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WBB: No. 25 Owls lock up regular season CUSA Title

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Rice women’s basketball turned a third quarter deficit into their 16th consecutive victory, coming from behind to defeat North Texas and clinch the regular season CUSA Title.

For the first time since joining Conference USA, Rice women’s basketball are regular season conference champions. The Owls last achieved a regular season title in 2005 while members of the WAC, the only other conference title in program history.

To do it, Rice needed to stage a comeback. Trailing by three at halftime, the deficit grew to as many as seven before Rice thundered back. Nancy Mulkey led the charge with 24 points and three blocks. Nicole Iademarco connected on three triples and Erica Ogwumike grabbed six rebounds, three on the offensive glass. It was another all-around team effort, something Rice has come accustom to in recent weeks. They’d win by a final margin of 59-47.

Winning the regular season conference title secures Rice the top seed throughout the conference tournament. The first round bye is a plus, but the path beyond that is less important; the Owls’ resume speaks for itself. If they’re able to cut through their first batch of postseason games like they’ve been able to cruise through conference play, they’ll secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Then the dance begins.

There are two kinds of teams the blue blood programs don’t want to face in the NCAA Tournament. Red-hot three-point shooting squads are scary — look at what 16-seed UMBC did to 1-seed Virginia on 12 made three-pointers while shooting 50 percent from deep. The second team is the defensive juggernaut: that’s Rice.

Defense travels. That’s the most intriguing, and at least to outsiders, the most terrifying aspect of this surging team. They’ve held every conference opponent but one, Marshall, to 51 points or fewer on their home court. That includes Western Kentucky (averaging 74 points per game), UAB (73.8) and most recently, North Texas (66.2). Rice is playing at an incredibly high level as the calendar approaches March. To this point, no other team in the conference has been able to keep up.

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Baseball: Defensive woes crush Owls in midweek loss to Arizona

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Rice baseball concluded a tough midweek set on Wednesday, dropping a somewhat uncompetitive home game to visiting Arizona at Reckling Park.

Defensive lapses put Rice baseball into an insurmountable hole against Texas on Tuesday night, a contest the Owls dropped 11-4. They returned to the diamond for a second midweek contest, this time against Arizona.

Arizona struck first, and second and third. The visitors tallied single runs in the first three frames, putting the Owls into an early hole once again.

The Rice pitchers played with fire all night, as Arizona loaded the bases in the first, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth innings. The breakthrough came in the sixth against Brandon Deskins. After striking out the side in his first appearance of the year, Arizona roughed him up, scoring three to blast the game wide open, 8-1.

To that point, Rice had managed one run. It came off an RBI single from Dominic DiCaprio in the fourth, his first hit of the season. The Owls cut the deficit to 8-2 in the bottom of the sixth, but that’s as close as the team would get for the duration of the contest, falling by a final score of Arizona 16, Rice 5.

Here are a few things which stood out from the loss:

Takeaways

1. Time to get back to the basics

The eight errors committed by Rice were one shy of the school record, 10, set against UNLV in 1997. Rice committed nine runs in their first four games, but had eight registered mistakes against Arizona alone. It’s not as if one guy was throwing the ball recklessly around the yard, the bulk of the team had at least one error charge to them on Wednesday. If you can’t throw and catch, you can’t win baseball games.

Coach Matt Bragga compared the defensive struggles to “little league” play in the aftermath of the Texas loss on Tuesday. If that’s the case, this team has a lot of work to do before conference play arrives.

2. This team misses Addison Moss

The starts from Drake Greenwood and Kel Bordwine during the Owls’ midweek games were decidedly mediocre. Both guys competed moderately well and were serviceable outside of a few fielding errors which negatively impacted their final lines.

Evan Kravetz was masterful in his spot start Saturday against Rhode Island, but his insertion into the weekend rotation forced him out of a midweek rotation spot, at least for now.

Having Kravetz on Tuesday will make Greenwood and Bordwine available to start Wednesday or come out of the bullpen. It gives coach Bragga options. Without Moss, this rotation looks thin — Rice needs him back as soon as he’s healthy.

3. Trei Cruz needs some help

So far, Trei Cruz is the pacemaker which keeps this offense churning. When he’s locked in, he sends a pulse throughout the entire lineup. It doesn’t mean the others in the batting order have come alive on cue, but without his presence, the offense has flatlined.

Cruz did his part on Wednesday, going 1-for-2 with a run scored before being lifted late in the game. Consistent producers to this point, Cade Edwards, Justin Collins and Bradley Gneiting went a combined 1-for-9 on the evening. Braden Comeaux’s hitless night dropped his season average to .182.

The season is young and someone will have to step up. The question is, who?

4. Position battles continue to rage on

Dominic Cox opened the season in center field for the Owls but his string of less-than-impressive plate appearances opened the door for someone else to have their shot. Aaron Beaulaurier hadn’t registered a hit yet in 2019, but his two doubles against Arizona were some of the best hitting from the Owls all evening. It’s safe to say that spot in the lineup is up for grabs.

Beyond centerfield, designated hitter and first base remain question marks. Andrew Dunlap is still looking for his first hit of the season while Dominic DiCaprio earned his first knock against Arizona. Outside of the heart of the order — Bradley Gneiting, Trei Cruz, Justin Collins and Cade Edwards — the rest of the lineup remains in flux.

ON DECK | vs UC-Irvine (Fri.-Sun.)

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Baseball: Fielding falters as Owls fall to Texas

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Rice baseball dropped a midweek intrastate battle to the Texas Longhorns 11-4. The Owls return to action Wednesday against Arizona.

Rice took two of three from Rhode Island over the weekend, securing the first series win of Matt Bragga’s tenure at South Main. Neither he or the team had time to dwell on their successes or failure with a short turnaround which began on Tuesday against visiting Texas.

It had been two seasons since the Owls and Longhorns met on the diamond. They last split a four-game set in Austin in 2017. This was the fourth meeting between Texas skipper David Pierce and Bragga, who faced off in the Super Regionals in Austin last season when Bragga was at the helm of Tennessee Tech.

Rice struck first via a Texas error which allowed Andrew Dunlap to reach at the beginning of the second inning. Antonio Cruz came through with a single on the ground to score Dunlap from second and give the Owls an early 1-0 lead.

Texas came thundering back, putting a five-spot on the board in the third before adding three more in the fourth. Rice battled back, clawing back three runs of their own in the fifth to bring the score to 8-4 entering the sixth inning.

The Longhorns would tack on an additional run in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings and win by the final score of Texas 11, Rice 4.

1. Fielding follies loom large

Seven errors on opening weekend wasn’t how Matt Bragga envisioned the beginning of his tenure at South Main. Rice committed two against Texas. Bragga was point blank in his critiques after the game. “It’s not good enough….defensively it’s just not been good for four games.”

The Longhorns came in prepared to test Owls in the field. After a leadoff walk, the next two Texas hitters attempted to lay down sacrifice bunts. The second was successful, forcing third basemen Braden Comeaux to make a quick throw, which he did with little hesitation.

For a brief moment, things looked to be trending in the right direction but two costly outfield mistakes in the second inning flipped the script on this game quickly. Antonio Cruz and Dominic Cox each missed diving attempts, resulting in a five-run inning for the visitors.

Bragga summed it up rather succinctly: “When you give away free bases you’re going to lose games… it’s going to cost us games and it already has.”

2. Two relievers made strong season debuts

Senior Blair Lewis was the third arm to enter the fray against a Texas. His teammates Drake Greenwood and Dalton Wood allowed eight runs (six earned) on a combined seven hits and four walks. Facing a sizable deficit, Lewis was asked to hold the line, which he did admirably.

His four innings pitched was a career high. Designated hitter Zach Zubia punched a solo home run to deep center field in the sixth. Left fielder Eric Kennedy followed with a triple to the same part of the ballpark in the seventh. Both players scored. Otherwise, Lewis was largely effective, eating innings and limiting the damage to two runs on six hits and no walks.

Freshman A.C. Plum made his collegiate debut at the back end of the game as well. He struck out one, walked one and allowed one run which had advanced to third on a wild pitch.

3. Strikeouts

One of the reasons for their inconsistent offensive production against Rhode Islands were the mounting strikeouts. Rice K’d 36 times over the weekend and continued those issues at the plate on Tuesday. Seven different Rice hitters registered at least one strikeout, 11 overall. Cade Edwards and Trei Cruz led the team with three whiffs each.

Discipline is going to be something this team needs to improve, quickly. They’ve simply left too many men on base, stranding nine against Texas. The value of putting the ball into play cannot be underestimated.

Bragga has plans to address during practice later this week. “We’re swinging at a lot of bad pitches,” he said, going on to describe the approach the plate with words like “apprehensive” and “timid.” The issues are apparent. Now it’s time for this team to make some adjustments.

ON DECK | vs Arizona (Wed), vs UC-Irvine (Fri.-Sun.)

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History made! Women’s basketball ranked in Top 25 for first time ever

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Rice women’s basketball has made history, achieving a ranking in the AP Top 25 basketball poll for the first time in school history.

Expectations were high entering the 2018-2019 Rice women’s basketball season, and for good reason. The Owls finished 23-10 the season prior and were returning key pieces on the floor like Erica Ogwumike, Nancy Mulkey, Nicole Iademarco and others. This was supposed to be the caliber of team which contended, not only for a Conference USA Championship, but a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

The Owls haven’t secured either of those aspirations quite yet, but for the first time in school history Rice women’s basketball has been ranked in the AP Top 25. Following a pair of runaway victories against FIU and FAU over the weekend the Owls jumped into the rankings, currently as the No. 25 team in the nation.

The achievement marks the start of what the Owls hope will be a banner season in program history. The only real question is why it took so long for the nation to take notice of the incredible run under way at South Main.

Rice hasn’t lost a game since December 18, currently in the midst of a 15-game winning streak, the longest in school history. The Owls have played two games decided by fewer than 10 points in that stretch, the most recent coming in early February against a tough Old Dominion team on the road.

Other than that, Rice has blown the doors off of just about every opponent they’ve faced. Every time it looked like they might have peaked, they won again, and again, and again. Now sitting at 22-3, they don’t look to be slowing down any time soon.

Congratulations to the ladies and to head coach Tina Langley. Earning this designation is a tremendous accomplishment. May the best be yet to come.

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Baseball: Matt Bragga era begins with series win vs Rhode Island

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Rice baseball opened the Matt Bragga era with a series win over visiting Rhode Island at Reckling Park, highlighted by a walk-off wild pitch for the Owls’ first win of the season.

The Matt Bragga era on South Main is officially underway. Hired away from Tennessee Tech, Bragga was introduced in June and has been hard at work ever since. Fall ball and spring workouts have given way to real baseball, starting with the Owls’ opening weekend against Rhode Island at Reckling Park.

Rice took the series two games to one. Here’s a rundown of each game a few closing thoughts from the weekend.

FRIDAY | Rhode Island 2, Rice 1 (10 innings)

The concerns around this team during the offseason largely focused on the offensive side of the ball. Those early worries proved accurate out of the gate with as the Owls failed to give their ace Matt Canterino much support on Friday night.

Canterino was superb, tossing 6.1 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out nine. The offense managed one run on a Trei Cruz RBI single, one of six hits on the night.

It was the defense that faltered in extra innings. Rice committed two errors in the 10th, the first of which allowed Rhode Island to score an unearned and eventual game-deciding run.

SATURDAY | Rice 7, Rhode Island 6 (13 innings)

A comfortable lead turned into a thrilling finish on Saturday, culminating in an extra-inning win, the first of the Matt Bragga era. Rice had built a 3-0 lead on a career night from starting pitcher Evan Kravetz, inserted after Addison Moss was a late scratch (wrist). Kravetz set a career high with 10 strikeouts through five innings, giving way to Dalton Wood in the sixth.

Rhode Island battled back, eventually tying the game in the top of the ninth inning, the second full inning worked by potential closer Garrett Gayle. The score would stay deadlocked at 5-5 entering extra until Rhode Island scratched across a run in the top of the 13th.

Trailing 6-5, Rice needed a spark. They got it from Dominic Cox. He was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came in to score on an errant throw to third on a Trei Cruz single. Cruz would come in to score the winning run minutes later on a passed ball, a fortunate break which capped off the five-hour contest.

SUNDAY | Rice 15, Rhode Island 3

There was no pitchers duel on Sunday. Rice matched their seven runs scored in 13 innings the game prior in the first three frames. Rhode Island starter Nick Robinson surrendered five extra-base hits, including the first two home runs of the weekend one by Trei Cruz, the other by Justin Collins.

Cruz launched a grand slam in the fifth inning, the highlight of a masterful performance at the plate. That long ball gave him eight RBI for the game, the most runs driven in by any Rice player since Anthony Rendon tallied eight RBI against Cal in 2010.

On the mound, Jackson Parthasarathy moved quickly mowing down Rhode Island hitters left and right. He matched the strong starts from Canterino and Kravetz, going six innings while allowing one hit, no runs and striking out eight.

After the slow start, Sunday’s runaway win gave this team a nice boost of confidence headed into two important midweek games against Texas and Arizona.

TAKEAWAYS | Rice wins series 2-1

1. Rice pitching was as good as advertised

There will be much more threatening visiting lineups in Reckling Park this year. Rhode Island was a young, mostly unproven group from the northeast and Rice met them with an experienced group of hurlers. It should have been a dominant outing by the Rice pitching staff. For the most part, it was.

Through three games, Rice starters hold a season ERA of 0.00. The combination of Canterino, Kravetz and Parthasarathy allowed seven hits, two walks and zero runs while striking out 27 over 17.1 innings pitched.

It wasn’t just a good weekend for the rotation. Kendal Jeffries and Kel Bordwine were both strong out of the pen. Jeffries relieved Canterino on Friday night, throwing 3.2 innings with six strikeouts and four hits. Bordwine carried the Owls through three extra frames on Saturday. Despite being charged with the go-ahead run allowed by Zach Esquivel, he allowed three hits with two strikeouts, facing 13.

Bragga had high praise for his pitchers, saying “They’re giving our offense a chance to find our identity right now.” It took every bit of success from the Owls on the bump to match Rhode Island on Friday and Saturday. Sunday, the offense took over.

2. The offense is a work in progress, but there’s plenty to work with

Active baserunning, hit and runs, a squeeze play at home and the long ball were all part of the repertoire for the Rice offense on opening weekend. Bragga expects the offense to become more cohesive as the season progresses, but for now, he’s going to continue to experiment.

“I’m learning this team. I’m learning these guys and trying to figure out what’s best suited for us to score runs,” Bragga said. “We’ll do whatever it takes to get those runs in because are pitching staff is throwing really well.”

Cruz was the offensive MVP of the weekend, leading the team with eight hits, including two home runs and two triples on Saturday, and 10 RBI. Dominic DiCaprio and Cade Edwards had a pair of doubles. Bradley Geniting had six hits, scoring five times. Four Owls (Gneiting, T. Cruz, Collins, Edwards) leave opening weekend with a batting average better than .300.

3. The fielding must get better

The pitchers shined and the offense showed flashes, leaving the errors with the gloves the most glaring concern of the weekend.

Rice committed seven errors on the weekend. If they play clean baseball the series could very well have ended in a sweep. When the offense is firing on all cylinders they’ll have the wiggle room to work past the occasional fielding mistake. For now, it’s even more imperative the team tightens up their fielding.

Both of the first two games were decided by errors with the deciding runs coming for each squad via fielding miscues. Even with a sizable lead on Sunday, Rice couldn’t come up with a clean sheet.

ON DECK | vs Texas (Tues), vs Arizona (Wed), vs UC-Irvine (Fri.-Sun.)

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