old Dominion

Old Dominion was neck and neck with Rice early on in conference play before Rice beat them in their lone head to head pairing of the season. Still, it was the Monarchs who gave the Owls their closest scare.

The challenger turned the game into a defensive slugfest, matching the physicality of Rice and holding the home team to 28.3 percent shooting from the field. Rice would go on to win by six points, but failed to score 50 points for the only time this season. To win this tournament you’ll have to go through Rice. Old Dominion has the best shot, albeit a distant one.

The case for Rice

Ranked for the first time in school history, this Rice team is special. In good games and in bad games, they find a way to win. Their defense is extraordinary and tenacious and the offense continually gets the ball in the hands of their most reliable players.

Rice might not have been tested to the same degree as some of their opponents they’ll face in Frisco. Rarely did Rice find themselves in a single-digit game in the fourth quarter, but when they did they came out on top. The chalk pick by most every expert, Rice is the prohibitive favorite to cut down the nets.

Schedule – Men / Women

First Round

Rice Men: Wednesday, March 13 at 9 p.m. vs Marshall – ESPN+
Rice Women: Bye

Second Round

Rice Men: TBD
Rice Women: Thursday, March 14 at 11 a.m. – opponent TBD – Watch Stadium

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Baseball: Owls fall short to Oklahoma in final nonconference series

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Rice baseball looked every bit the equal of visiting Oklahoma but dropped the series two games to one in the final weekend of nonconference play.

It was hard to tell which Rice baseball team was going to show up to the diamond in their final weekend of non-conference play. The Owls had been swept at a stout UC Irvine squad two weekends ago before exploding for two massive upsets against ranked Baylor and TCU squads a week later.

Oklahoma would prove to be a worthy test for this newly confident Rice club. Outside of one no-good-very-bad inning, the Owls battled with the visiting Sooners for the duration of the series. Here’s a rundown of each game and a few overarching thoughts from the weekend.

FRIDAY | Rice 8 – Oklahoma 1

The Oklahoma pitching staff got off to a slow start on Friday night and Rice took advantage of the majority of the mistakes. Rice scratched a run across on a wild pitch in the first and tacked on an unearned run in the second. The Owls would score again on a wild pitch in the fourth to extend their lead to 3-0. Rice would add two more runs in the fourth, claiming a 5-0 lead.

Matt Canterino was dominant once again on the mound, blanking Oklahoma through the first four innings as the offense staked him to a comfortable lead. An unearned run in the fifth was his only hiccup, but that was quickly avenged by a Rice home run in the following inning.

The Oklahoma pitching problems continued throughout the night. A wild pitch in the seventh allowed Rice tack on another run. The Owls tacked on another insurance run in the eight. The big lead was plenty for Kendall Jeffries, who finished off the last two innings for the Owls to secure the win.

SATURDAY | Oklahoma 17 – Rice 8

After a quiet night with the bats on Friday, Oklahoma struck first with a sac fly in the first and a two-run double in the second. Put into an early hole, the Rice offense responded. Trei Cruz and Justin Collins went deep in the third to even the score at 3-3. Aaron Beaulaurier cracked the deadlock in the fourth with a two-run double of his own.

Oklahoma got a run back with a fifth inning home run before a Cade Edwards triple cleared the bases in the bottom half of the inning. The resulting 8-4 lead did not last long. As soon as starting pitcher Evan Kravetz was removed the bullpen simply fell apart.

Outside of 1.2 innings of scoreless relief from Blair Lewis, the combination of Dalton Wood, Jackson Tyner, Ben Schragger and Zach Esquivel collected three outs, walked nine batters and surrendered six hits. The collective loss of command allowed Oklahoma to explode for 13 runs, four in the sixth inning and nine in the eighth inning. Down 17-8, the Owls went quietly in the final two innings.

SUNDAY | Oklahoma 6 – Rice 0

Sunday’s pitcher’s duel between Oklahoma’s Levi Prater and Rice’s Jackson Parthasarathy was a stark departure from the cavalcade of runs both offenses had produced in the two games prior. Neither lineup was able to find consistent success against the other team’s starter, resulting in a tight game from start to finish.

A two-run, two-out double by Oklahoma’s Friday night starting pitcher Cade Cavalli was the difference through most of Sunday’s low scoring affair. The next six innings were scoreless for both sides until Oklahoma catcher Brady Lindsly launched a 1-2 offering from Kel Bordwine over the right field wall. The three-run shot put Oklahoma ahead 5-0.

Rice wasn’t able to string together any offense of their own in the final two innings, dropping the rubber game and the series.

TAKEAWAYS | Oklahoma wins series 2-1

1. Hitting is contagious

When the season began it was little more than Trei Cruz when it came to production at the plate. Braden Comeaux and Justin Collins started relatively slowly before heating up over the past two weeks. Now the offense finds itself in somewhat the inverse. Cruz has come back to earth, 1-for-10 with 2 RBI over the weekend, but the rest of the offense has risen together. “It’s contagious stuff,” Bragga admitted, contrasting it with the string of bad offensive outings to start the season.

Bradley Gneiting (twice), Braden Comeaux (twice), Justin Collins, Dominic DiCaprio and Cade Edwards all had multi-hit games over the weekend. Even with the quieter Sunday showing, the Rice offense tallied 30 hits. That’s 13 more base knocks than the 17 they amassed over a three-game sweep at the hands of UC Irvine two weeks prior.

Bragga was overwhelmingly positive in his assessment of the progress the entire lineup has made. “Our approaches at the plate are much better. The guys are getting better, they’re working really hard and I’m proud of them. We’re not where we need to be yet, but the guys are definitely working hard and seeing some benefits of the work they’re putting in.”

Even center fielder Aaron Beaulaurier, who has maintained a sub-.200 batting average this season, took a ball deep to left field on Friday night for his first home run. It took some time to get going, but Rice is finding production from every spot in the order and not asking one man to carry the team.

2. The bullpen looks remarkably thin

If head coach Matt Bragga had to go to the bullpen to get one big out, who would he call on first? At this point, the answer would probably by Kendall Jeffries. The senior sports the lowest WHIP (1.08) among all Rice relievers and owns both of the team’s two saves. After Jeffries and presumed weekend rotation candidate Addison Moss there are a ton of question marks.

Jackson Tyner, who had allowed one run on one hit in his four previous appearances, failed to record an out over the weekend while allowing five runs (two earned). Garrett Gayle has struggled with his command and leads the team with seven walks despite only nine innings of work. Ben Schragger and Brandon Deskins have had problems with walks, too. Kel Borwdine has been extremely hittable. Blair Lewis has been fine, albeit with large cushions.

As good as the Rice starting pitching has been, there needs to be a few more trustworthy arms in the bullpen. If there’s nobody who can come in and stop what happened on Saturday in the eighth inning, Rice is going to be in trouble come conference play.

3. Canterino picks up his first win

After three outings, Rice ace Matt Canterino was still in search of his first win of the 2019 season. Outside of a few home runs against UC Irvine, Canterino has been in good form this season, something which continued Friday night against Oklahoma.

On a night in which Bragga and Canterino said the Rice ace wasn’t at his best, Canterino hurled six innings of two-hit ball against OU, striking out six and walking one. The change from this outing compared to his prior appearances was the run support. Leaving the game with a 6-1 lead in the sixth, this marked the first time all season Canterino was eligible for the win at the time of his exit.

Canterino’s record improves to 1-2, serving as a subtle reminder that pitching wins often don’t tell the full story. Canterino knew the win would come, but even more importantly, he says this team has taken a significant mental step. “We know we can win now,” he said, “We know we have plenty of pieces. We’re putting together good games.”

ON DECK | vs Lamar (Tues), vs Texas State (Wed), at FAU (Fri-Sun)

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MBB: Owls fall to Charlotte on Senior Night

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With their Conference USA Tournament berth secure, Rice basketball fell at home to Charlotte in the final game of the regular season.

Head coach Scott Pera had employed six different starting lineups this season, generally keeping to a combination of Ako Adams, Quentin Millora-Brown, Chris Mullins, Jack Williams and either Josh Parrish or Drew Peterson for most of the season. On Senior Night, with a berth in the Conference USA tournament already secure, Pera put seniors Dylan Jones and Oliver Xu into the starting five.

Seldom used reserves, it was a nice gesture by Pera, who watched happily on the side of the court as Jones scored the first back of the night — also his first points of the season. Jones and Xu were soon replaced by the normal contingent as the two teams kept the score close throughout the first 38 minutes of game action.

With 4:15 remaining in regulation, Charlotte took the lead from Rice for good. Three consecutive Charlotte three-pointers quickly extended the lead to double-digits, the largest advantage for either team in the game. The Owls would cut it to seven, but never get any closer, falling by a final score of 78-70.

Robert Martin led the team with 15 points. Jack Williams had another solid showing, posting 11 points and six rebounds in the final home game of his career. The team as a whole shot 41.4 percent from the floor, failing to keep pace with a tremendous night from Charlotte’s Jon Davis who led all scorers with 28 points, adding nine rebounds.

Although the loss ends the regular season on a sour note, Rice has at least one more game to play. Rice’s first game of the conference tournament will be on Wednesday, March 13. The full bracket should be announced soon, but 11-seed Rice is tentatively set to face 6-seed Marshall. The Owls won the regular season matchup with the Herd, 74-69.

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WBB: 2019 Regular season by the numbers

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It’s been a season to remember for Rice women’s basketball. Here are seven numbers that help tell the story of how impressive the Owls have been.

0

Losses against Conference USA opponents. Rice’s perfect run marks only the third time a women’s team has reached 16-0 in Conference USA, a feat most recently achieved by Houston in the 2010-2011 season. The only current CUSA squad to achieve perfection was UTEP who did it back in 2007-2008.

16

Double-doubles recorded by Owls’ leading scorer Erica Ogwumike. She’s averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds a game this season — a double-double. She’s been held under double-digit points just twice in conference play.

18

Consecutive victories for the Rice team, tied for the second longest streak in the nation. Already the longest such streak in school history, it could be extended with the conference tournament and other postseason games remaining.

19.2

Margin of victory for Rice in conference play. A perfect record would have been impressive by itself, but the level of dominance Rice has exhibited in their victories has been nothing short of incredible. One of the Owls’ 16 conference games has been decided by single digits and Rice has led by more than 40 points in conference games this season.

52.7

Points per game allowed by the Owls this season. Not only does that lead Conference USA, it ranks in the top 10 of the nation. Put in starker context, No. 1 Baylor averages 54.2 points per game allowed. Conference USA hasn’t seen a team this effective on the defensive side of the floor in this decade.

73

Blocks by center Nancy Mulkey who was the most terrifying defender in the paint in the conference. She had more blocks by herself than four different CUSA teams, edging out the next highest blocker, Marie Benson, by 34 blocks. Benson had 39.

93

Highest point total of the season for Rice. It came in a game against McNeese State in the early portion of non conference play. As elite of a defense group as this is, they can still light it up with strong shooting performances, too.

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