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Rice Baseball 2021: Owls manage series split vs UTSA in rematch

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Rice baseball started strong, riding two early wins to a series split against UTSA in a rematch of a previous meeting this season.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball splits series 2-2

1. Split shows signs of progress

Rice baseball has yet to win a weekend series against a conference opponent. Coming into this weekend, they hadn’t managed a split either. So by taking the first two games against the Roadrunners, tangible signs of progress were produced. When Rice puts together a complete game from all phases — not even necessarily a dominant showing by any group — this team can win.

At the same time, the failure to come close in either of the final two games left some well-deserved frustrations. Both things can be true. Not winning the series was a missed opportunity, especially when Rice had the luxury of throwing Roel Garcia in the finale. That should have been advantage, Owls.

2. The bullpen issues linger

Four times in four games, Rice gave up four or more runs in a single inning. The only game they avoided a crooked number, Game 2, they won. As for the rest of the series, they lost two of three when surrendering a big inning. Those bullpen blowups have hampered this team tremendously. Individual arms have flashed one weekend and failed the next.

That makes it hard for head coach Matt Bragga to know what buttons to press. Now he’s forced to ask himself not only “can this guy get the job done?” but also “is he going to be locked in today or not?”. Bragga would probably own up to being a bit too slow to use the hook, but it’s a two-way street with both sides showing weaknesses.

3. Fielding isn’t doing the Owls any favors

The bullpen hasn’t been perfect, but their struggles don’t fall solely on the guys on the mound. Errors were costly to Rice this weekend, and they’ve cropped up more than a few times for Rice over the last few weeks. In conference play, Rice sports a .966 fielding percentage, ninth in Conference USA.

The Owls committed no errors in either of their wins against UTSA this weekend. They committed two errors in each of their losses, including errors in those crucial blowup innings. When looked at another way, Rice allowed seven unearned runs in the final two games. That’s not going to cut it.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Rice 8 – UTSA 6

Following a lengthy lightning delay, the Owls got things started off on the right foot with three runs in the first two innings, two of which came with two outs. That spotted Micah Davis, who threw the first two innings in place of Garcia, given the unexpected and extended delay. Davis gave was to a bullpen day, which, apart from a woeful outing by Drake Greenwood, kept Rice right in the mix.

Tied up at six apiece entering the bottom half of the fifth inning, Bragga turned to Brandon Deskins. He struck out eight in the final five frames, allowing just four hits and no runs. That gave the offense enough opportunities to break through, which they did in the sixth courtesy of a pair of RBI groundouts from Braden Comeaux and Bradley Gneiting to put Rice ahead for good.

SATURDAY 1 | Rice 5 – UTSA 4

Starter Mitchell Holcomb allowed some contact and a quarter of one-run innings, but his workmanlike efforts prevented UTSA from every compiling a big inning in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader. While Holcomb held things close, the Rice offense did their best to chip away.

Trailing 4-3 entering the sixth, freshman Nathan Becker homered to tie things up. Then, in the seventh and final inning, a sac fly from Guy Garibay, who step onto the mound for his fourth save in the bottom half of the inning, gave Rice the win.

SATURDAY 2 | UTSA 12 – Rice – 6

Cade Edwards scored on a wild pitch in the first inning to give Rice an early lead. The Owls hung a five-spot in the third with big RBI extra-base hits from Garibay and Will Karp. But none of it would prove to be enough to overcome what has become a much-too-frequent disaster inning from the Rice pitching staff.

Matthew Linskey, who’d faired well as an opener in previous outings, failed to record an out to start the game. He walked two batters and hit a pair, the second of which drove in the tying run. He was lifted for Garret Zaskoda, but the next man up wasn’t able to quell the trouble. Zaskoda would be removed in favor of Josh Larzabal before the inning was through. Nine runs later, the inning ended and this one was essentially over.

SUNDAY | UTSA 12 – Rice 4

Things set up well for Rice entering the final game of the weekend. With Garcia on the mound after Friday’s weather, the Owls were able to hold UTSA scoreless through the fourth inning. Up 1-0 courtesy of an Austin Bulman RBI single in the fourth, Rice was unable to finish.

An error and two singles loaded the bases for UTSA in the fifth. Blake Brogdon entered and wasn’t at his best. He allowed a RBI double and a three-run home run, turning a tight game into a one-sided affair. Rice would close the gap to 7-4 in the eighth, before Brogdon ran into more trouble and UTSA piled on a few additional insurance runs.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Owls dealt one-sided sweep by LA Tech

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For the third weekend in a row, Rice baseball dropped a conference series, this time coming at home against a red-hot, ranked Louisiana Tech club.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball loses series 4-0

1. Mental toughness is missing

Rice was locked into a pitcher’s duel on Friday night. Owls’ hurler Blake Brogdon was going toe-to-toe with C-USA Pitcher of the Year candidate Jonathan Fincher. But when Brogdon waivered in the sixth inning, the team behind him folded. Dalton Wood entered with two men in scoring position and no outs. He walked two, allowed a run on a passed ball and another run on a balk.

Rice blew a two-run lead in the final inning to start Saturday’s doubleheader. Then they were blasted 20-6 in the second leg. Things went from bad to worse quickly, and nobody was there to stop the bleeding. On Sunday Rice led 2-1, then when tied 2-2, allowed a crushing 4-run sixth inning.

Head coach Matt Bragga summed it up well in a recent conversation. “As a club, we’re not mentally tough enough.” If Rice wants to contend in Conference USA. That has to change. Losing close games is painful, but wilting when the spotlight shines brightest is doubly painful.

2. Come give Comeaux some help

Rice baseball had one player on the Conference USA Preseason All-Conference team, senior third baseman Braden Comeaux. Through the first half of the season, Comeaux has more than proven his inclusion among the leagues’ best was well deserved. He’s made some spectacular plays on the hot corner and continues to hit everyone he sees.

Comeaux was one of four Owls’ to get a hit off Fincher on Friday. He helped jump-start a four-run third inning on Saturday afternoon and had a multi-hit outing Saturday night. His relentless consistency has been the best part of the Rice offense all season.

3. Missing a dominant phase

What’s hurt Rice the most during this tough opening stretch to conference play is the lack of one dominant aspect of their game to fall back on. Rice has an average offense by most metrics. Their pitching is below average. The fielding has been slightly above average, but the Owls did commit five errors this weekend across the four games.

Teams like UTSA (a great offense) or Middle Tennessee (great pitching) have managed to hover around .500 in the league play. Rice doesn’t have to fix everything all at once to start winning more baseball games, but at least one phase needs to take a step-change if Rice wants to stay competitive down the stretch.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | LA Tech 6 – Rice 0

Blake Brogdon kept Louisiana Tech at bay for five innings, but the Rice bats never proved much of a threat on Friday night against Jonathan Fincher. When Louisiana Tech broke the tie in the sixth, the Bulldogs’ three-run outburst felt like a much more exorbitant deficit.

Another three-run inning for Louisiana Tech in the eighth pushed the game further out of reach. Rice managed just four hits and had multiple base runners in just two of the nine innings.

SATURDAY 1 | LA Tech 7 – Rice 6

The bats were more productive for Rice on Saturday, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to take a 6-2 lead after five innings. Cade Edwards and Bradley Gneiting hit two-run home runs. Austin Bulman and Connor Walsh provided the other run-scoring hits.

As the offense worked, Rice starter Roel Garcia held Louisiana Tech at bay and left the seven-inning game in the sixth with the lead. It would not last. The combination of Garret Zaskoda and Guy Garibay could not hold the lead. Louisiana Tech would score five runs in the final two innings to win 7-6.

SATURDAY 2 | Louisiana Tech 20 – Rice 6

After coming painfully close on Saturday afternoon the Owls were never within striking distance from a doubleheader split later that same day. Louisiana Tech scored eight runs in the second inning of Rice starter Mitchell Holcomb, who recorded just four outs. By the time Rice scored its first run in the fourth, they had already trailed 12-0.

Rice used five pitchers. All but Jared Plank allowed three or more runs. Plank’s outing was actually one of the best of the weekend by any Rice pitcher, throwing one scoreless inning with just one hit allowed. It wouldn’t be enough to slow the Louisiana Tech onslaught, though.

SUNDAY | Louisiana Tech 13 – Rice 4

Rice showed some initial resistance in the series finale. With Brandon Deskins on the mound, Rice fell behind 1-0 in the fourth inning. The bats responded immediately, manufacturing the tying run with a sacrifice fly and the go-ahead run on an RBI single. The Owls stole four bases in the inning.

The lead would prove to be short-lived. Deskins got into some trouble in the fifth with two walks of his own plus an error in the infield. Louisiana Tech would strike for two runs in that inning, piling on four more in the sixth and six more in the final two innings.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Owls run out of time, drop series to Middle Tennessee

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Rice baseball ran out of time against Middle Tennessee, ending the weekend with an extra-inning tie and leaving Murfeesburro with a series loss.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball loses series 2-1-1

1. Rotation has potential, but depth remains an issue

There’s been a lot of encouraging outings from members of the weekend rotation this year, but syncing those positive days together amidst the four starters has seemed almost impossible. Rice had two starts this weekend fail to complete four innings. It’s probably not a coincidence the Owls failed to win either of those games (although they did salvage a tie).

Thanks to sturdy outings from Blake Brogdon and Mitchell Holcomb, the bullpen wasn’t overly taxed, but the Owls couldn’t cobble together enough arms to salvage the finale with five of six pitchers surrendering at least one run and two allowing three or more hits in a single inning. The bullpen has room to grow, but limiting their work to three or four innings a game is a must going forward.

2. Lineup card is settling in

With Rice baseball in the thick of conference play, the lineup seems to have reached a steady-state. The same four (Cade Edwards, Bradley Gneiting, Braden Comeaux, Guy Garibay) anchored the top spots of the lineup this weekend and it’s hard to see them moving any time soon. The order of the back end of the lineup changed, but the cast of characters has started to congeal there as welll.

Will Karp and Justin Long have solidified themselves as everyday players with Austin Bulman and Connor Walsh rounding out the bottom of the lineup. The second half has been more inconsistent at the plate, but for better or worse, the Owls know how the pieces are going to be put together on a weekly basis.

3. Clutch hitting comes and goes

Whether it was the walk-off win against UTSA or the ninth inning rally on Saturday afternoon, this team has showcased they can score runs in big moments. They know how to get the clutch hit. But when it comes to the grind of a full nine (or seven) inning game, the hits weren’t there this weekend.

Rice went 6-for-37 with runners in scoring position this weekend. They had multiple hits with runners in scoring position in a single game just once, going 4-for-11 in their lone victory. Rice hit .203 in the four-game series and .162 with runners in scoring position. That’s not going to get it done.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

THURSDAY | MTSU 4 – Rice 1

Middle Tennessee ace Aaron Brown was at his best in the opener. He struck out nine Owls on his way to a two-hit complete game. Rice generated its only run of the day on a Bradley Gneiting double, scoring Cade Edwards who had just been hit by a pitch in the previous at bat. At the time, that represented the tying run.

Deadlocked at 1-1 entering the eighth inning, Middle Tennessee engineered a two-0ut rally, scoring three runs with Drake Greenwood on the mound to reclaim the lead. Rice went quietly in the ninth.

FRIDAY 1 | MTSU 4 – Rice 3

Rice starter Roel Garcia was pulled after three innings in Game 2. He also exited early in the week prior with cramping issues, according to head coach Matt Bragga. When he left, the Owls were trailing 2-0, but still very much in the game. The two sides would train runs in the middle innings before Cade Edwards delivered an equalizing two-run home run in the seventh.

Once more, the two teams went to the late innings tied. And once again, Middle Tennessee found the clutch hit. This time coming in the form of a walk-off infield single to clinch Game 2.

FRIDAY 2 | Rice 4 – MTSU 1

Rice got a game back in the back end of the Friday double-header, turning a narrow 1-0 deficit into a three-run advantage with a crooked number in the fifth inning.  Eight Owls came to the plate in the inning. Connor Walsh struck out to start the frame and Will Karp hit into a double play to end it. Between them, six other Owls tallied singles, scoring four.

For the second week in a row, Rice starter Mitchell Holcomb went seven innings. On this occasion, he held Middle Tennessee to just one run on four hits, striking out 10. Given the lead late, he held on for the Owls’ only win of the weekend.

SATURDAY | Rice 9 – MTSU 9 (Tie)

The scoring picked up on Saturday. Rice homered three times, two from Cade Edwards and scored three runs in two separate innings. Their eight-run outburst in regulation equaled their total scoring output from the first three games.

Twice, Rice thought they’d earned a series splt. The Owls entered the ninth inning trailing but scored three with the help of a Middle Tennessee error. The Blue Raiders got the run back in the bottom half of the inning on back-to-back doubles. A sac-fly put Rice three outs away in the 11th, but another RBI double equalized things in the bottom half. Curfew was called after 12 innings, ending the game in a tie.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Owls outhit by UTSA in series loss

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Rice baseball dropped three of four games in their opening series of Conference USA play. The Owls were outscored by UTSA 39-18.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball loses series 3-1

1. When things go wrong, they go really, really wrong

Rice baseball sits at .500 on the season with 12 wins and 12 losses. Of the Owls’ 12 defeats, seven of them have come by four or more runs. Rice has allowed double-digit runs in a loss three times this season with all three instances occurring in the last two weeks.

It’s one thing to lose games. Even the best teams in the country will end the regular season with imperfect records. But to be blown out, failing to mount a rally at the plate or put out the fire on the mound, is concerning.

Whether it’s a leader that needs to rise to the occasion or a mechanical issue that needs to be worked out, losing like that multiple times in a short span is disheartening. Especially set alongside Tuesday’s encouraging win over Texas A&M.

2. Hats off to Holcomb

Through his first four outings, it looked like Mitchell Holcomb was not long for the Rice rotation. The transfer pitcher lasted more than four innings just once and fell behind. Then he went 7.2 scoreless against Norther Illinois and seven more innings of two-run ball against Southern.

His four-run, five-strikeout performance against UTSA might have just been okay, but in context, he and Roel Garcia were the only Rice starters that kept their team in games. With four-game weekends the new norm, Holcomb’s name isn’t leaving the lineup card any time soon.

3. Measuring stick series

Rice baseball picked to finish third in Conference USA West in the preseason. UTSA was picked to finish fifth. The Owls entered the weekend with the worst non-conference record of any team in the west, but seemed to be on the upswing over the last two weeks. That momentum came to a screeching halt this weekend.

Other than the miraculous walk off, Rice was outplayed in both phases this weekend. It’s hard to ascribe top-three divisional status to the Owls right now. Fortunately, they have time and they have another four-game weekend against this same UTSA team in a month. We’ll see whether or not Rice can regain their contender status by then.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | UTSA 16 – Rice 4 (7 inn.)

The potent UTSA offense came out firing, with two home runs accounting for five runs in the first inning of the series opener. Down 5-0, Rice deserves some credit for their response. The Owls slugged two home runs of their own in the bottom half of the first inning, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

Starter Blake Brogdon didn’t fare any better in the second inning. Cristian Cienfuegos was rocked in the frame that followed. By the time the fourth inning was over, Rice trailed 16-4. The Owls’ managed 10 hits, but were run-ruled.

SATURDAY 1 | Rice 10 – UTSA 8 (7 inn.)

It was Rice who struck first in the second game, taking a 2-0 lead on a Guy Garibay long ball. Roel Garcia pitched four innings, leaving with a 3-2 lead. The tandem of Dalton Wood and Reed Gallant could not hold the lead. UTSA would rally back in the middle innings, taking a 5-3 which they extended to 8-3 in the top of the seventh.

Rice needed five to tie. Following a groundout by Braden Comeaux to start the inning, the Owls’ bats caught fire. Down to their final two outs, Austin Bulman delivered a three-run bomb to cut the deficit to two. Then, with two outs and the game on the line, Cade Edwards blasted the walk off home run.

SATURDAY 2 | UTSA 4 – Rice 1 (7 inn.)

UTSA scratched across two runs in the first in what was as close to a pitcher’s duel as these teams would see this weekend. Rice managed just two hits in the seven inning affair, including a Comeaux single that scored the Owls’ only run in the sixth.

Rice starter Mitchell Holcomb pitched a complete game, but his workmanlike effort was not enough to spark a Rice offense that seemed to have utilized all its magic in the furious comeback hours prior.

SUNDAY | UTSA 11 – Rice 3

Seeking a series split, Rice was greeted with a crooked number out of the gate. Another first inning home run from UTSA put Rice in an early hole. But the Owls would rally, cutting the deficit to 4-3 in the second inning. But starter Brandon Deskins couldn’t keep the bats at bay for much longer.

UTSA exploded for five more runs in the fourth and added two more against Drake Greenwood in the sixth. Overcome a massive gap again proved to large of a task. Rice did not score for the remainder of the game. The Owls were outscored on the weekend 39 to 18 in 30 innings.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Connor Walsh walk off lifts Rice to series win over HBU

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Rice baseball bounced back from an opening loss, taking two of three games against crosstown Houston Baptist to open their 2021 campaign.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice wins series 2-1

1. COVID-19 and Winter Storm Uri throw Owls a curve

Roel Garcia was meant to be the Opening Day starter for Rice baseball. Of course, that was when Opening Day was meant to happen on Friday night against Little Rock. Then Winter Storm Uri brought the city of Houston to a standstill and directly impacted who Rice has available to work with this week, including Garcia who was bumped from Friday to Sunday to ensure he had adequate time to ramp up.

Gacia wasn’t the only Owl displaced from the presumed normal roster. Freshman outfielder Guy Garibay was unavailable for the weekend because of COVID-19 protocols and contact tracing. There’s optimism he’ll be able to make his debut next weekend against Louisiana.

Head coach Matt Bragga was emphatic that the missing pieces weren’t an excuse for the Owls’ sluggish opener. Nevertheless, the carousel of available players — and the first cancelation of the season (the midweek game against Lamar has been shelved by the Cardinals) — served as yet another reminder that the 2021 season will still be bumpy, storm or not.

2. New catcher(s) in town

Catcher Justin Collins was among the Owls who did not play this weekend. His status was uncertain the last time this spring, but Bragga confirmed that he did not expect Collins to return. It looks like incoming transfer Will Karp, who hasn’t played the position much at all since high school, will assume the bulk of the responsibilities behind the plate.

Viewed as a do-it-all infielder when he was recruited, Karp has transitioned from that side of the diamond to behind the plate quite well. He flashed a good arm, caught a few would-be-base stealers and held his own behind the dish.

He was also productive with his bat. Karp, third baseman Braden Comeaux and outfielder Justin Dunlap were the only Owls with hits in all three games.

Freshman Justin Long got a chance behind the dish on Monday. We’ll probably see both guys over the next few weeks. Rice will have a few weeks to establish a new plan at the position before conference play arrives.

3. The bullpen is better and has the potential to be really good

Brandon Deskins hadn’t thrown in more than a week when he was asked to pitch Rice out of a jam on Saturday afternoon. He did give up a hard-hit RBI ball, with the runs charged to Alex DeLeon ahead of him, but settled in quickly. Deskins threw 3.2 innings, allowed three hits and struck out four.

Garret Zaskoda, who received a look as a possible midweek starting option, was sharp in his relief appearance on Sunday, allowing one run on two hits in four innings. Reed Gallant kept the ball rolling on Monday with five shutout innings, allowing no hits along the way.

Three of the five relievers Rice baseball deployed in the series were superb (Deskins, Zaskoda, Gallant). Only DeLeon allowed multiple runs. At the very least, more good outings than bad is a step in the right direction for the Rice bullpen which still has plenty of talented young arms like Dillon Janac and Matthew Linskey waiting in the wings.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

SATURDAY | HBU 8 – Rice 7 (10 Inn)

You couldn’t have drawn up a much better start for Rice. The first four Owls that stepped to the plate delivered with hits. Then the opening stanza was capped off with a three-run bomb from Austin Bulman. From that point onward, though, the offense was almost silent.  “They shut us down for the next nine innings, honestly,” Bragga said with a grimace.

Starter Mitchell Holcomb allowed three runs in 5.1 innings, but things soured when Alex DeLeon allowed four runs without recording an out, allowing Houston Baptist to take a 7-4 lead.

Rice added two unearned runs in the sixth, but trailed Houston Baptist 7-8 entering the ninth. The Owls manufactured one more run to force extras but fell in the 10th with the would-be game-winning run at the plate.

SUNDAY | Rice 9 – HBU 3

The pitching was much better for Rice in the second game of the series. The two-man combination of Blake Brogdon and Zaskoda allowed three runs on eight hits, striking out seven and walking three. Zaskoda earned his first career win in the result, supported by a thunderous late-game burst by the Rice bats.

After swapping runs in the middle frames, Rice hung a five-spot in the eighth inning. That crooked number effectively put the game out of reach. Hal Hughes and Karp had RBIs in the inning, but it was a bases-clearing RBI triple by reliable third baseman Comeaux that proved to be the insurmountable crescendo.

MONDAY | Rice 1 – HBU 0

The getaway game is typically slanted toward the offenses, but that wasn’t the case this time around. Garcia, bumped from the opener to the series finale, was sharp in his return to the mound, throwing four scoreless innings for the Owls.

Bragga said Garcia’s velocity isn’t quite back at 100 percent. Even so, he still managed to work through HBU’s lineup with relative ease. Gallant took over and blanked the Huskies for the next five frames, earning the win in his first-ever collegiate outing.

With the bases loaded in the ninth inning, incoming transfer Connor Walsh found the barrel and delivered his first base hit as a Rice Owl. The ball scorched down the alley in right center field, driving in a runner from third, giving Rice the game and series win.

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