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Rice Baseball drops series, but pushes UTSA to the wire

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Rice Baseball went toe-to-toe with league-leading UTSA and while the Owls lost the series, they measured up well against the Roadrunners.

FRIDAY | UTSA 4 – Rice 3 (11 inn.)

It didn’t seem like it would turn into a pitcher’s dual on Friday afternoon following an exchange of two-run home runs by each starter in the first inning, but that’s where the game went following Guy Garibay’s game-tying blast over the right field wall. Parker Smith would settle in from that point onward, finishing with three runs allowed (two earned) and six strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched.

More: Rice Baseball nonconference Stat of the Program

The unearned run would prove to be costly, though. Smith committed an error on a leadoff bunt single, allowing the runner to advance to second. Then he came in to score shortly after on a wild pitch. Trailing 3-2, Rice baseball would rally to tie the score in the ninth on a pinch-hit single by Paul Smith before ultimately falling in the 11th inning.

SATURDAY | Rice 13 – UTSA 8

After a modest start at the plate for both squads, the bats came out swinging in earnest on Saturday. The teams combined for six runs in the second inning, with Garibay starting the hit parade for the Owls with a home run with Manny Garza and Benjamin Rosengard collecting RBI in the inning as well. UTSA would punch back to briefly take a 5-4 lead before the Owls’ offense exploded again.

Rice baseball struck for five runs in the fifth with two RBI from Garza and three from Paul Smith on a home run. The nine runs would be enough, but the Owls would add two runs each in the seventh and eighth innings for good measure, hanging on to win 13-8 and force a rubber game on Sunday.

SUNDAY| UTSA 6 – Rice 5

UTSA struck for two runs in the second inning against Rice starter Tom Vincent, signally another game that would require run production to win. Rice responded immediately afterward, taking the lead on back-to-back home runs by Aaron Smigelski and Ben Royo, on consecutive pitches, no less. UTSA answered with a two-run shot in the third to go up 4-3 and the game was on.

Another home run, this time by Connor Walsh, evened the score at five in the sixth inning where the margin remained until UTSA came through with a two-out double to right-center in the eighth, going ahead for good. Rice would not reach base in either of their final two frames, dropping the game and the series on Sunday afternoon.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball has dropped their three-game series with UTSA two games to one, narrowly losing out on the chance to win a series against the best team in Conference USA. Even in defeat, the Owls acquitted themselves well and proved they belong near the top of the standings in a variety of ways. Here are a few takeaways from the weekend.

1. Game On

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ON DECK | at Lamar (Tues),  at FAU (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Football 2023 Spring Practice Notebook 4: Scrimmage 1

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The first scrimmage of 2023 Rice Football spring practice is in the books. Here are a few individual standouts and some big-picture takeaways.

As is typically the case, the Rice football offense was doing push ups at the end of spring scrimmage one, losing the day to the defense. Head coach Mike Bloomgren admitted it would have been a rarity to see the offense come out faster than the defense to start any camp session, but was quick to level some specific critiques as well. This update breaks down some individual standouts on both sides of the ball and their ramifications on the team thus far.

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Rice Football 2023 Spring Practice Notebook 3: Depth Chart

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The first depth chart of Rice Football spring practices has been released and there’s a lot to unpack as the Owls begin the spring.

Several of the players who won’t appear on any depth chart this spring were mentioned in a previous update. This note focuses on those who are on the depth chart and how where they appear will impact expectations and certain realities for them this spring.

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Unpacking the Spring Depth Chart

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Conference USA Basketball soars in postseason play

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Conference USA Basketball dominated the postseason, from FAU’s Final Four run in the NCAA Tournament to multiple other championships.

Every Conference USA basketball team that appeared in a postseason tournament this season won at least one game with the majority making deep postseason runs. Here’s where each team in the league finished.

Florida Atlantic (4-1 in NCAA Tournament, Final Four)

Many thought 9-Seed FAU was underseeded when they were matched up with a red-hot Memphis team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Owls backed up those beliefs with a win over the Tigers in the first round before defeating Farleigh Dickinson (which upset Purdue) in the Round of 32 to advance to the Sweet 16.

They weren’t finished, though. FAU beat 4-Seed Tennessee and 3-Seed Kansas State in Madison Square Garden to punch their ticket to the Final Four where they lost on a buzzer-beater to San Diego State, despite holding a double-digit lead midway through the second half.

North Texas (5-0 in NIT)

The Mean Green had a fringe case for the NCAA Tournament but had to settle for a No. 2 seed in the NIT where they’ve made plenty of noise. The Mean Green defeated Alcorn, 3-Seed Sam Houston, 1-Seed Oklahoma State (in Stillwater) and 2-Seed Wisconsin to reach the NIT Tournament Championship Game where they played (and beat) fellow Conference USA representative, UAB.

UAB (4-1 in NIT)

To reach the NIT Championship game along with North Texas, UAB has defeated former C-USA foe Southern Miss in the first round and Moorehead State in the second round, before advancing to topple 2-Seed Vanderbilt and Utah Valley. The Blazers were undefeated against teams outsider their conference in the NIT.

Charlotte (4-0, won CBI)

The 49ers were awarded the No. 3 seed in the CBI Tournament and more than backed it up. Charlotte defeated Western Carolina, Milwaukee and Radford along their way to an appearance in the CBI Tournament Championship game against No. 8 seed Eastern Kentucky. They won that game, too.

Rice (1-1 in CBI)

The only Conference USA squad to lose a postseason game thus far, Rice started their brief CBI run with an upset victory over No. 5-Seed Duquesne before falling to No. 4-Seed Southern Utah in the second round. The Owls erased a 14-point deficit to tie the game in the final seconds but couldn’t complete the comeback.

Add ’em Up

Conference USA Basketball finished 18-3 in postseason play and nearly swept all three major postseason tournaments (NCAA, NIT, CBI). They won a staggering 90 percent of their games against non-Conference USA opponents. One more interesting wrinkle: all five of these postseason-bound teams are moving to the American next season.

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Fast start not enough as Rice Baseball falls to Texas A&M for third time

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Rice Baseball started fast, but couldn’t hold on, falling to Texas A&M for the third time on the season in as many games.

Rice baseball couldn’t have asked for much of a better start to their midweek tilt against Texas A&M. Benjamin Rosengard mashed a leadoff home run to put the Owls in front 1-0. Drew Holderbach followed two innings later with a two-run blast, spotting the road team a 3-0 lead entering the bottom half of the inning. The lead would not last.

Texas A&M drove Rice starter Garret Zaskoda from the game in the fourth, connecting on four consecutive extra-base hits to tie the game in the process. A pickoff attempt gone awry by Cristian Cienfuegos in the following frame would allow the Aggies to go ahead, an advantage they’d lengthen as the game progressed.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball grinds out hard-fought sweep over UAB

Texas A&M added an insurance run in the sixth and two more in the eighth, all via the long ball. Trailing by four in the ninth, Rice snapped out of their offensive funk. Ben Royo hit the game’s fifth home run, getting Rice within two. Then Guy Garibay, with a runner on, deposited a ball over the right-center fence to tie the game.

Rice went to Justin Long in the ninth, proof of their desire to find a way to win. A walk followed by two softly hit balls in the infield loaded the bases, setting up the Aggies for a walk-off win which would come via a hit by pitch. For the third time this season, Rice fell to Texas A&M.

What it means | Cienfuegos joins the circle of trust

At this point, it seems unrealistic to expect Rice baseball to solidify a singular midweek starter for the season. It’s fairly obvious that head coach Jose Cruz Jr. and pitching coach Parker Bangs are willing to mix and match as they work to narrow down their pecking order on the mound. This time around, it was Cristian Cienfuegos that turned heads.

More: Rice Baseball Nonconference State of the Program

Cienfuegos stranded the would-be go-ahead runner on third base on his way to 2.2 strong innings with three strikeouts. He did allow one run (unearned) on a sequence that felt like a halfhearted throw to second that was blocked by the base runner. This was his third consecutive quality outing in a row and it probably should earn him a relief opportunity this coming weekend.

ON DECK | vs UTSA (Fri-Sun)

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