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Rice Baseball 2021: Owls split final C-USA series with Charlotte

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Rice baseball showed some fight, but could not win their final series against Charlotte and won’t qualify for the Conference USA Tournament.

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

1. Brandon Deskins an unsung hero of the 2021 pitching staff

The 2021 Rice baseball starting rotation was cobbled together from the start. Injuries, unpredictable weather happenings and performance altered the order and makeup of the four weekend starters with each successive series. Mitchell Holcomb and Roel Garcia were mainstays. Others made spot starts here and there. Brandon Deskins became the glue.

Deskins worked 53.1 innings this season with a 3.88 ERA, the best among all qualified players. He started seven games and entered others in high-leverage situations. He was tasked with getting a few outs here and there, but also worked several long relief appearances. The Rice pitching corps was better with him in it.

2. The freshmen are just getting started

Guy Garibay had an impressive weekend on the mound and at the plate. He got things started on Friday, throwing 7.2 innings in relief, allowing three runs and striking out five. Rice had fallen behind early, but it was Garibay’s career-long outing that gave Rice a chance to cut into the deficit.

His pitching performance would have been enough, but he also added a three-for-four outing at the plate in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. A bonafide two-way player, we’ve only scratched the surface of Garibay’s potential at South Main.

Alongside him, Justin Long and Nathan Becker both became regulars down the stretch. Becker’s power has been important and will be going forward. He had five RBI on the weekend including a big home run. Long’s .396 on base percentage ranks second on the team this year.

3. One season in a nutshell

Saturday’s second game of the doubleheader proved to be a microcosm of the Owls’ 2021 season. With the game tied late, Rice had a runner in scoring position with no outs in the sixth inning and eighth innings. They had a runner in scoring position and one out in the seventh. Rice was conceivably one hit away from winning the game, but couldn’t get the run home despite multiple opportunities in three straight innings.

Given the extra time, Charlotte outlasted Blake Brogdon, who made it through eight innings before ceding to Dalton Wood in the ninth. Wood allowed three hits, two runs and Rice lost the game.

Rice was a team talented enough to earn themselves opportunities that were too frequently squandered. For whatever the reason, this team never seemed to gel and put it all together. There are pieces, but there is also more work to be done.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY  | Charlotte 9 – Rice 6

Mitchell Holcomb was rocked upon arrival on Friday. Five of the first six batters he faced reached base and things went downhill quickly. He was lifted in the second inning after recording just four outs and putting two men in scoring position for Garibay. Charlotte expanded their lead to 9-2 before Garibay was abe to settle in and cool the 49er bats.

Rice scratched across pairs of runs in the third courtesy of RBIs from Austin Bulman and Justin Long. Becker added two more in the sixth, but the hole proved too big to climb out of even with the extended time.

SATURDAY 1 | Rice 11 – Charlotte 8

Rice came out swinging on Saturday. The Owls struck for four runs in the first inning, led by a three-run blast from Becker. The Owls added a pair in the second and three more in the third. Starter Roel Garcia would be lifted in favor of Deskins midway through the third who was able to cool the Charlotte bats just enough to maintain the Owls’ early advantage.

Deskins would work 4.2 innings, finishing out the seven-inning affair and earning his third win on the season. A 2 RBI single from Braden Comeaux gave Deskins and the Owls some extra breathing room in the fifth, putting Rice ahead 11-5.

SATURDAY 2 | Charlotte 6 – Rice 4

Charlotte took a 4-0 lead early in the second half of the Saturday double header. The Rice bats slowly began to pick things up in the third, scratching across singular runs in each of the next four frames to tie the game. The Owls had several chances to put crooked numbers on the board, but were held at bay by the Charlotte pitching.

Starter Blake Brogdon went eight innings, his longest outing of the season, allowing just three earned runs. When he left, the deadlock broke in favor of the visitors with Rice dropping a winnable second-half of the double header.

SUNDAY | Rice 6 – Charlotte 0

The final conference game of the 2021 season for Rice baseball was one of the quirkier games of the season. The Owls put up a six-spot in the first inning, capped off by a grand slam from Hal Hughes.

Alex DeLeon, in his only start of the season, worked through five innings without allowing a run. With Rice at the plate midway through the bottom of the fifth, weather forced a delay and ultimately a cancelation of the remainder of the game.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Southern Miss decisively soars past Owls

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Rice baseball stole an opening win, but couldn’t sustain the momentum, dropping a home series to a ranked Southern Miss team over the weekend.

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

1. Nine runs are not enough

The six-run opener was a positive start for the week, but it in itself was only a hair better than the conference average. C-USA schools average 5.93 runs per game. At the conclusion of this weekend’s games, Rice baseball averages 5.07 runs per game. Had Rice won 2-0 instead of 6-0 on Friday, that number would have fallen below five runs per game.

The best offenses in Conference USA score eight runs an outing. Only three average worse than five runs, but only one, Marshall, is below Rice in the overall standings. The bats aren’t doing enough, and the pitching staff isn’t strong enough to bail them out more often than a night or two on any given weekend.

2. There’s no one else to call upon

Micah Davis has served as an “opener” in three consecutive series. He’s walked multiple batters twice and allowed at least one run twice. Prior to those outings, he’s had a couple of strong relief appearances, but it hasn’t worked out well so far with him as the first man on the bump.

But it would be a mistake to put the weight of the Owls’ pitching struggles on his shoulders. He’s there because of failures among other members of the rotation. Will West made his first appearance of the season in the Friday night rout. That came after more familiar faces like Alex DeLeon and Drake Greenwood had allowed things to get out of hand.

The pitching staff many had hoped would be deep enough to weather long weeks in Conference USA play hasn’t lived up to those expectations. Outside of Brandon Deskins, Blake Brogdon and a few others, it’s become a dicey proposition.

3. It’s now or never for any sort of postseason

The top three teams in each division clinch a spot in the conference tournament with two additional spots given out to the best remaining teams by winning percentage. Sitting at six wins, Rice is four games behind Middle Tennessee for the eighth spot in the tournament. That’s a ton of room to make up in two weeks.

Rice draws UAB next. The Blazers are just above the Owls in the West standings. Should Rice win the series (or even sweep), they’d have something to play for on the final weekend of the regular season against Charlotte. Middle Tennessee, who Rice is chasing, visit Southern Miss the weekend before closing at home against FIU. It’s a tall order, but if Rice can win this weekend series, there’s a chance.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY  1 | Rice – Southern Miss

Things couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start for Rice in the first half of the weather-induced Friday doubleheader. The Owls struck first, taking the lead in the first inning on an RBI single from Bradley Gneiting and extending it with an RBI single from Will Karp shortly after.

Up 2-0, Mitchell Holcomb cruised through four innings. With two men on in the fifth, Deskins entered and induced a pop-up to end the threat. A three-run fifth inning and an insurance run courtesy of a Cade Edwards sixth-inning triple helped Rice close out the opener with relative ease.

FRIDAY 2 | Southern Miss 12 – Rice 1

After being silenced in the first game, the Southern Miss bats woke up in a hurry for the Friday nightcap. The Golden Eagles scored two in the first inning, four in the second and two more in the third. The Rice pitching trio of Davis, DeLeon and Greenwood had no answers, and before Greenwood was replaced to start the fourth inning, Rice was already in an insurmountable hole.

Rice would out-hit Southern Miss 10-0, only failing to reach base in one of the seven innings. It wouldn’t matter as the Owls hit safely in 2-of-10 situations with runners in scoring position.  Guy Garibay drove in the only Rice run.

SATURDAY | Southern Miss 10 – Rice 1

Roel Garcia battled through five innings on Saturday, allowing five runs on seven hits. Southern Miss just kept putting the ball in play whereas the Rice bats did not hold up their side of the bargain. While Garcia labored, the Rice offense was silent, collecting just two hits while he was on the mound.

Trailing 5-0 at the time of Garcia’s exit, the bullpen quickly allowed the lead to double over the next three innings in what felt like a carbon copy of the previous evening’s blowout loss.

SUNDAY | Southern Miss 8 – Rice 1

Garibay drew the start on Sunday and after sending the first three Golden Eagles down in the first inning, ran into trouble in the second. Southern Miss struck for four runs in the frame, adding two more in the third and forcing Garibay to exit in favor of Brogdon, who navigated 4.2 innings reasonably well, striking out five and allowing two runs.

A leadoff home run from Austin Bulman in the second was all the offense could muster. Their six hits were the fewest in any game of the series.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Owls avoid sweep at Old Dominion, but struggles remain

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Rice baseball salvaged one road win against Old Dominion but suffered another tough series loss against a conference foe.

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

1. Wasted opportunity

Rice baseball had ample opportunity this weekend against Old Dominion. A split against a ranked squad was well within reach. And had the Owls managed a bit more luck, this series was winnable. Instead, they leave Norfolk 1-3. But the opportunities were there.

Rice went 8-for-35 (.229) with runners in scoring position during the four-game series. Take out a .500 outing (5-for-10) in their lone win and the Owls managed to hit 3-for-25 (.120) with runners in scoring position in the remaining games. That’s abysmal. No matter how good the pitching, you’re not going to win many series if you can’t drive in runs. Saturday night was proof this team can do it. But until they can repeat the feat, it’s going to be a tall order against teams of this caliber.

2. Insanity avoided

Everyone has heard the definition of insanity. If nothing else, the Owls avoided repeating the same bullpen usage and lineups after they clearly weren’t getting the job done through two games. Micah Davis then Guy Garibay tag-teamed the Saturday afternoon game. Matthew Linskey got the Sunday start with Blake Brogdon following him.

At the plate, Will Karp was inserted at catcher. Freshman Nathan Becker started at DH. Ben Dukes got another shot in the outfield. Is jumbling the lineup a sure-fire fix for the long term? No. But something needed to change on Saturday evening. Thankfully, it did.

3. Where does Rice baseball go from here?

The good news, sobering after two successive underwhelming weekends, is the road ahead. Rice baseball just played two of the best four teams in the conference. The schedule eases up from this point forward.

The Owls play two more road series, but both come against other teams currently below .500 in Conference USA play. They’ll face West Division leader Louisiana Tech and East Division leader Charlotte, but take on both at Reckling Park. It’s not an easy road ahead, but it’s more manageable than where this team has been in the past two weeks.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Old Dominion 11 – Rice 4

Roel Garcia made his first Friday night start of the season. Rice needed a bit outing from their ace, but settled for a solid start spoiled by some trouble in the middle innings. Garcia allows a pair of homers, falling behind 4-0 after four innings. The offense rallied to tie the score in the top of the sixth, stringing together a series of big hits including an RBI triple by Hal Hughes.

Garcia would be asked to return for the bottom of the frame, but ran into trouble and was lifted with two runs in and one out recorded. Garret Zaskoda and Dalton Wood were unable to keep Rice close, allowing an additional five runs in the final two innings, resulting in a one-sided final score.

SATURDAY 1 | Old Dominion 11 – Rice 2

Things started on the wrong foot for Rice on Saturday and went downhill fast. Starter Mitchell Holcomb was relieved in the fourth inning after already surrendering three home runs, including a two-run shot that put Old Dominion ahead 7-1. Reed Gallant was unable to ease the pain, giving up an additional three runs in the fourth before being lifted himself.

From that point, the Owls had no answer. The Owls were able to get traffic on the bases in the sixth and seventh innings, but left the bases loaded in each instance. A big hit or two could have made things closer, but it never came.

SATURDAY 2 | Rice 11 – Old Dominion 2

The third game proved to be a crucial one for Rice. After being blasted in successive games, it was a now or never moment. Becker delivered the first dose of hope with a two-run home run in the second. Fellow newcomer Garibay held his own on the mound, allowing just two runs in 4.1 innings before ceding to Brandon Deskins to slam the door.

Rice entered the seventh with a 5-2 lead but left nothing to chance. They struck for six runs in the final inning, loading the bases and collecting hit after hit. The crooked number was more than enough to snap the Owls’ losing streak and breath some life into the roster.

SUNDAY | Old Dominion 4 – Rice 1

Head coach Matt Bragga handed the ball to Linskey first on Sunday rather than usual starter Brogdon, who quickly came on in relief after some accuracy issues from Linskey. Brogdon did allow one inherited runner to scare, but was otherwise strong in a 6.2 inning relief appearance. He was charged with two earned runs, which was unfortunately more than the Rice bats would score in the game.

A fielder’s choice in the second inning would score the only run of the game for the Owls. Rice wouldn’t get another runner to third base, going three-up-and-three-down twice in the final seven innings.

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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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