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Jose Cruz Jr. and the trajectory Rice Baseball: April 2024 Q&A

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Rice Baseball head coach Jose Cruz Jr. has hit a rough spot midway through the 2024 season. Can he right the ship?

It’s been an up-and-down season for Rice baseball, which has only recently started to rebound after a tough stretch during the spring. As come with any stretch of defeats, questions came in regarding the future of Rice baseball and what to make of the program under head coach Jose Cruz Jr. This month’s Q&A digs into those concerns and offers some potential answers for the future of one of the Owls’ historic programs.

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Q: I know you try to accentuate the positive and the Cruz family is a famous part of Rice baseball but can Jose Cruz, Jr. fix the Rice baseball program?

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Rice Baseball 2024: MLB Owls Update – Apr 24

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The 2024 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.

Tyler Duffey – Kansas City Royals

Duffey was called up to the big leagues for the first time this season on Monday, April 22, appearing in a game that evening against the Toronto Blue Jays. The outing marked the third different major league team he’s pitched for in his 10-year career, spending nine years with the Twins before appearing in one game with the Cubs last season. On Monday, Duffey threw two scoreless innings, striking out three and walking two.

Duffey joined Bally Sports Kansas City after his 2024 debut for a brief interview:

Through April 24, Duffey has a 0.00 ERA with a 1.000 WHIP. He’s averaging 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

Injured List

J.T. Chargois – Miami Marlins

Last week Chargois thew a one-inning, 20-pitch live batting practice session as part of his rehab. He has been out since March 25 with neck spasms.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon’s scorching red-hot stretch of the season came to an abrupt halt on Sunday when the Halos’ third baseman was put on the injured list with a left hamstring strain suffered on Saturday while running out an infield single. It was a frustrating development for Rendon to say the least.

Through April 24, Rendon is hitting .267 with three extra-base hits, six walks and 15 strikeouts. His OPS is .632 and he’s collected three RBI.

Glenn Otto – San Diego Padres

Prior to the beginning of the season, Otto was placed on the 15-Day Injured List on March 19 with a right teres major strain.

Knocking on the Door

The following Owls began the season in AAA:

  • Matt Canterino – St Paul Saints (Twins)
  • Tyler Duffey – Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals) *promoted
  • Jon Duplantier – Syracuse Mets (Mets)
  • Tristan Gray – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins)
  • Evan Kravetz – Louisville Bats (Reds)
  • Lucas Luetge – Worcester Red Sox (Red Sox)
  • Dane Myers – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins)
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Rice Baseball soars past USF with resounding sweep

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Rice Baseball released weeks of pent-up frustration on the USF Bulls, routing their hosts in three straight games for their first-ever AAC sweep.

FRIDAY | Rice 13 – USF 4

Parker Smith had to earn every bit of his 6.2 inning outing on Friday night, allowing eight hits and two walks as he battled and worked through trouble, keeping USF to single runs in the first, second and fourth innings, respectively. While Smith did what he could to keep his team in the mix, the bats slowly got warmed up and began to contribute on their own.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball takes series from UAB

“After we went one round through everybody started to get a little bit better,” head coach Jose Cruz Jr. said. “We started to have better at bats.” Those at bats started with singular runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Treyton Rank opened the door wider with a three-run blast in the seventh before all doubts were erased with an emphatic five-run ninth to put the game out of reach.

SATURDAY | Rice 10 – USF 6

The Rice bats delivered a crooked number in the fourth inning on Saturday, culminating with a clutch two-out, two-RBI double from Rank to put the visitors in front 5-2.

With the Bulls on the ropes, JD McCracken picked up right where Smith left off, navigating through a potent USF lineup as best he could before being lifted in midway through the sixth inning after four runs had been charged to his ledger. That total didn’t grow thanks to Davion Hickson, who stranded two runners in McCracken’s final frame, getting the Owls back into the dugout with a chance to turn the tide.

USF would get back within two in the following innings until Rice broke things open with another four-run frame, this time in the eighth. Eric Correa, Tobias Motely and Rank delivered the RBI hits, putting Rice way in front and ensuring a series-clinching win.

SUNDAY | Rice 10 – USF 3

Seeking their first-ever AAC sweep, the Rice bats came ready to roll for the series finale. Pierce Galloe put Rice in front with an RBI double in the second before his teammates expanded that lead in the third, highlighted by a bases-clearing double from Trey Duffield and a follow-up RBI double from Manny Garza to put Rice in front 6-0 early.

USF would get to Rice starter Tucker Alch in the fourth, putting three runs on the board, but that would be all for the hometown team. Jackson Blank and Garrett Stratton put up zeroes for the remainder of the game as the offense added two more runs apiece in the eighth and ninth to secure the sweep.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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1. Coming out swinging with their backs against the wall

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ON DECK | vs UTSA (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball 2024: MLB Owls Update – Apr 17

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The 2024 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.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

After a slow start to the season, Rendon has heated up significantly over the past two weeks. In fact, no player in baseball had a better week than he did last week. Rendon recorded multi-hit games five times in six tries including two three-hit games to bookend the week. That snapped a cold spell with an emphatic crack of the bat.

Through April 16, Rendon is hitting .242 with three extra-base hits, five walks and 12 strikeouts. His OPS is .595 and he’s collected one RBI.

Injured List

J.T. Chargois – Miami Marlins

On Monday, Chargois thew a one-inning, 20-pitch live batting practice session. If all goes well he’ll throw a longer bullpen session on Friday. Chargois has been out since March 25 with neck spasms.

Glenn Otto – San Diego Padres

Prior to the beginning of the season, Otto was placed on the 15-Day Injured List on March 19 with a right teres major strain.

Knocking on the Door

The following Owls began the season in AAA:

  • Matt Canterino – St Paul Saints (Twins)
  • Tyler Duffey – Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals)
  • Jon Duplantier – Syracuse Mets (Mets)
  • Tristan Gray – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins)
  • Evan Kravetz – Louisville Bats (Reds)
  • Lucas Luetge – Worcester Red Sox (Red Sox)
  • Dane Myers – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins)
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Rice Baseball edges UAB for first-ever AAC series win

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Rice Baseball narrowly missed a series sweep, settling for two wins over the weekend against UAB, their first-ever AAC series victory.

FRIDAY | Rice 4 – UAB 2

The Rice bats wasted no time on Friday night, staking staff ace Parker Smith to an early lead. RBI singles from Treyton Rank and Pierce Gallo put the Owls in front 2-0 in the first. Rank drove in another run when he was hit by a pitch in the second inning.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball tops TAMU-CC in midweek action

Leading 3-0, Smith cruised through six innings. He briefly ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing the Blazers to score twice, but was otherwise unscathed. Jacob Devenney added an insurance run on an RBI double in the sixth. Tom Vincent took over in the seventh and bridged 1.1 innings to closer Davion Hickson, who earned the save.

SATURDAY | Rice 4 – UAB 3 (15 inn.)

JD McCracken delivered a quality start in Game 2, his lone blemish coming via an unearned run when a defensive error allowed the Blazers to get on the board in the third inning. McCracken avoided having a loss tacked on his ledger when Devenny delivered a sac fly in the eighth inning to tie the game. That would be the last run for quite a while as the game entered extra innings and stayed deadlocked at 1-1 until the twelfth.

UAB went in front with two runs in the top of the inning and it might have been more had the potential third run not been tagged out at the plate. That proved to be significant soon after as Rice tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a single and a sac fly. Level at 3-3, Eric Correa provided the final dramatics, delivering a walk-off double to right field to clinch the series.

SUNDAY | UAB 4 – Rice 3

The two sides traded runs in the early innings, completing the third inning tied at one and the fourth inning tied at three before UAB went out in front in the fifth, 4-2. Rice starter Tucker Alch was lifted for the tandem of Garrett Stratton and Mauricio Rodriguez, who combined to throw five scoreless innings, giving the offense a chance to claw back.

Rice got one run in the eight on a two-out, RBI single from Ben Dukes. They then had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the ninth, but squandered a leadoff triple from Jack Riedel, failing to get him home. With the running run 90-feet away, the Owls fell by one run.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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1. It’s Time for a Devenny/Dukes Dialogue

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ON DECK | at USF (Fri-Sun)

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