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Rice Baseball: Previewing the Louisiana Tech series

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Rice baseball made up significant ground against Middle Tennessee. They’ll seek to keep climbing the CUSA ranks against Louisiana Tech this weekend.

Listen online // Watch Friday (CUSA TV) // Watch Saturday (CUSA TV) // Watch Sunday (CUSA TV)

If Rice is going to make a move in Conference USA, the time is now. The Owls sit at 9-9 on the edge of a conference tournament berth. A series win over Louisiana Tech, who some consider to be the favorite to with the league, would be huge for this team as they enter the final stretch. Here’s how the Owls stack up against the visiting Bulldogs:

Projected Pitching Matchups

Friday – 6:30 pm: Matt Canterino (5-4, 2.97) vs Matt Miller (5-0, 2.95)
Saturday – 2:00 pm: Evan Kravetz (3-2, 4.18)  vs Logan Robbins (3-2, 6.31)
Sunday – 1:00 pm: Jackson Parthasarathy (3-6, 4.50) vs Logan Bailey (5-4, 5.88)

Louisiana Tech Pitching

The Bulldogs rank third in CUSA with a staff ERA of 4.45. Their 2.47 strikeout to walk ratio is eerily similar to the Owls’ own rate of 2.59. Aside from what should be a fairly even contest between Matt Miller and Matt Canterino on Friday night, Rice has the slight edge in the starting rotation.

It’s the bullpen that might give the Bulldogs the greatest reason for optimism. Jonathan Fincher has been almost unhittable out of the pen and brings a 1.03 WHIP into the weekend over 20 appearances. Braxton Smith has been another extremely reliable option, allowing no runs in six of his last seven appearances. If Louisiana Tech finds themselves in a jam, he could be the man called upon during multiple games this series to work around the trouble spots.

Louisiana Tech Hitting

The most intimidating facet of the Louisiana Tech lineup is its depth. The Bulldogs don’t have anyone on their team hitting .400, but they do have six regulars batting better than .270. No player is a home run king, but six guys have four or more on the season.

Outfielder Mason Mallard leads the way, sporting a glowing 1.018 OPS with a team-high 50 runs scored. He’s one of four Bulldogs to start each of the teams 41 games. The other three, outfielder Parker Bates, shortstop Taylor Young and designated hitter Steele Netterville are all well-rounded hitters. Netterville leads the team with 24 extra-base hits and seven home runs.

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Rice Baseball: Evan Kravetz seeks to end senior season on high note

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Rice baseball pitcher Evan Kravetz thought he’d be pitching out of the bullpen this year. Instead, he’s become a staple in the starting rotation.

The 2019 Rice baseball season was met by many with guarded optimism. The Owls had hired energetic coach Matt Bragga from Tennessee Tech and had seemed to have enough pitching to be competitive from game to game. The supposed pitching strength relied on the arms of Matt Canterino and Addison Moss, arguably the best one-two punch in Conference USA.

That duo never materialized as expected. Moss was scratched from opening weekend with injury concerns, opening up the door for someone else to make a start in the rotation. That someone would end up becoming senior southpaw Evan Kravetz.

“I found out like two days before the opener,” Kravetz recounted, following his career-best 13 strikeout performance against Middle Tennessee over the weekend. His seven-inning, one-hit gem helped secure a series win and would eventually lead to the first home sweep of the Matt Bragga era at Rice.

Win or lose, good or bad, Kravetz maintains he’s thankful for the opportunity. “Every Saturday I pitch like I don’t know if there’s going to be another Saturday to pitch on, so I’m just going to keep doing that and trying to win games,” he said.

Staying the course

It doesn’t look like Kravetz is in any danger of missing out on a start any time soon. He leads all Rice pitchers with 77 strikeouts, one more than staff ace Matt Canterino who entered the season as a consensus Top 5 round prospect in the upcoming MLB Draft.  Kravetz had made four starts at Rice prior to this season. He’ll come close to matching his previous total career innings pitched at Rice (90.1) this season if Rice makes it to the conference tournament.

Coach Bragga was effusive in his praise following Kravetz’s latest performance. “[He’s] been awesome,” Bragga declared. “It’s been phenomenal the year he’s had.” Rather than stop there, Bragga asserted Kravetz might not be done when his days at Rice are over. “I’ll be shocked if they (Kravetz and Matt Canterino) don’t both go in the top 10 rounds come [the MLB Draft]”

All Kravetz wanted was an opportunity. He got his chance and made the most of it.

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Rice Baseball sweeps MTSU, earns Matt Bragga’s first home sweep

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Rice baseball picked up their first home series sweep under head coach Matt Bragga, winning three games against Middle Tennessee State to improve to .500 in conference play.

Rice entered Easter weekend with a bad taste in their mouth. The Owls had blasted Charlotte in their series opener and outscored them by 10 runs over the course of three games only to drop the series. With no midweek game to take their mind off the tough blow, all efforts turned to Middle Tennessee.

Coach Bragga’s charge to his team this weekend was straightforward. “We need to start making a move if we’re going to make one.” Rice made their move, sweeping their second conference opponent this season. Here are some notes on an encouraging series at Reckling Park.

THURSDAY | Rice 10 – MTSU 4

Rice RBI leader Andrew Dunlap got things going in the series opener with an RBI single in the first inning. The Owls took the 1-0 lead into the third where they broke the game open, batting around and scoring eight runs on six hits and four walks. Justin Collins and Braden Comeaux picked up two RBI apiece, with four other Owls driving in one run during the big inning.

The nine-run cushion was more than enough for Matt Canterino, who put together what was arguably his best outing of the season. He struck out 10 in seven innings, earning his team-leading fifth win of the season. Middle Tennessee would tack on four against Rice reliever Drake Greenwood, but the sizable lead would hold for the Owls’ fourth-straight win in series openers.

FRIDAY | Rice 7 – MTSU 2

The Owls’ bats got off to a slightly slower start on Friday night, but once they woke up, they caught fire. Two home runs, one by Cade Edwards another Dominic Cox, put Rice ahead 2-0 in the fourth inning. Then the Owls exploded for five runs in the fifth.

Bradley Gneiting, Trei Cruz, and Andrew Dunlap strung together three consecutive RBI hits. Dunlap came around to score the seventh run on an error. The 7-0 lead would hold until the ninth inning where once more MTSU would collect a flurry of hits, scoring two, not enough to give the Owls much of a scare.

SATURDAY |Rice 7 – MTSU 5

For the first time in the weekend, Rice was forced to come from behind. Starting pitcher Jackson Parthasarathy wasn’t as sharp as his predecessors on the mound. He would have been serviceable had the defense not committed three errors on the day, two of which resulted in three unearned runs charged to Parthasarathy.

Trailing 4-0 after Parthasarathy was removed midway through the third inning, Rice began to chip away. Rice got two in the third, one in the fourth and one in the fifth before tying the game in the seventh on a Cade Edwards sac fly. Justin Collins would drive a two-out single to left later in the inning, scoring what would be the game-winning run.

MTSU didn’t make it easy, loading the bases in the ninth. With the tying run in scoring position, Kendall Jeffries induced a double-play to clinch the victory and the series sweep.

TAKEAWAYS | Rice wins series 3-0

1. Pitch like this every weekend

It’s been no secret the Rice starting pitching is the strength of this team. When all three of the Owls’ rotation are locked in this team is going to have a chance to win most series. Aside from the sloppy defense on Saturday, the starting pitching was nearly as good as it’s been all season this weekend against Middle Tennessee, and the results were the first home series sweep of the Matt Bragga era.

Canterino, Kravetz and Parthasarathy combined for 27 strikeouts with five walks, and one earned runs allowed. That’s a stellar line through 16.2 innings on the bump. More length out of their Sunday starter would have been ideal, but an extremely fresh bullpen gave coach Bragga a bit more leeway with how long he left Parthasarathy on the mound. If Rice pitches this well, they’ll have a chance to win each of their remaining CUSA series.

2. Cade Edwards

The Rice lineup has become more consistent as the season has gone on. Slowly but surely the top three became the top four. Somewhat quietly, Cade Edwards has entrenched himself as part of the glue which holds this offense together. Batting fifth throughout the weekend, Edwards picked up six hits, batting .600 in the series with the go-ahead home run on Friday and the game-tying sac fly on Saturday.

Edwards is riding a 7-game hitting streak. The Rice offense has scored five or more runs in five of those seven games, and Edwards has been in the thick of the action. Bragga likes what he’s seeing from the Owls’ second baseman, calling Edwards “a real solid hitter [who has] some really good bat speed and drives through the ball really well.”

3. Come and take it

Rice has officially passed the midway point of conference play. It’s been a bumpy ride, but after starting 0-5, Rice has won nine of their next 14, pulling themselves back to .500 in conference play. It’s no guarantee of future success, but it is a testament to a team willing to fight.

With four series remaining, Rice is in the thick of the pack in Conference USA. FAU leads the way at 14-4 with the Owls five games behind, tied for fifth. They entered the weekend tied for seventh, with tiebreakers putting them in ninth place.

Winning the conference is still mathematically possible, but even without an incredible late surge, Rice has enough season left to position themselves for the conference tournament in Biloxi.

Entering the weekend D1 Baseball projected Conference USA to be a two-bid league with league-leading FAU sitting in the First Five Out. Rice has a few signature wins (TCU, Baylor), but the chances of reaching the postseason with a sub-.500 overall record will be slim to none.

Rice is 18-23 right now, meaning the most likely avenue to postseason play is a CUSA Tournament win. That’s much easier to do as a three seed than an eight-seed. Coach Bragga says he’s aware of the numbers and the scenarios, but “at the end of the day, we have to go perform. If we perform, we’ll have an opportunity, if we don’t we won’t.”

ON DECK | vs Louisiana Tech (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball: Previewing the Middle Tennessee series

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Rice baseball returns to Reckling Park for a pre-Easter series against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Here’s everything you need to know for the games.

Listen online // Watch Thursday (CUSA TV) // Watch Friday (CUSA TV) // Watch Saturday (CUSA TV)

The see-saw ride of the Rice baseball season marches on as Rice returns home. Middle Tennessee is a few spots above Rice in the conference standings, but still within reach if the Owls can win a few this weekend.

Middle Tennessee has won each of their last two CUSA series, posting big run totals against Western Kentucky and UAB. Here’s how the Blue Raiders will line up against Rice:

Projected Pitching Matchups

Thursday – 6:30 pm: Matt Canterino (4-4, 3.32) vs Carson Lester (1-3, 4.75)
Friday – 6:30 pm: Evan Kravetz (2-2, 4.78)  vs Peyton Wigginton (4-1, 4.45)
Saturday – 12:00 pm: Jackson Parthasarathy (3-6, 4.57) vs David Zoz (2-2, 3.53)

MTSU Pitching

Much like Rice, Middle Tennessee has a handful of trustworthy arms and a few less-reliable options who have shown flashes. The starting rotation is solid, led by Peyton Wigginton’s 62 strikeouts, a mark comparable to Rice ace Matt Canterino’s 66 Ks. He’s joined by Carson Lester and most likely David Zoz, the latter of the two has spent some time in the bullpen this season.

As for the bullpen, Scheldon Paulk has a team most 18 appearances. Batters are hitting .268 against him this season and struggling to make hard contact. Tyler Holcombe has been given a lot of innings, but has allowed at least one run in each of his last 11 appearances. Josh Young has been slightly more effective, throwing at least one inning without allowing a run in three of his last four relief appearances.

MTSU Hitting

The Blue Raider lineup isn’t one that hits for average, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t pack a punch. MTSU’s .257 batting average is second-to-worst in CUSA so it’s not too surprising they’ll bring just two regulars with averages above .300. Aaron Antonini and Darien Prewett barely eclipse that threshold. Each enters the weekend hitting .301.

Behind those two, Blake Benefield might be the most dangerous hitter. He leads the team with 18 extra base hits, including eight home runs. His issue has been strikeouts, 45 this season, compared to six walks. He’s one of four Blue Raiders with 35 or more whiffs this year. This is a team that makes their hay at the top half of the lineup.

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Rice Baseball: Friday blowout not enough as Owls drop series to Charlotte

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Rice baseball followed up a Friday night offensive explosion with a pair of Saturday losses, ruining brief hopes of another road series win.

What could have been a reassuring weekend ended in frustration as Rice dropped another Saturday doubleheader after a Matt Canterino Friday night win. The loss drops the Owls’ record to 15-23 with the heart of conference play still ahead of them. Here’s how each game went and a few closing thoughts on another disappointing series.

FRIDAY | Rice 19 – Charlotte 4

Things couldn’t have gotten off to much of a better start for Rice in the series opener. After both teams were held scoreless in the first inning, Rice exploded for 10 runs in the second on two grand slams, the first from Justin Collins and the next by Andrew Dunlap.

Staked to a more than comfortable lead, Matt Canterino maneuvered through six innings before turning things over to Dalton Wood and Drake Greenwood. It wasn’t the sharpest Canterino has been this season (two strikeouts, one walk, and four earned runs), but it was more than enough for his third straight win.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON | Charlotte 6 – Rice 5

The first end of the double header was headlined by the pitching staffs. Evan Kravetz got the start for the Owls and threw seven innings, allowing one earned run and striking out eight. Charlotte fought back, taking a 3-1 lead in the fifth.

Rice would recapture the lead in the eighth on a Cade Edwards triple, eventually setting the Owls up with a 5-4 advantage entering the ninth inning. Things start out innocently enough with a ground out to third base. Charlotte would then load the bases, and then, with two outs, the 49ers came through with a game-winning walk-off single up the middle.

SATURDAY NIGHT| Charlotte 4 – Rice 0

Jackson Parthasarathy did enough on the mound in the series finale to give his team a chance to win. The Owls’ last piece in the starting rotation threw 5.1 innings, striking out 11 batters and allowing three earned runs, one each in the first, fourth and sixth innings. That first run would prove to be the game-winner, though, as Rice was shut out on three hits a little more than 24 hours removed from a 19-run shellacking of this same squad on Friday night.

Rice had their chance to spark a rally in the ninth, getting their first two base runners on with no outs. Two strikeouts and a groundout would extinguish the threat and end the series in favor of the home team.

TAKEAWAYS | Charlotte wins series 2-1

1. Are the double-headers too much?

The Rice offense has come prepared for their last two series openers. The Owls scored eight against FIU on Friday night and followed it up with 19 in the opener against Charlotte. Matt Canterino pitched both of those games, and although he wasn’t perfect, he was more than effective enough to give Rice plenty of cushion on the scoreboard.

Then the doubleheaders happened. Rice scored nine in two Saturday against FIU, one more than their Friday night tally. The Owls were held to five one day after their 19-run outburst against Charlotte. As the series have drawn on, the focus at the plate has waned. It didn’t even seem like the same team that showed up to the ballpark on Friday and Saturday.

2. Not good enough to be unlucky

Rice was one out away from winning this series. Then a single in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader evaporated what could have been a 2-0 series lead. Even with a loss in the finale, a 2-1 finish would have lifted Rice to .500 in conference play. Instead, they sit at 6-8.

Three errors by Rice gave Charlotte the chance for a game-winning hit on Saturday afternoon. Then Charlotte first baseman Dominick Cammarata punched ball up the middle. A little bit further to either side and it’s an out, but Cammarata’s ball found the hole and Charlotte won.

Right now, Rice needs a little bit of luck. They haven’t been consistent enough to overcome bad bounces. Mistakes are magnified when the margin for error is thin. This time, it cost Rice the series.

3. This team needs Evan Kravetz and Jackson Parthasarathy more than ever

Rice has lost both the final two games of each of the last two series, but it hasn’t been due to a lack of capable pitching. Kravetz had one poor outing, allowing six runs through 4.2 innings, but the Owls would still go on to score seven in a losing effort. The rest have all been strong starts which went unrewarded.

Canterino and Addison Moss were billed as the Owls’ 1-2 all offseason. Injuries have largely kept Moss out of the rotation, but Kravetz and Parthasarathy have more than answered the call. When they’re on the mound Rice typically has a chance to win. Otherwise, Rice could have been trailing 9-0 on Sunday instead of 4-0. If those two had been worse, Rice would be starting at a sub-.500 CUSA record with little to no reason for hope.

Rice can pitch, and pitch with the best of them. It’s going to make more than that alone to climb back to the upper half of the conference standings, but it’s one thing Rice does have going for them.

ON DECK | vs Middle Tennessee (Thus-Sat)

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