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Rice Baseball: Road swing continues vs balanced SHSU squad

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Rice baseball swept Old Dominion over the weekend and will look to earn their longest winning streak of the season on Tuesday vs Sam Houston.

Winners of three straight, Rice baseball has tied their season-long mark of consecutive victories which they achieved against Baylor, TCU and Houston in early March. A win over Sam Houston on Tuesday would snap a three game losing streak in midweek games. Rice has lost four of their last five midweek games with the first loss in that stretch coming against Sam Houston on March 6.

Rice jumped out to a 9-5 lead but was unable to hold off their opponent. Sam Houston scored the deciding run on a bases loaded walk in the ninth inning. Rice will look to even the series on Tuesday.

When and Where

Pitching matchups

Kel Bordwine should be on the bump to start the evening, but there’s no telling how long he’ll stay there. The sophomore has been the Owls’ primary midweek starter over the last several weeks, but the committee approach has won out through most games. Drake Greenwood and Garrett Gayle could also see some action.

Landon Ausley will lead a similar committee for Sam Houston. He’s started a midweek game in each of the last three weeks, setting a season-high of four innings against Houston last week. A parade of arms will follow after him. James Kuykendall and Matt Dillard have been two of the most reliable pieces out of the pen while Riley Gossett and Nick Mikolajchak own five of the Bearkats’ six saves.

Names to know from the plate

Jack Rogers led the way in the Owls’ last meeting against the Bearkats in early March. The left fielder led the team with a single, double and home run, scoring three runs and adding two RBI from the leadoff spot. Rogers sports a strong .299 average, but only ranks in the middle of the pack amongst Bearkat hitters.

Jordan Cannon and Colton Cowser have been special from the plate. Cowser leads the way with 12 extra base hits and 28 RBI. Cannon has had less pot, but his patience at the plate has resulted in a stunning .505 on base percentage. The Rice pitchers will have their hands full against this lineup once again.

ON DECK | vs FIU (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball: Owls flying high with road sweep vs Old Dominion

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It’s been a season of streaks, both good and bad, for Rice baseball. A road series sweep of Old Dominion has the Owls on the upswing.

The back and forth swings of the 2019 Rice baseball season hit a high note in Virginia. After winning their first conference game on Sunday against UTSA, Rice extended their CUSA winning streak to four games in a row with a three game sweep of Old Dominion.

The strong weekend boosts the Owls’ record to 12-18 (4-5 CUSA). While it wasn’t quite a “must win” series, the impact from the impressive showing will have repercussions in the days to come. Here are how each game finished and three final takeaways from one of the Owl’s best weekends of the season.

FRIDAY | Rice 3 – Old Dominion 1

Despite a 1-4 record entering the series, Rice ace Matt Canterino has been steady. Ufnoratunetly for him, one bad inning had spoiled his last few starts as the offense behind him sputtered. He only got three runs of support on Friday night, but Canterino was so locked in that would prove to be more than enough.

Canterino’s only run allowed came by way of a wild pitch in the fifth inning, an inning in which he recorded three of his season-high 12 strikeouts. The run could only even the score — Bradley Gneiting had opened up a 1-0 edge in the top half of the inning with an RBI single.

Rice would tack on two additional runs in the seventh and eighth innings on solo home runs to left field by Braden Comeaux and Justin Collins, respectively. Kendal Jeffries would relieve Canterino after six innings and silence Old Dominion for the remainder of the game, allowing one hit and zero runs as he faced the minimum to earn his third save of the year.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON | Rice 14 – Old Dominion 10

Both offenses came out swinging following the pitcher’s duel on Friday night. Neither starting pitcher made it past the third inning. Tommy Gertner recorded five outs and was charged with five runs after hitting four batters, walking two and allowing five hits. Rice starter Addison Moss was equally ineffective, allowing seven runs while walking three in 2+ innings of work.

Fortunately for the Owls, they had proven starter Jackson Parthasarathy waiting in the pen. He came on in the third and closed out the game, throwing seven innings of three-run ball. Old Dominion wasn’t nearly as fortunate. The Monarchs turned to six pitchers on the day, none of which lasted at least three innings. All but one, Trey Fisher who got the last two outs in the ninth, allowed fewer than two hits and one run.

Outfielder Dominic Cox led the way with seven RBI on three extra base hits, highlighted by his first home run on the season. Andrew Dunlap blasted two home runs of his own driving in four. Every player in the Owls’ lineup reached base at least once and the team totaled just seven strikeouts, tied for the fewest in conference play.

SATURDAY NIGHT| Rice 11 – Old Dominion 2

Bumped up from the previously scheduled Sunday start, Rice picked up where they left off in the earlier game, blasting past Old Dominion in the series finale to sweep the series. Evan Kravetz had arguably the best outing of his career, allowing three hits and two runs in eight innings of work against an Old Dominion lineup which had scored 10 runs against Rice only a few hours before he took the mound.

Kravetz allowed a single in the first before holding the Monarchs without a hit from the second to the sixth inning. Old Dominion scored twice on a pair of sacrifice flies in the seventh, but an 8-0 Rice advantage made the damage seem paltry in comparison.

As Kravetz dealt on the mound, Rice pounded out 16 hits, the most against any conference opponent yet this season. Dunlap hit his third home run of the day, extenind a 1-0 Rice lead to a 4-0 lead in the third inning. Collins would follow with another home run. The five-run margin proved to be more than enough, but Rice would tack on three runs in the seventh and ninth innings for good measure.

TAKEAWAYS | Rice wins series 3-0

1. The offense actually looks balanced

At the beginning of the season it felt like it was Trei Cruz against the world. The talented shortstop carries a big stick, but he’s since fallen down in the stat sheet following his hot start. Four every day starters are hitting .300 or better — that doesn’t include Cruz or Collins behind the plate. Nor does it count red-hot Dominic Cox.

The first seven batters Rice started in the last game of the series on Saturday were hitting .286 or better. Rice scored 11 runs. It’s not rocket science, but seven strong hitters typically leads to more productive offenses than weak lineups with one big-time slugger. That was where the Owls found themselves early on as Cruz flirted with a ,400 average. Now, they’re fairly even keeled with players emerging from all over the roster to make big hits.

This offense is more than just Trei Cruz right now. And perhaps not so coincidentally, the production increased exponentially.

2. More often that not, the rotation is going to be enough

Matt Canterino only went six innings, but he struck out 12. In quick relief of Addison Moss, Jackson Parthasarathy went seven innings on Saturday before Evan Kravetz slammed the door in the final game to secure the sweep. As a unit, it was a pretty good weekend, especially when you consider how much Rice needed to win to a weekend series.

If Rice can get close to that level of effectiveness each weekend in conference play they’ll be a threat to take down all comers. That’s especially true considering the masterful work of the Rice bullpen over the weekend. The three relievers utilized by coach Matt Bragg over the weekend  — Jeffries, Parthasarathy and Gayle —  allowed three runs on nine hits in 11 innings.

3. Resiliency

It’s been a season of streaks. After opening with a series win over Rhode Island, Rice looked out of touch in losses to Arizona and Texas as well as weekend series dropped to UC Irvine and Oklahoma. They righted that ship with a huge weekend at the Shriner’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park.

Then things went south again. Rice dropped their first five conference games and looked bad doing it. There were questions about whether or not this team could do enough to earn a postseason berth, something which has been the expected outcome of season at Rice for some time. Sitting in another low spot, Rice rallied again.

Baseball is an intensive character to test. Players on all teams learn a lot about themselves during the strains of tough stretches on the plate or at the ound. It takes intestinal fortitude, guts, to weather the storm and keep fighting. Whether or not they’ll reach the postseason or not remains to be seen, but this team continues to prove they’re going to battle. That’s a good sign.

ON DECK | at Sam Houston (Tues),  vs FIU (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball: Previewing the Old Dominion series

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Rice baseball is looking for their first conference series win this season. They’ll look to get it done on the road this weekend against Old Dominion.

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

Both Rice and Old Dominion sport equally unsatisfying 1-5 records through two weeks of Conference USA action. The Monarchs took the series finale against Charlotte in mid-March before they were blasted by Southern Miss last weekend where they were outscored 34-4. Rice dropped a midweek bout with Texas State but broke a five-game CUSA losing streak with a Sunday win over UTSA in the previous game.

Although it’s been a bumpy last few weeks for Old Dominion, their 16 wins ties them with Southern Miss and FAU for the most wins among CUSA teams. Rice has been less fortunate and needs a strong weekend to propel themselves back into the hunt. Here’s everything you need to know for the weekend:

Projected Pitching Matchups

Friday – 5:00 pm: Matt Canterino (1-4, 2.79) vs Nick Pantos (3-1, 2.80)
Saturday – 2:00 pm: Addison Moss (1-1, 6.75)  vs Ryne Moore (4-1, 3.27)
Sunday – 10:00 am: Evan Kravetz (1-1, 5.52) vs Morgan Maguire (1-2, 7.28)

Old Dominion Pitching

The Monarchs will try and ride their starting pitching as long as they can this weekend. Like Rice, their bullpen has been a mixed back. Nick Pantos will look to start things off on the right foot on Friday. A JUCO transfer who was expected to compete for a rotation spot, Pantos has become the most trustworthy hurler on the team. His start against Matt Canterino should shape up into quite the pitcher’s duel. Behind him, things get sparse quickly.

Hunter Gregory is the most reliable option out of the pen. He leads the team with 36 strikeouts and has worked a hefty 26 innings so far, three and a third fewer than Maguire who’s made seven starts. Outside of Gregory, Matt Busher can be dangerous when he throws strikes, but his 14 walks make him hard to trust too much in high leverage situations.

Isaiah Nelson and Aaron Holiday have been hard to hit (.200 and .163 batting averages against, respectively). After that, most everyone has had at least a few bad outings. The top end is fairly strong, but this is far from the most dominant relief corps Rice will face in conference play.

Old Dominion Hitting

The pitching staff might be top heavy but the lineup is not. Eight regulars have batting averages of .265 or better. Infielder Bryce Windham leads the way, slashing .367/.495/.418. While his bat is dangerous, what he and the rest of the roster excel at the most is having good at bats. He’s had 79 at bats and struck out just six times. As a team, the Monarchs have the fewest strikeouts in CUSA (143), well below league leader Rice (264).

That’s part of what makes this lineup so intriguing. They don’t have any obvious power hitters — Windham, Vinnie Pasquantino and Andy Garriola are tied with three apiece. Their .281 collective batting average ranks sixth in the conference, as does their 149 runs scored. From outfielder Kyle Battle and infielder Matt Burch at the top of the order to whoever is in the nine-hole on that particular day, the Monarchs can hit.

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Rice Baseball: Owls fall in extras to Texas State

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Extra innings weren’t enough for Rice baseball to steal a win away from Texas State in San Marcos on Tuesday night.

The third time wasn’t the charm for Rice against Texas State this season. The Owls dropped the San Marcos leg of the three-game season series, following a 1-0 defeat at the Shriner’s College Classic and a 5-0 loss at Reckling Park.

Texas State opened the scoring on a sac fly following a Trei Cruz fielding error in the first. The home team would break things open further with a four-run fourth inning, highlighted by a two run blast to left field by Chase Evans.

Trailing 5-0 on the road, Rice fought back. The Owls outscored the Bobcats 6-1 over the next four frames, tying the game at 6-6 entering the ninth inning. Texas State would go on to win in extras on a two-out RBI single by cleanup hitter Jaylen Hubbard. Here are three big picture takeaways from the loss.

The bullpen struggles don’t stem from lack of trying

Rice has all but run out of reliable bullpen pieces. Kendall Jeffries and Garrett Gayle can’t throw every night, so head coach Matt Bragga chose Tuesday to test out a few lesser used arms. That decision came with high risk and might have been the Owls’ undoing in the end.

Blake Brogdon, Brandon Deskins and Benjamin Content have thrown 14 innings between them this season, combined. All three of them were called to pitch and each of them had their struggles. That trio would ultimately account for five of the six earned runs allowed, four walks and three of the four extra base hits allowed.

It would be short-sighted to pin this loss solely on any of those three guys. Brogdon, who will sport the official L on his stat sheet, had 1.1 innings under his belt this season prior to coming in to relief starter Kel Bordwine. Rice was out of options so they rolled the dice. Some of their other bullpen pieces still have so work to do.

Rice might have found a centerfielder

Aaron Beaulaurier has a strong argument to be made as the top defender on this roster. His problems have come at the plate where he’s hitting a ghastly .148. His at bats haven’t looked particularly encouraging, so finding someone else to man center and hit at the back end of the order has become a necessity.

Dominic Cox doesn’t have the same caliber of instincts as Beaulaurier in the field, but he’s been solid and is hitting better of late than he has all season. His four hits in the past three games match his season total in the Owls’ previous 23 contests. If he can prove he can maintain this kind of production he’ll be able to claim the spot for good.

Fielding lapses not in the rearview mirror yet

Headed into the ninth inning against UTSA on Sunday Rice had committed no errors in the three game series. Braden Comeaux misplayed a ball in the ninth inning, snapping the opportunity for the first error-free weekend of the season. Rather than bouncing back, Tuesday was worse. Rice committed four errors, starting with a run-producing gaffe by Trei Cruz in the first inning.

Now that we know what this team is capable in the field they’re going to be held to a higher standard.

UP NEXT | at Old Dominion (Fri – Sun)
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Rice Baseball: Owls hope third time’s the charm against Texas State

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Rice baseball has yet to top Texas State in two matchups this season. Can the Owls get over the hump on Tuesday?

It’s been relatively close, but Texas State has gotten the better of Rice in each of their first two matchups of the 2019 season. The Bobcats won 1-0 in a pitcher’s duel at the Shiner’s College Classic. They followed that up with 5-0 shutout over the Owls at Reckling Park. Rice left 11 men on base in defeat.

With the season series lost, Rice will look to salvage one game and secure another winning streak on the heels of a Sunday victory over UTSA.

When and Where

Pitching matchups

Garrett Gayle has risen in his consistency over the last month. He came in quickly to relieve Kel Bordwine against Texas State in their second matchup and starter last week’s midweek affair against Texas A&M. If Addison Moss is destined for the weekend rotation, Gayle or Bordwine are the best guesses to see significant run.

For Texas State, there’s little reason to doubt Garrett Hermann as the probable starter once again. He threw 5.2 innings against Rice in the second meeting, allowing six hits and no runs. He also started their most recent midweek tilt, a 6-1 loss to Incarnate Word in which he allowed five runs (four earned) in 3.1 innings.

Names to know from the plate

Will Hollis, drove in the game-winning run in the first matchup with  Rice this year and currently holds an impressive 1.081 OPS. Not letting him beat you at the plate will be a primary objective for the Owls’ pitching staff.

Jaxon Williams and Jaylen Hubbard have cooled off slightly since their last meeting, but both infielders have maintained a .300+ batting average and rank first and second, respectively, on the team in runs scored.

ON DECK | at Old Dominion (Fri-Sun)

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