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Rice Baseball: Owls drop fall scrimmage to Texas A&M at Reckling Park

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Rice baseball donned their blue and gray at Reckling Park, hosting Texas A&M in a fall exhibition game on a brisk October evening.

Rice hosted their first home exhibition of the fall against Texas A&M. On a cool night at Reckling Park, the Owls fell to the Aggies 9-6 in 12 innings.

Texas A&M struck first, putting up four runs on a flurry of fourth inning hits against Rice pitcher Evan Kravetz. The Aggie pitching staff held the Owls in check for much of the early action, but the home team broke through with a crooked number of their own in the sixth.

Rice designated hitter Khevin Brewer mashed a bases-clearing double down the left field line. A bases-loaded walk tied the game at 4-4 entering the seventh. Texas A&M pushed a pair of unearned runs across in the seventh and Rice answered with singles in the seventh and eighth to tie the game at 6-6.

The game stayed deadlock through the next three innings before Texas A&M pushed across two runs in the 12th. Rice had one last chance to answer in the bottom half of the frame but wasn’t able to fight back.

The result is somewhat trivial in a scrimmage atmosphere, overall the night gave the young guys some valuable experience and gave the coaches a chance to see their players in action.

Offensive player of the game – Justin Collins, catcher

Justin Collins was seeing the ball well off just about every pitcher he faced. He picked up the Owls first hit of the night with a double in the second inning. He followed that up with singles in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings.

It was Collins who delivered for the Owls in their exhibition against Sam Houston last week, mashing a grand slam to give Rice a commanding lead. He hit .265 with 12 extra base hits in 2017 and will be trusted for more this season.

Pitcher of the game – Addison Moss, pitcher

With Matt Canterino on the shelf, resting from a busy fall that included the Cape Cod league and Team USA appearances, the Owls turned to Moss to start their tilt against the Aggies. He faced seven batters, allowed one hit and struck out one, throwing 16 strikes on 24 pitches.

Moss wasn’t perfect, but he kept a potent Aggie lineup from making much hard contact. He’ll be a piece of the starting rotation for the Owls once again this spring.

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Mike Bloomgren wraps up FIU and looks ahead at North Texas

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Rice football prepares for another Conference USA opponent in Week 9, hitting the road once again to play North Texas.

Looking back at FIU

“It’s disappointing to lose a football game, and that’s something I’m stressing to our team continually. Losing is not okay. It should not feel good. It should hurt, and it should make you want to work that much harder.”

On the fast start…

“We started out fast, the way we want to as a football team which I think was very important. Offense took the opening drive right down the field… the defense got a couple of stops…. that was really positive. That was something we needed to do.”

On the youth movement…

“We had 10 true freshman play in that game, five of which started. And the moment didn’t seem to big for them. In almost all the cases they went in there and lined up beside these guys… and just played.”

On committing zero penalties…

“We played penalty free. I can’t remember the last time I was part of a team that had zero penalties. I think it’s a testament to these guys and their discipline … and the techniques their coaches are teaching them.”

On the team’s overall effort…

“I’m pleased with the effort these guys are putting forward. I’m pleased with the way they continue to fight.”

Looking forward to North Texas

“Offensively, they’re scoring almost 40 points a game. Mason Fine was the conference preseason offensive player of the year. He’s a gritty kid that makes throw after throw and keeps fighting. He’s tough as nails and any time you think he’s down or hurt he just pops right back in and finds a way to get the ball downfield to one of his great receivers.”

On the North Texas offense…

“It’s dynamic. I really believe it all starts with him, with Mason Fine. I think he’s such a scrapper. I think he does more than you think he can with his legs but just his ability to stay in there and find a way to get the ball downfield to those receivers is so impressive.”

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Owls to start Wiley Green vs North Texas

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Rice football has been forced to dig deep into the quarterback depth chart. Wiley Green will start for the Owls in lieu of an injured Evan Marshman.

Wiley Green started the fall as the fifth quarterback on the Owls’ roster. On Saturday he will start against North Texas because of injuries suffered by Shawn Stankavage and Evan Marshman in successive games.

Marshman started the Owls’ Week 8 game against FIU and played well. He completed 11-of-15 passes for 107 yards and threw one interception. He was even more productive on the ground, rushing for 68 yards and two scores. Unfortunately for Marshman and the Owls, his final run proved to be dangerous.

Marshman took off, found space and was greeted with a flurry of opposing jerseys at the goal line. He plunged through the scrum for the touchdown, landing awkwardly before being immediately rushed to the medical tent. He did not return to the game, and he won’t suit up again for the Owls any time soon. Precise details of his injury have not yet been made public, but like Stankavage, this injury will cause him to miss multiple weeks if not longer.

That makes Green, the former scout team quarterback, the next man up for the Owls against North Texas. After him, the depth chart gets murky. Jackson Tyner is one of the few men standing at the position which has prompted the coaching staff to dig deeper for possible solutions. In addition to Tyner, wide receiver Austin Trammell and running back Juma Otaviano will take reps at quarterback this week.

Rice will play its third different starting quarterback in three weeks against North Texas. That’s not what any coach would hope for, but the raw talent Green possesses makes Bloomgren hopeful. “He can spin it,” Bloomgren said, adding that he’s been impressed with his progression this fall.

Green understands the gravity of the situation, but say’s his preparation remains the same.  “At the end of the day, it’s football. No matter if it’s the ones or the threes it’s football and I’ve been playing it since elementary school.” That may be true, but this weekend won’t be just another game. It will be his first collegiate start.

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This week in CUSA – Looking ahead at Week 9

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Rice football fell at home to UAB in Week 7. How did the rest of the conference fare and what’s next for Conference USA football in Week 9?

Team Last Week Result This Week
Charlotte at MTSU L, 21-13 vs Southern Miss
FAU at Marshall L, 31-7 vs LaTech
FIU vs Rice W, 36-17 at WKU
LaTech vs UTEP W, 31-24 at FAU
Marshall vs FAU W, 31-7  — OFF —
MTSU vs Charlotte W, 21-13 at ODU
North Texas at UAB L, 29-21 vs Rice
ODU at WKU W, 37-34 vs MTSU
Rice at FIU L, 36-17 at North Texas
Southern Miss vs UTSA W, 27-17 at Charlotte
UAB vs North Texas W, 29-21 at UTEP
UTEP at LaTech L, 31-24 vs UAB
UTSA at Southern Miss L, 27-17  — OFF —
WKU vs ODU L, 37-34 vs FIU

Notable Week 8 results

All aboard the Blazers’ train

UAB has become one of the best stories in college football. Two years ago they had no football team, now they’ve clinched their second consecutive bowl trip and their best start in program history. The job that head coach Bill Clark has done in Birmingham is outstanding, including their latest big win over a North Texas team that was the favorite to win the division entering the season. Now it’s UAB out in front and nobody has been able to stand in their way.

Western Kentucky is bad, but their luck couldn’t be worse

The tragedy that befell the Hilltoppers in Week 7 has to be seen to be believed — and even then, you still might not believe it. WKU was in position to force overtime against Old Dominion, instead, they allowed a game-winning field goal at the buzzer in the most befuddling of circumstances.

Rice is alive

Things were looking pretty bleak for the Owls who seemed to have lost their momentum completely. After an encouraging start to the year the Owls were shutout against UAB in Week 7. They responded with an inspiring performance against FIU, leading the Panthers on the road after the first quarter. They weren’t able to hold on to win, but the insertion of redshirt sophomore quarterback Evan Marshman has this team believing in themselves again.

Week 9 storylines

Last chance

One CUSA team that is trending in decidedly the wrong direction is FAU. The Owls have all but squandered any hopes of winning the East and will be fretting their bowl aspirations soon if they can’t turn things around. They’re 3-4 entering Week 9 with a home game against a dangerous Louisiana Tech team. If the Owls can’t bounce back they might be staying home this winter.

Can Old Dominion get on a roll?

Barring whatever exactly happened against WKU, Old Dominion would still be looking for their first conference win against Middle Tennessee. They were gifted a win against WKU, but the offensive production was a positive step. If the Monarchs can keep that side of the ball rolling they’ll be able to contend down the stretch. That starts against Middle Tennessee.

UTEP isn’t bad?

UTEP is 0-7. It’s hard to put too much stock in a team that has yet to win a game, but the Miners have come precariously close more times than they’d like. One of their last four games has been decided by more than seven points and each of their conference games have been winnable. Knocking off UAB is unlikely, but they’re playing well enough that a win on Saturday is absolutely on the table.

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Owls’ offense found a rhythm that worked

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It took several weeks, but Rice football has found their offense once again thanks to a strong performance from new starting quarterback Evan Marshman.

Rice began fall camp with an open competition for the starting quarterback position. Jackson Tyner, sam Glaesmann and Shawn Stankavage split reps with the starters. Glaesmann was moved to wide receiver and Tyner has been bumped behind two freshmen on the depth chart. Stankavage was the starter through the first seven weeks before his injury against UAB opened the door.

Redshirt freshman Evan Marshman, who began the fall on the scout team, beat out true freshman Wiley Green for the start against FIU. After struggling to move the ball with Stankavage (and briefly Tyner) at the helm of the offense against UTSA and UAB, Marshman led the team on two touchdown drives against FIU.

Rice quarterbacks combined to lead one scoring drive in the eight quarters leading up to the FIU game. That includes outings from Stankavage, Tyner and Marshman. Against FIU, Marshman led the Owls on three scoring drives, taking both touchdowns in himself.

It’s impossible to separate how much of Marshman’s performance was his natural talent versus improved scheming and execution from the offense. Regardless, he put points on the board. If he can keep doing that, the Owls will be just fine. They’ll find a way to pick up their first conference win soon enough.

Marshman was quickly ushered to the medical tent following his second touchdown run, but was able to reenter the game. Green played sparingly and was unable to generate much offense, throwing two interceptions and completing one pass for eight yards. Marshman will be in line to start again next weekend against North Texas. That’s an encouraging sign for a once-struggling Owls offense.

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