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Rice Baseball 2021: Previewing the Southern Series

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The Rice baseball enters the weekend fresh from one of their best weekends of the season. Here’s how the Owls stack up with visiting Southern.

It was a good weekend for Rice baseball, who won three of four in a multi-team event. It was the first time Rice has won three games in any weekend span since they swept a three-game series from Louisiana Tech in April 2019. Tuesday’s one-sided loss to Texas State cooled the Owls’ momentum, but they’ll have fresh arms and ready bats for the upcoming three-game slate.

This series marks their final weekend tune-up before Conference USA play begins the following weekend. The Owls will then host UTSA in a four-game series.  But first, a look at how Rice matches up with Southern. Originally scheduled for a Saturday doubleheader, the series will now be a more traditional three game affair.

Game Notes

Times: Friday 6:00 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 (8-8) took both games against Northern Illinois and split a pair of games against Kansas State. They lost their midweek game against Texas State.

Southern (5-10) lost three of their last four, dropping their most recent weekend series with Prairie View A&M (whom Rice beat 10-0) as well as a midweek game against Lamar.

Projected Pitching Matchups

Friday | Blake Brogdon (1-2, 6.52)
Saturday | Roel Garcia (1-1, 3.86)
Sunday | Mitchell Holcomb (2-1, 5.59)

Southern Pitching

Willhelm Allen is their definitive Friday night guy. He owns a 5.30 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched across four games. He’s not going to go deep, and with a .304 batting average against and only 14 strikeouts, Rice should be able to get some hits off of him.

Larry Barabino has been the go-to guy out of the bullpen. He’s allowed two runs in 9.1 innings with eight strikeouts. Walks have been his nemesis though. He’s surrendered seven on the season. The staff as a whole owns at 5.52 ERA almost a full point higher than the Owls.

Southern Hitting

The offense hasn’t been much better than the pitching. Southern has a team average of .233 shared by 20 different hitters. They do have a fairly consistent core led by Bubba Thompson (.271 avg, 16 hits, 10 runs) and Zavier Moore (.246 avg, 14 hits, 8 runs). While they might lack truly elite hitters, they have a smattering of guys who have shown flashes and can put the ball in the gap for an extra-base hit.

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Rice Baseball 2021: 12-run inning dooms Owls at Texas State in midweek tilt

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A rough fourth inning snowballed quickly on Rice baseball, who fell in seven innings to Texas State on the road on Wednesday.

The first three batters reached base for Texas State in their midweek win over Rice baseball. The third baserunner reached via a single to give the Bobcats an early 1-0 lead. They would never look back.

Texas State was ready for Rice pitcher Garret Zaskoda in his first career start. He lasted 3+ innings and was charged with six runs. Following his hook, Dillon Janac and Mike Davis struggled to close out the inning. In total, Rice pitchers allowed six hits, four walks and four hit baseman in what became a disastrous 12-run fourth inning for Texas State.

Podcast: Former Rice football star Christian Covington talks football, Marvel

Ny the time the Rice offense got going, it was too-little-too-late. Rice scored five runs in their final three frames, but it wasn’t enough to curtail a 10-inning run-rule which halted the game after the seventh inning. It was the first time Rice has lost by run-rule since 2016.

A double from Hal Hughes and a home run from Connor Walsh were the only extra-base hits from Rice hitters in the game.

What it means

Rice baseball lost to Texas State for the seventh consecutive time on Wednesday. The Owls still lead the all-time series 61-20, but it’s been all Bobcats for the last several seasons. An 8-8 record through 16 games is head-and-shoulders better than the 2-14 mark where Rice ended last season. Yet nights light this one serve as a reminder there is work still to be done.

ON DECK |

Rice baseball returns home for a three-game series against Southern this weekend. It’s their last scheduled nonconference weekend series of the year.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Previewing Owls vs Texas State

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The Rice baseball draws a midweek rematch with Texas State on Wednesday. The Owls lost to the Bobcats in the Shriner’s Classic.

Rice baseball would love to keep the momentum going after their first three-win weekend of the series. To accomplish that, they’ll need to even the season-series with in-state foe Texas State on Wednesday.

Game Notes

Times: Wednesday 6:00 p.m.
Venue: Bobcat Ballpark
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal

How each team fared this weekend

Rice baseball (8-7) took both games against Northern Illinois and split a pair of games against Kansas State.

Texas State (7-10) lost two of three to Houston at home. They picked up their marquee win of the season, upsetting TCU 11-1 in seven innings at Bobcat Ballpark.

Texas State Pitching

Garrett Herrmann toed the rubber in Texas State’s most recent midweek bout with TCU. He went three innings and allowed one unearned run. As is often the case in midweek affairs, we could see several arms out of the bullpen for both sides. Relievers Otto Wofford and Matthew Nicholas have both been extremely effective so far, owning WHIPs of 0.500 and 0.720, respectively.

Texas State Hitting

Not much has changed for Texas State since the Owls last met up with them less than two weeks ago. It’ll still be a lot of familiar faces in the lineup that produced nine runs against the Rice pitching staff at Minute Maid Park.

Third baseman Justin Thompson led the team in hits (3) and RBI (2) in that game. It’s not a coincidence he leads the Bobcats in both measures (26 hits, 18 RBI) for the season as well, outpacing the next closest hitters by a wide margin.

Behind Thompson, left fielder Will Hollis is the other top-of-the-lineup bat to be wary of on Wednesday. He was 1-for-4 against Rice at the Shriner’s Classic, but is second on the team for the season with a .306 average and enters the week with a team-high four home runs.

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Rice Baseball: Owls take three of four from NIU and Kansas State

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Rice baseball went three for four on the weekend, sweeping Northern Illinois and splitting a pair of games with Kansas State.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

1. Rice baseball rotation is starting to settle in

The rotation has been somewhat of a work in progress over the first several weeks of the regular season. With Roel Garcia working his way back to 100 percent and the order in flux because of the winter storm, some growing pains were expected as the Owls readied for conference play in a few weeks.

As a whole, the starters compiled what has to be considered their best weekends of the season to date:

  • Blake Brogdon earned a win, pitching into the seventh inning while allowing just two earned runs with six strikeouts.
  • Roel Garcia went 5.2 innings against a potent Kansas State offense, allowing four earned runs, but keeping Rice in the game until he departed.
  • Mitchell Holcomb threw 7.2 innings of scoreless ball, striking out for and allowing just five hits.
  • Brandon Deskins struck out six in 5.0 innings, allowing four hits with one walk.

Altogether, the four arms in the weekend rotation pitched 24.2 innings and allowed six runs, a 2.19 ERA.

2. Gneiting not under the radar anymore

Entering the season, senior Bradley Gneiting was expected to be a part of the outfield rotation and platoon at the designated hitter spot. The same was said for a half dozen players who hoped to earn playing time on a regular basis. Not only has Gneiting had his fair share of at bats, he’s inked his name on the lineup card for the foreseeable future.

Gneiting reached base in all four games this weekend, going 5-for-15 with a home run and two RBI. He currently leads in batting average, OPS, hits and RBI. He’s one five players to start and finish every game this season.

3. One significant shutout

In the final season of the Wayne Graham era, Rice baseball won two games with shutouts. They beat Western Kentucky 4-0 and downed Old Dominion 9-0 that season. The next year, Matt Bragga’s first, Rice earned just one shutout win, a 4-0 victory over Southern Miss. They did not blank any of their opponents in 2020.

In total, Rice pitched one shutout victory in the first 75 games in Bragga’s tenure, a rate of 1.3 percent. So far in 2021, they tallied three such skunks in their first 14 games, 21.4 percent of their games. That doesn’t account for the two games in which they came up one run short.

More than the positive feelings of seeing a zero on the opponent’s box score, a string of shutouts points to a pitching staff capable of operating at a high level. Channeling that potential into consistent, dependable performances from a core of trustworthy options could make this team dangerous if and when the bats follow suit.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Rice 6 – Northern Illinois 3

Northern Illinois struck first with a run in the top of the third but the 1-0 lead didn’t last long. Guy Garibay delivered the equalizing home run in the bottom half of the inning. Then Rice exploded for four more runs in the fifth to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Four different Owls had an RBI hit in that inning.

Blake Brogdon and Reed Gallant proved to be a strong tandem on the mound. Gallant took over in the seventh, allowing two inherited runners to score, but finished the remainder of the game unscathed, giving Rice the win.

SATURDAY 1 | Kansas State 8 – Rice 3

Things were close in the second game for the Owls right until they weren’t. Roel Garcia kept the Kansas State bats at bay, allowing two runs through the first five innings. Unfortunately, the offense was only able to muster one run of support over that span.

When Garcia exited, Kansas State pounced. Already leading 4-1 at the time, the Wildcats tacked on four more runs over the final three innings. Rice finished 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the loss.

SATURDAY 2 | Rice 4 – Northern Illinois 1

Rice responded well in the second half of the Saturday double-header. Mitchell Holcomb delivered far and away his best performance as an Owl, going 7.2 innings without allowing a run. The strong start allowed the offense to gradually pull further and further away over the course of the game.

The Owls first took the lead on a bases-loaded walk in the second inning. They added two more runs in the fifth and another in the sixth. By the time Holcomb exited the game and Christian Cienfuegos extinguished any hopes of a late NIU rally in the eighth, Rice was in total command.

SUNDAY | Rice 1 – Kansas State 0

The bats were more subdued when Rice met Kansas State for the second time on the weekend. Once the rain dried up and the tarp was removed, Brandon Deskins and KState hurler Connor McCullough were lights out. Neither side scored against the other teams’ starters, leaving it to the bullpens to finish up the game.

Rice would prevail thanks to the bat of Braden Comeaux who drilled a liner at the foot of the Kansas State shortstop. The ball deflected just far enough for Ben Dukes to scamper home and break the tie. Dalton Wood converted the save.

ON DECK | Rice Baseball vs Texas State (Wed), Southern (Fri-Sun, four games).

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Rice Baseball 2021: Northern Illinois and Kansas State Preview

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Rice baseball returns to Reckling Park this week to host a pair of teams from further north than last week’s all-Texas Shriner’s Classic.

It was a mixed bag for Rice baseball last weekend. They won one of their three games at the Shriner’s Classic, defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by run rule while falling to Sam Houston and Texas State. The Owls will get another crack at the Bobcats later in the season, but for now it’s time to turn the page to a mini-invitation on their home field.

Rice will host Northern Illinois and Kansas State it what was meant to be the second multi-team gathering at Reckling Park this season. The first, scheduled to be against Washington, Arkansas-Little Rock and Houston Baptist, was turned into a three-game series with Houston Baptist because of the Winter Storm.

Oddly enough, Rice got another crack at HBU on Tuesday, dispatching them behind a marvelous outing from Brandon Deskins. The sophomore pitcher racked up 11 strikeouts in six innings, earning his first win of the season.

Weekend Notes

Times: Friday 5:00 p.m. | Saturday 4:00 p.m. | Sunday 10:30 a.m. / 2:00 p.m.
Venue: Reckling Park
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal

Projected Rice Baseball Starters

Friday | Blake Brogdon (0-2, 8.31 ERA)
Saturday | Roel Garcia (1-0, 2.77 ERA)
Sunday AM | Mitchell Holcomb (1-1, 9.26 ERA)
Sunday PM | TBD

Kansas State (Saturday / Sunday PM)

Kansas State is 8-4 on the season after picking up a pair of midweek wins over South Dakota State. They opened the year with a win over Oregon State in the Sanderson Ford College Classic and also have a series win over Western Michigan so far this season.

The Wildcats will be a strong test for the Owls’ pitching. They hit .276 as a team and have four regulars with an OPS better than 1.000. Outfielder Dylan Phillips boasts a .381/.500/.594 slash line. The pitching has been strong as well, buoyed by starters Connor McCullough and preseason Co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Jordan Wicks.

Northern Illinois (Friday / Sunday AM)

Like Rice, Northern Illinois is no stranger to weather cancelations. The storms that swept across the country in mid-February canceled NIU’s opening series against Memphis. They’ve played two series since, both on the road. They won once of three games against Evansville and were swept in a four-game series at URGV, which strangely enough, contained zero nine-inning games.

First baseman Kam Smith and centerfielder Brady Huebbe have done their part. smith is hitting a staggering .435 while Huebbe has a team-high six extra-base hits and a .810 slugging percentage. The bullpen has been better than the rotation thus far. Look for Paul Tuerlli and Tristan Michaels to be the first line of defense when NIU gets into a jam.

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