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Rice Baseball: Owls making the most of established starting lineup

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With only a few games remaining in the season, Rice baseball has settled in on a starting lineup, one which has brought much-needed consistency to the offense.

Head coach Matt Bragga flip-flopped the lineup on a nightly basis at the beginning of the season. He admitted then he’d rather stick with the same nine guys and not make as many adjustments, but lamented it wouldn’t happen until they were good enough as a team to solidify a starting nine. For him, the end goal will always be consistency. “I think consistency is good in whatever you’re doing, as long as it’s going well,” Bragga affirmed.

With the end of the regular season in view, Bragga’s squad has found those nine. The same position players have started every game of the Owls’ six-game winning streak and two of their three subsequent losses — Braden Comeaux, Bradley Gneiting, Trei Cruz, Andrew Dunlap, Cade Edwards, Justin Collins, Dominic Cox, Brandt Frazier and Aaron Beaulaurier. The lone exception was a Khevin Brewer start at designated hitter in the second half of Friday’s double header against WKU.

That core group, with a few pinch hitters scattered in, has paved the way for the Owls’ longest winning streak of the season. No longer is the weight of the offense resting on any one player’s shoulders. Every night someone different gets a big hit. It took a few months to get here, but the offense is beginning to feel balanced.

“There’s not a lot of options,” Bragga admitted, “so when you find a group of nine you’re very apt to stay with that nine.”

For the most part, that nine has got the job done. They’ve won six of their last nine games with the final game of the WKU series awaiting Sunday. Salvaging one more CUSA win would have a significant on the conference race. Bragga’s mindset remains clear. “We need to do better.” he said. That much is true. Now they have the right pieces in place to do it.

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Rice Baseball: Previewing the Western Kentucky series

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Rice baseball looks to keep their strong conference surge going with a road trip to Western Kentucky. Here’s how the Owls stack up with the Hilltoppers.

Listen online // Watch Friday (CUSA TV)

Winners of six straight conference games, Rice is playing their best baseball as the calendar turns to May. Next up the Owls hit the road for a three-game stretch with Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are 4-4 over their last eight games and sit a half game back of Rice (12-9) in conference play with an 11-9-1 record. Both teams need the series win dearly with just a few weeks of conference play remaining before postseason play begins. Here’s what to expect from WKU:

Projected Pitching Matchups

Friday – 3:00 pm: Matt Canterino (6-4, 2.69) vs Reece Calvert (1-2, 5.03)
Friday – 6:30 pm: Evan Kravetz (4-2, 3.69)  vs Troy Newell (2-3, 6.95)
Sunday – 1:00 pm: Jackson Parthasarathy (3-6, 4.42) vs Joe Filosa (1-0, 5.64)

WKU Pitching

The Hilltoppers sport a 6.53 ERA, the worst among all pitching staffs in Conference USA. They’ve been collectively weak from top to bottom. All three hurlers in their weekend rotation have ERAs or 5.00 or worse, so do all but two of the pitchers on their roster who have appeared in at least one game this season.

Relievers Bailey Sutton (3.86 ERA) and Jeff Ciocco (4.86) are the Hilltoppers’ best options out of the pen but both of those pitchers wear a WHIP of 1.540 or worse. Opposing hitters are hitting .300 against WKU with 56 home runs. There isn’t anyone on the mound who will give Rice hitters a real scare over the weekend.

WKU Hitting

What Western Kentucky might lack on the bump they make up for in the batter’s box and it all starts with centerfielder Jake Sanford. His .859 slugging percentage leads the nation and he ranks inside the top 25 with a .500 on base percentage and a .412 batting average. He’s the heart and soul of the Hilltoppers’ lineup.

Sanford’s supporting cast is dangerous, too. Right fielder Jack Wilson owns a more human-like .427 slugging percentage and is second on the team with 49 hits with 13 doubles. Matt Phipps and Jackson Swinney have 10 doubles apiece. From top to bottom this team is going to make the Rice pitching staff work.

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Rice Football: 2020 RB Khalan Griffin commits to Owls

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The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class keeps adding playmakers, this time with the commitment of running back Khalan Griffin.

A strong start for the 2020 Rice football recruiting class keeps getting better. Already owners of one of the best classes in Conference USA, Rice is adding another weapon. The Owls have secured a  commitment from top running back target, Khalan Griffin.

Griffin’s stock exploded this spring. After picking up a handful of offers in prior months, Griffin garnered six offers in April alone. With offers from Rice, Dartmouth, Navy and Georgia Southern added to previous offers from Army, Air Force and Texas State, the race for the versatile athlete began to heat up.

Listed as an athlete, Griffin plays quarterback for the Brook Hill School in Bullard, Tx. His 4.5-type speed combined with his field vision make him an ideal candidate to transition to running back at the next level. That’s where the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Griffin will play at South Main.

Griffin marks yet another three-star recruit who’s made a pledge to Rice in the 2020 class. He joins safety Plae Wyatt, and offensive lineman Brady Feeney and Braedon Nutter. The Owls inked 10 3-star players in the 2019 class, they’ve almost reached the halfway mark to that number and the summer hasn’t even arrived.

More: Owls’ 2020 class beginning to take shape

For Griffin, the Owls were the easy favorite. “I loved everything about it,” he said following his visit to campus for the Rice Football Blue and Gray spring game, citing positive conversations for offensive coordinator Jerry Mack and head coach Mike Bloomgren. He was ecstatic about how Mack described his potential in the Rice offense, profiling as a do-it-all offensive weapon along the lines of former Owls’ running back Austin Walter.

The Rice offense needs explosiveness and top-end, something Griffin possesses in bunches. His athleticism behind a retooled offensive line are going to make this offense fun to watch in the coming years. This is the kind of player you want to feed the football early an often.

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Rice Baseball: Owls crumble late as Houston evens Silver Glove Series

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Rice baseball took an early lead, but couldn’t hold on dropping the second game of the Silver Glove Series to Houston on Wednesday night.

A hot start from the Rice bats wouldn’t be enough to secure their second win over Houston this season and clinch the Silver Glove Series.

Things started off on the right track. Bradley Gneiting got things going with a double to left center. He was quickly driven in by Trei Cruz to give Rice the 1-0 lead. Next, Andrew Dunlap was hit by the pitch for a team-leading 17th time, setting up Cade Edwards for an RBI single to extend the Rice lead to 2-0.

Houston would tie the game up in the seventh with a two-out double down the right field line. The score remained 2-2 entering extra innings before disaster struck in the 10th. Jackson Tyner loaded the bases and Ben Schragger allowed three runs on two walks and a hit batsman. Two more relievers would try their hand, but the game was quickly out of hand. Rice was shut out in the home half of the inning, dropping the game by a final score of 8-2.

1. Defense moving from deficit to asset

Sloppy play in the field was a significant contributing factor to the Owls rough start to the season. Rice wasn’t able to string together two error-free games together until March 22 and March 23, two games into conference play. They haven’t been perfect in the field since then, but the Owls had 11 multi-error games before that juncture and have reached that mark six times since.

Not only are they not making mistakes, but players across the diamond are also stepping up to make big plays. Gneiting made a nifty save on the track in right field in the fourth and Brandt Frazier snagged a missile sent his direction in the fifth. Rice committed no errors in 10 innings.

2. Bordwine’s best

The chances of broaching the weekend rotation this season are slim to none, but Rice is going to need all the arms they can find if they want to make a run through the CUSA Tournament and vie for NCAA Tournament slot. Using midweek games like Wednesday’s clash with the Cougars to identify those extra weapons is a must. Bordwine rose to the occasion and could write his name into lineup cards more often moving forward.

Bordwine tied a career-long set earlier this season against Prairie View A&M with five innings pitched. He allowed one hit, struck out one and walked two. He might not be as dominant as some of the other arms Rice can turn to in a pinch, but having one more reliable option is always a good thing.

3. Failing to clinch the Silver Glove Series now is a missed opportunity

When Rice was in their heyday, the Silver Glove seldom left South Main. Rice won the series every season from 2001 to 2013. As far as baseball was concerned, the Owls ruled the city of Houston. A win on Wednesday would have given the Owls a 3-3 split with the Cougars over the last six seasons. Instead, they’ll get one more chance in the rubber game of the series, held later this season at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.

Winning rivalry games is an important step in restoring the program to its historic roots. Rice has already accrued wins over in-state powers TCU and Baylor. Those are proof of a strong foundation being built by Bragga during his first campaign at Rice. There’s still more to be done.

ON DECK | at Western Kentucky (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball: Owls look to clinch Silver Glove Series vs Houston

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Winners of a previous meeting at Schroeder Park, Rice baseball can clinch the Silver Glove Series with a win over Houston on Wednesday.

Rice owned the Silver Gloves Series for the majority of the Wayne Graham era, but the crosstown rivalry has grown more contentious in recent years. The Owls won the series from 2001 to 2013. Since then, the Cougars and Owls have traded years with Rice winning the odd years and Houston winning the even years.

If tradition holds, 2019 is the year of the Owls. Rice took the first step in that journey, defeating Houston 5-3 in March to take a 1-0 series lead. They have two games remaining in the series, starting with a home contest at Reckling Park next before finishing the series at Constellation Field in Sugar Land. Here’s how both teams stack up and how to watch.

When and Where

Projected pitching matchup – Kel Bordwine vs Jared Pettitte

Rice hasn’t had a midweek game for a few weeks. Prior to the brief break, Kel Bordwine had settled into the midweek starting role for the Owls. Bordwine has been part of a short rotation and hasn’t thrown more than two innings since pitching four innings against Sam Houston on March 6. Bordwine is 1-2 with a 5.47 ERA in 11 appearances.

Ryan Randel had been the man to go in the Cougars’ midweek games until recently moving into the weekend rotation. Jared Pettitte started the last midweek game against Sam Houston and could in line for action this week, too. He owns a 7.04 ERA in five appearances (three starts).

Names to know from the plate

First baseman Joe Davis carries the water for the Cougars at the plate. He leads the team with 16 home runs, 50 RBI and a .431 on base percentage. Third baseman Jared Triolo is right there with him, batting .310 with a team-high 11 doubles.

Centerfield Tyler Bielamowicz and designated hitter Derrick Cherry round out the upper half of the lineup. The Cougars managed fives hits in the first game of the Silver Glove Series, two of which came from Bielamowicz.

ON DECK | at Western Kentucky (Fri-Sun)

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