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Rice Baseball 2021: Previewing the UAB series

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Rice baseball hits the road for their final Conference USA series away from home this coming weekend where they’ll take on the UAB Blazers.

Must-win territory has arrived for Rice baseball. The Owls have completed six Conference USA series so far and have yet to record any series wins. They have a split with UTSA under their belts and single ranked wins over Old Dominion and Southern Miss. But the win total still needs to come up by a good margin in the final two weekends.

Rice has a better total record than UAB. This would be a good weekend to keep that distinction in place, and hopefully, to grow the gap.

Times: Friday 6:00 p.m. | Saturday 1:00 p.m. / ~4:00 p.m. | Sunday 12:30 p.m.
Venue: Young Memorial Field
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
Watch: CUSAtv

How each team fared this week

Rice baseball (18-26-1) dropped a weekend series against Southern Miss at Reckling Park. The Owls blanked the Golden Eagles 6-0 in the opener but could not keep their ranked foes at bay for the final three games.

UAB (15-30) split a four-game series with UTSA last weekend, mirroring an outcome Rice had earlier in the season. Like Rice, UAB has yet to win a conference series outright.

Probable Pitchers

Friday | Mitchell Holcomb (5-4, 6.71)
Saturday 1 | Roel Garcia (1-4, 5.76 ERA)
Saturday 2 | Blake Brogdon (2-5, 5.95)
Sunday | Brandon Deskins (2-4, 3.92)

UAB Pitching

Riley Davis is the man to watch on the mound for UAB. He’s seventh in Conference USA in ERA (2.95) and is tied for first in the league with three complete games. Collin Taylor will be the first man out of the bullpen, second on the team in appearances and second in ERA (3.38). Brady Greene is another effective bullpen piece the Owls might see more than once.

UAB Hitting

The Blazers ranked dead last in conference play with a .231 batting average. They don’t score a lot of runs, don’t hit for power and don’t get on base well. Chandler Simpson (.317/.359/.366)has been the most consistent producer in the lineup, followed by Colton Schultz (.289/.381/388) and Zack Davis (.288/.331/.451) but after that, things drop off precipitously.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Southern Miss decisively soars past Owls

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Rice baseball stole an opening win, but couldn’t sustain the momentum, dropping a home series to a ranked Southern Miss team over the weekend.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball loses series 3-1

1. Nine runs are not enough

The six-run opener was a positive start for the week, but it in itself was only a hair better than the conference average. C-USA schools average 5.93 runs per game. At the conclusion of this weekend’s games, Rice baseball averages 5.07 runs per game. Had Rice won 2-0 instead of 6-0 on Friday, that number would have fallen below five runs per game.

The best offenses in Conference USA score eight runs an outing. Only three average worse than five runs, but only one, Marshall, is below Rice in the overall standings. The bats aren’t doing enough, and the pitching staff isn’t strong enough to bail them out more often than a night or two on any given weekend.

2. There’s no one else to call upon

Micah Davis has served as an “opener” in three consecutive series. He’s walked multiple batters twice and allowed at least one run twice. Prior to those outings, he’s had a couple of strong relief appearances, but it hasn’t worked out well so far with him as the first man on the bump.

But it would be a mistake to put the weight of the Owls’ pitching struggles on his shoulders. He’s there because of failures among other members of the rotation. Will West made his first appearance of the season in the Friday night rout. That came after more familiar faces like Alex DeLeon and Drake Greenwood had allowed things to get out of hand.

The pitching staff many had hoped would be deep enough to weather long weeks in Conference USA play hasn’t lived up to those expectations. Outside of Brandon Deskins, Blake Brogdon and a few others, it’s become a dicey proposition.

3. It’s now or never for any sort of postseason

The top three teams in each division clinch a spot in the conference tournament with two additional spots given out to the best remaining teams by winning percentage. Sitting at six wins, Rice is four games behind Middle Tennessee for the eighth spot in the tournament. That’s a ton of room to make up in two weeks.

Rice draws UAB next. The Blazers are just above the Owls in the West standings. Should Rice win the series (or even sweep), they’d have something to play for on the final weekend of the regular season against Charlotte. Middle Tennessee, who Rice is chasing, visit Southern Miss the weekend before closing at home against FIU. It’s a tall order, but if Rice can win this weekend series, there’s a chance.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY  1 | Rice – Southern Miss

Things couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start for Rice in the first half of the weather-induced Friday doubleheader. The Owls struck first, taking the lead in the first inning on an RBI single from Bradley Gneiting and extending it with an RBI single from Will Karp shortly after.

Up 2-0, Mitchell Holcomb cruised through four innings. With two men on in the fifth, Deskins entered and induced a pop-up to end the threat. A three-run fifth inning and an insurance run courtesy of a Cade Edwards sixth-inning triple helped Rice close out the opener with relative ease.

FRIDAY 2 | Southern Miss 12 – Rice 1

After being silenced in the first game, the Southern Miss bats woke up in a hurry for the Friday nightcap. The Golden Eagles scored two in the first inning, four in the second and two more in the third. The Rice pitching trio of Davis, DeLeon and Greenwood had no answers, and before Greenwood was replaced to start the fourth inning, Rice was already in an insurmountable hole.

Rice would out-hit Southern Miss 10-0, only failing to reach base in one of the seven innings. It wouldn’t matter as the Owls hit safely in 2-of-10 situations with runners in scoring position.  Guy Garibay drove in the only Rice run.

SATURDAY | Southern Miss 10 – Rice 1

Roel Garcia battled through five innings on Saturday, allowing five runs on seven hits. Southern Miss just kept putting the ball in play whereas the Rice bats did not hold up their side of the bargain. While Garcia labored, the Rice offense was silent, collecting just two hits while he was on the mound.

Trailing 5-0 at the time of Garcia’s exit, the bullpen quickly allowed the lead to double over the next three innings in what felt like a carbon copy of the previous evening’s blowout loss.

SUNDAY | Southern Miss 8 – Rice 1

Garibay drew the start on Sunday and after sending the first three Golden Eagles down in the first inning, ran into trouble in the second. Southern Miss struck for four runs in the frame, adding two more in the third and forcing Garibay to exit in favor of Brogdon, who navigated 4.2 innings reasonably well, striking out five and allowing two runs.

A leadoff home run from Austin Bulman in the second was all the offense could muster. Their six hits were the fewest in any game of the series.

ON DECK | Rice baseball vs UAB (Fri-Sun, four games).

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Rice Baseball: 2021 MLB Owls update – May 1

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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 was activated from the 10-day injured list on April 27 and quickly returned to form. He hit safely in three of his first four games back, including a Saturday explosion with four RBI and a couple of extra base hits. He absolutely crushed the long ball into the left field stands.

Through May 1, Rendon is hitting .269 with four extra-base hits, six walks and 10 strikeouts. His OPS is .762.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey was credited with his first blown save on the season this week, allowing a line drive solo home run to the Indians’ Jose Ramirez on Monday. The Twins would lose the game in extra innings. His second out of the week was much better, a scoreless three-up, three-down inning with a strikeout against the Royals.

Through May 1, Duffey has a 3.38 ERA with a 1.500 WHIP. He’s averaging 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

Brock Holt – Texas Rangers

Holt has a quiet week at the plate before his former team came to town. Holt went 2-for-3 on Friday against the Red Sox, including this RBI single off former teammate Nathan Eovaldi.

Through May 1, Holt has 10 hits in 40 at bats, a .250 average. He’s walked eight times, struck out 11 times and collected four RBI.

Lucas Luetege – New York Yankees

Luetge participated in a bit of history in the Bronx this week, striking out all three batters he faced to help the Yankees tie a franchise record with 18 strikeouts in a single game. He appears to be settling in quite well in his return to the major leagues, tossing some unhittable pitches and making batters look silly.

Through May 1, Luetge has a 4.02 ERA with a 1.085 WHIP. He’s averaging 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Previewing the Southern Miss series

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Rice baseball welcomes their return to the friendly confines of Reckling Park, but their weekend matchup with Southern Miss looms large.

It’s hard to believe, but May baseball is already upon us. The calendar is turning quickly and more than just the hot corner is heating up. The Rice baseball regular season schedule is winding down, but before it concludes in its entirety, the Owls have another ranked C-USA opponent to battle. Southern Miss enters the weekend 26-13 and ranked No. 23 in the D1 Baseball Top 25.

Times: Friday 2:00 p.m. / ~5:00 p.m. | Saturday 1:00 p.m. | Sunday 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Reckling Park
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
Watch: CUSAtv

How each team fared this week

Rice baseball (17-23-1) split a weekend series with UTSA in San Antonio, their second series matchup with the Roadrunners this season. The Owls held a 2-0 upper hand but were unable to slam the door in the final two games to earn their first series win of the season.

Southern Miss (26-13) took three of four games from Western Kentucky, winning their third conference series of the season. The Golden Eagles have earned at least a split in each weekend of conference play since they opened things up with a series loss to Louisiana Tech at home.

Probable Pitchers

Friday | Roel Garcia (1-3, 5.36 ERA)
Saturday 1 | Mitchell Holcomb (4-4, 7.35)
Saturday 2 | Blake Brogdon (2-5, 6.14)
Sunday | Brandon Deskins (2-4, 4.24)

Southern Miss Pitching

The Southern Miss pitching staff has been the gold standard in Conference USA this season. The Golden Eagles lead the league in ERA, thanks in large part to the contributions of a potent quarter of starting pitchers. Hunter Stanley (5-1, 2.51 ERA), Ben Ethridge (4-1, 2.88), Walker Powell (6-2, 3.20) and Drew Boyd (2-2, 4.41) have been superb.

Southern Miss Hitting

When the pitching is that good, the offense doesn’t have to be top of the line to win ballgames. There have been outbursts here and there, but this lineup largely relies on the big bats of Gabe Montenegro and Charlie Fischer. Montenegro leads the team with 50 hits and a .338 batting average whereas Fischer leads C-USA in on-base percentage and sports a heft 1.1116 OPS.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Owls manage series split vs UTSA in rematch

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Rice baseball started strong, riding two early wins to a series split against UTSA in a rematch of a previous meeting this season.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball splits series 2-2

1. Split shows signs of progress

Rice baseball has yet to win a weekend series against a conference opponent. Coming into this weekend, they hadn’t managed a split either. So by taking the first two games against the Roadrunners, tangible signs of progress were produced. When Rice puts together a complete game from all phases — not even necessarily a dominant showing by any group — this team can win.

At the same time, the failure to come close in either of the final two games left some well-deserved frustrations. Both things can be true. Not winning the series was a missed opportunity, especially when Rice had the luxury of throwing Roel Garcia in the finale. That should have been advantage, Owls.

2. The bullpen issues linger

Four times in four games, Rice gave up four or more runs in a single inning. The only game they avoided a crooked number, Game 2, they won. As for the rest of the series, they lost two of three when surrendering a big inning. Those bullpen blowups have hampered this team tremendously. Individual arms have flashed one weekend and failed the next.

That makes it hard for head coach Matt Bragga to know what buttons to press. Now he’s forced to ask himself not only “can this guy get the job done?” but also “is he going to be locked in today or not?”. Bragga would probably own up to being a bit too slow to use the hook, but it’s a two-way street with both sides showing weaknesses.

3. Fielding isn’t doing the Owls any favors

The bullpen hasn’t been perfect, but their struggles don’t fall solely on the guys on the mound. Errors were costly to Rice this weekend, and they’ve cropped up more than a few times for Rice over the last few weeks. In conference play, Rice sports a .966 fielding percentage, ninth in Conference USA.

The Owls committed no errors in either of their wins against UTSA this weekend. They committed two errors in each of their losses, including errors in those crucial blowup innings. When looked at another way, Rice allowed seven unearned runs in the final two games. That’s not going to cut it.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Rice 8 – UTSA 6

Following a lengthy lightning delay, the Owls got things started off on the right foot with three runs in the first two innings, two of which came with two outs. That spotted Micah Davis, who threw the first two innings in place of Garcia, given the unexpected and extended delay. Davis gave was to a bullpen day, which, apart from a woeful outing by Drake Greenwood, kept Rice right in the mix.

Tied up at six apiece entering the bottom half of the fifth inning, Bragga turned to Brandon Deskins. He struck out eight in the final five frames, allowing just four hits and no runs. That gave the offense enough opportunities to break through, which they did in the sixth courtesy of a pair of RBI groundouts from Braden Comeaux and Bradley Gneiting to put Rice ahead for good.

SATURDAY 1 | Rice 5 – UTSA 4

Starter Mitchell Holcomb allowed some contact and a quarter of one-run innings, but his workmanlike efforts prevented UTSA from every compiling a big inning in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader. While Holcomb held things close, the Rice offense did their best to chip away.

Trailing 4-3 entering the sixth, freshman Nathan Becker homered to tie things up. Then, in the seventh and final inning, a sac fly from Guy Garibay, who step onto the mound for his fourth save in the bottom half of the inning, gave Rice the win.

SATURDAY 2 | UTSA 12 – Rice – 6

Cade Edwards scored on a wild pitch in the first inning to give Rice an early lead. The Owls hung a five-spot in the third with big RBI extra-base hits from Garibay and Will Karp. But none of it would prove to be enough to overcome what has become a much-too-frequent disaster inning from the Rice pitching staff.

Matthew Linskey, who’d faired well as an opener in previous outings, failed to record an out to start the game. He walked two batters and hit a pair, the second of which drove in the tying run. He was lifted for Garrett Zaskoda, but the next man up wasn’t able to quell the trouble. Zaskoda would be removed in favor of Josh Larzabal before the inning was through. Nine runs later, the inning ended and this one was essentially over.

SUNDAY | UTSA 12 – Rice 4

Things set up well for Rice entering the final game of the weekend. With Garcia on the mound after Friday’s weather, the Owls were able to hold UTSA scoreless through the fourth inning. Up 1-0 courtesy of an Austin Bulman RBI single in the fourth, Rice was unable to finish.

An error and two singles loaded the bases for UTSA in the fifth. Blake Brogdon entered and wasn’t at his best. He allowed a RBI double and a three-run home run, turning a tight game into a one-sided affair. Rice would close the gap to 7-4 in the eighth, before Brogdon ran into more trouble and UTSA piled on a few additional insurance runs.

ON DECK | Southern Miss (Fri-Sun, four games).

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