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Rice Baseball sweeps MTSU, earns Matt Bragga’s first home sweep

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Rice baseball picked up their first home series sweep under head coach Matt Bragga, winning three games against Middle Tennessee State to improve to .500 in conference play.

Rice entered Easter weekend with a bad taste in their mouth. The Owls had blasted Charlotte in their series opener and outscored them by 10 runs over the course of three games only to drop the series. With no midweek game to take their mind off the tough blow, all efforts turned to Middle Tennessee.

Coach Bragga’s charge to his team this weekend was straightforward. “We need to start making a move if we’re going to make one.” Rice made their move, sweeping their second conference opponent this season. Here are some notes on an encouraging series at Reckling Park.

THURSDAY | Rice 10 – MTSU 4

Rice RBI leader Andrew Dunlap got things going in the series opener with an RBI single in the first inning. The Owls took the 1-0 lead into the third where they broke the game open, batting around and scoring eight runs on six hits and four walks. Justin Collins and Braden Comeaux picked up two RBI apiece, with four other Owls driving in one run during the big inning.

The nine-run cushion was more than enough for Matt Canterino, who put together what was arguably his best outing of the season. He struck out 10 in seven innings, earning his team-leading fifth win of the season. Middle Tennessee would tack on four against Rice reliever Drake Greenwood, but the sizable lead would hold for the Owls’ fourth-straight win in series openers.

FRIDAY | Rice 7 – MTSU 2

The Owls’ bats got off to a slightly slower start on Friday night, but once they woke up, they caught fire. Two home runs, one by Cade Edwards another Dominic Cox, put Rice ahead 2-0 in the fourth inning. Then the Owls exploded for five runs in the fifth.

Bradley Gneiting, Trei Cruz, and Andrew Dunlap strung together three consecutive RBI hits. Dunlap came around to score the seventh run on an error. The 7-0 lead would hold until the ninth inning where once more MTSU would collect a flurry of hits, scoring two, not enough to give the Owls much of a scare.

SATURDAY |Rice 7 – MTSU 5

For the first time in the weekend, Rice was forced to come from behind. Starting pitcher Jackson Parthasarathy wasn’t as sharp as his predecessors on the mound. He would have been serviceable had the defense not committed three errors on the day, two of which resulted in three unearned runs charged to Parthasarathy.

Trailing 4-0 after Parthasarathy was removed midway through the third inning, Rice began to chip away. Rice got two in the third, one in the fourth and one in the fifth before tying the game in the seventh on a Cade Edwards sac fly. Justin Collins would drive a two-out single to left later in the inning, scoring what would be the game-winning run.

MTSU didn’t make it easy, loading the bases in the ninth. With the tying run in scoring position, Kendall Jeffries induced a double-play to clinch the victory and the series sweep.

TAKEAWAYS | Rice wins series 3-0

1. Pitch like this every weekend

It’s been no secret the Rice starting pitching is the strength of this team. When all three of the Owls’ rotation are locked in this team is going to have a chance to win most series. Aside from the sloppy defense on Saturday, the starting pitching was nearly as good as it’s been all season this weekend against Middle Tennessee, and the results were the first home series sweep of the Matt Bragga era.

Canterino, Kravetz and Parthasarathy combined for 27 strikeouts with five walks, and one earned runs allowed. That’s a stellar line through 16.2 innings on the bump. More length out of their Sunday starter would have been ideal, but an extremely fresh bullpen gave coach Bragga a bit more leeway with how long he left Parthasarathy on the mound. If Rice pitches this well, they’ll have a chance to win each of their remaining CUSA series.

2. Cade Edwards

The Rice lineup has become more consistent as the season has gone on. Slowly but surely the top three became the top four. Somewhat quietly, Cade Edwards has entrenched himself as part of the glue which holds this offense together. Batting fifth throughout the weekend, Edwards picked up six hits, batting .600 in the series with the go-ahead home run on Friday and the game-tying sac fly on Saturday.

Edwards is riding a 7-game hitting streak. The Rice offense has scored five or more runs in five of those seven games, and Edwards has been in the thick of the action. Bragga likes what he’s seeing from the Owls’ second baseman, calling Edwards “a real solid hitter [who has] some really good bat speed and drives through the ball really well.”

3. Come and take it

Rice has officially passed the midway point of conference play. It’s been a bumpy ride, but after starting 0-5, Rice has won nine of their next 14, pulling themselves back to .500 in conference play. It’s no guarantee of future success, but it is a testament to a team willing to fight.

With four series remaining, Rice is in the thick of the pack in Conference USA. FAU leads the way at 14-4 with the Owls five games behind, tied for fifth. They entered the weekend tied for seventh, with tiebreakers putting them in ninth place.

Winning the conference is still mathematically possible, but even without an incredible late surge, Rice has enough season left to position themselves for the conference tournament in Biloxi.

Entering the weekend D1 Baseball projected Conference USA to be a two-bid league with league-leading FAU sitting in the First Five Out. Rice has a few signature wins (TCU, Baylor), but the chances of reaching the postseason with a sub-.500 overall record will be slim to none.

Rice is 18-23 right now, meaning the most likely avenue to postseason play is a CUSA Tournament win. That’s much easier to do as a three seed than an eight-seed. Coach Bragga says he’s aware of the numbers and the scenarios, but “at the end of the day, we have to go perform. If we perform, we’ll have an opportunity, if we don’t we won’t.”

ON DECK | vs Louisiana Tech (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball: Friday blowout not enough as Owls drop series to Charlotte

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Rice baseball followed up a Friday night offensive explosion with a pair of Saturday losses, ruining brief hopes of another road series win.

What could have been a reassuring weekend ended in frustration as Rice dropped another Saturday doubleheader after a Matt Canterino Friday night win. The loss drops the Owls’ record to 15-23 with the heart of conference play still ahead of them. Here’s how each game went and a few closing thoughts on another disappointing series.

FRIDAY | Rice 19 – Charlotte 4

Things couldn’t have gotten off to much of a better start for Rice in the series opener. After both teams were held scoreless in the first inning, Rice exploded for 10 runs in the second on two grand slams, the first from Justin Collins and the next by Andrew Dunlap.

Staked to a more than comfortable lead, Matt Canterino maneuvered through six innings before turning things over to Dalton Wood and Drake Greenwood. It wasn’t the sharpest Canterino has been this season (two strikeouts, one walk, and four earned runs), but it was more than enough for his third straight win.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON | Charlotte 6 – Rice 5

The first end of the double header was headlined by the pitching staffs. Evan Kravetz got the start for the Owls and threw seven innings, allowing one earned run and striking out eight. Charlotte fought back, taking a 3-1 lead in the fifth.

Rice would recapture the lead in the eighth on a Cade Edwards triple, eventually setting the Owls up with a 5-4 advantage entering the ninth inning. Things start out innocently enough with a ground out to third base. Charlotte would then load the bases, and then, with two outs, the 49ers came through with a game-winning walk-off single up the middle.

SATURDAY NIGHT| Charlotte 4 – Rice 0

Jackson Parthasarathy did enough on the mound in the series finale to give his team a chance to win. The Owls’ last piece in the starting rotation threw 5.1 innings, striking out 11 batters and allowing three earned runs, one each in the first, fourth and sixth innings. That first run would prove to be the game-winner, though, as Rice was shut out on three hits a little more than 24 hours removed from a 19-run shellacking of this same squad on Friday night.

Rice had their chance to spark a rally in the ninth, getting their first two base runners on with no outs. Two strikeouts and a groundout would extinguish the threat and end the series in favor of the home team.

TAKEAWAYS | Charlotte wins series 2-1

1. Are the double-headers too much?

The Rice offense has come prepared for their last two series openers. The Owls scored eight against FIU on Friday night and followed it up with 19 in the opener against Charlotte. Matt Canterino pitched both of those games, and although he wasn’t perfect, he was more than effective enough to give Rice plenty of cushion on the scoreboard.

Then the doubleheaders happened. Rice scored nine in two Saturday against FIU, one more than their Friday night tally. The Owls were held to five one day after their 19-run outburst against Charlotte. As the series have drawn on, the focus at the plate has waned. It didn’t even seem like the same team that showed up to the ballpark on Friday and Saturday.

2. Not good enough to be unlucky

Rice was one out away from winning this series. Then a single in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader evaporated what could have been a 2-0 series lead. Even with a loss in the finale, a 2-1 finish would have lifted Rice to .500 in conference play. Instead, they sit at 6-8.

Three errors by Rice gave Charlotte the chance for a game-winning hit on Saturday afternoon. Then Charlotte first baseman Dominick Cammarata punched ball up the middle. A little bit further to either side and it’s an out, but Cammarata’s ball found the hole and Charlotte won.

Right now, Rice needs a little bit of luck. They haven’t been consistent enough to overcome bad bounces. Mistakes are magnified when the margin for error is thin. This time, it cost Rice the series.

3. This team needs Evan Kravetz and Jackson Parthasarathy more than ever

Rice has lost both the final two games of each of the last two series, but it hasn’t been due to a lack of capable pitching. Kravetz had one poor outing, allowing six runs through 4.2 innings, but the Owls would still go on to score seven in a losing effort. The rest have all been strong starts which went unrewarded.

Canterino and Addison Moss were billed as the Owls’ 1-2 all offseason. Injuries have largely kept Moss out of the rotation, but Kravetz and Parthasarathy have more than answered the call. When they’re on the mound Rice typically has a chance to win. Otherwise, Rice could have been trailing 9-0 on Sunday instead of 4-0. If those two had been worse, Rice would be starting at a sub-.500 CUSA record with little to no reason for hope.

Rice can pitch, and pitch with the best of them. It’s going to make more than that alone to climb back to the upper half of the conference standings, but it’s one thing Rice does have going for them.

ON DECK | vs Middle Tennessee (Thus-Sat)

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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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Baseball: Matt Bragga era begins with series win vs Rhode Island

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Rice baseball opened the Matt Bragga era with a series win over visiting Rhode Island at Reckling Park, highlighted by a walk-off wild pitch for the Owls’ first win of the season.

The Matt Bragga era on South Main is officially underway. Hired away from Tennessee Tech, Bragga was introduced in June and has been hard at work ever since. Fall ball and spring workouts have given way to real baseball, starting with the Owls’ opening weekend against Rhode Island at Reckling Park.

Rice took the series two games to one. Here’s a rundown of each game a few closing thoughts from the weekend.

FRIDAY | Rhode Island 2, Rice 1 (10 innings)

The concerns around this team during the offseason largely focused on the offensive side of the ball. Those early worries proved accurate out of the gate with as the Owls failed to give their ace Matt Canterino much support on Friday night.

Canterino was superb, tossing 6.1 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out nine. The offense managed one run on a Trei Cruz RBI single, one of six hits on the night.

It was the defense that faltered in extra innings. Rice committed two errors in the 10th, the first of which allowed Rhode Island to score an unearned and eventual game-deciding run.

SATURDAY | Rice 7, Rhode Island 6 (13 innings)

A comfortable lead turned into a thrilling finish on Saturday, culminating in an extra-inning win, the first of the Matt Bragga era. Rice had built a 3-0 lead on a career night from starting pitcher Evan Kravetz, inserted after Addison Moss was a late scratch (wrist). Kravetz set a career high with 10 strikeouts through five innings, giving way to Dalton Wood in the sixth.

Rhode Island battled back, eventually tying the game in the top of the ninth inning, the second full inning worked by potential closer Garrett Gayle. The score would stay deadlocked at 5-5 entering extra until Rhode Island scratched across a run in the top of the 13th.

Trailing 6-5, Rice needed a spark. They got it from Dominic Cox. He was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came in to score on an errant throw to third on a Trei Cruz single. Cruz would come in to score the winning run minutes later on a passed ball, a fortunate break which capped off the five-hour contest.

SUNDAY | Rice 15, Rhode Island 3

There was no pitchers duel on Sunday. Rice matched their seven runs scored in 13 innings the game prior in the first three frames. Rhode Island starter Nick Robinson surrendered five extra-base hits, including the first two home runs of the weekend one by Trei Cruz, the other by Justin Collins.

Cruz launched a grand slam in the fifth inning, the highlight of a masterful performance at the plate. That long ball gave him eight RBI for the game, the most runs driven in by any Rice player since Anthony Rendon tallied eight RBI against Cal in 2010.

On the mound, Jackson Parthasarathy moved quickly mowing down Rhode Island hitters left and right. He matched the strong starts from Canterino and Kravetz, going six innings while allowing one hit, no runs and striking out eight.

After the slow start, Sunday’s runaway win gave this team a nice boost of confidence headed into two important midweek games against Texas and Arizona.

TAKEAWAYS | Rice wins series 2-1

1. Rice pitching was as good as advertised

There will be much more threatening visiting lineups in Reckling Park this year. Rhode Island was a young, mostly unproven group from the northeast and Rice met them with an experienced group of hurlers. It should have been a dominant outing by the Rice pitching staff. For the most part, it was.

Through three games, Rice starters hold a season ERA of 0.00. The combination of Canterino, Kravetz and Parthasarathy allowed seven hits, two walks and zero runs while striking out 27 over 17.1 innings pitched.

It wasn’t just a good weekend for the rotation. Kendal Jeffries and Kel Bordwine were both strong out of the pen. Jeffries relieved Canterino on Friday night, throwing 3.2 innings with six strikeouts and four hits. Bordwine carried the Owls through three extra frames on Saturday. Despite being charged with the go-ahead run allowed by Zach Esquivel, he allowed three hits with two strikeouts, facing 13.

Bragga had high praise for his pitchers, saying “They’re giving our offense a chance to find our identity right now.” It took every bit of success from the Owls on the bump to match Rhode Island on Friday and Saturday. Sunday, the offense took over.

2. The offense is a work in progress, but there’s plenty to work with

Active baserunning, hit and runs, a squeeze play at home and the long ball were all part of the repertoire for the Rice offense on opening weekend. Bragga expects the offense to become more cohesive as the season progresses, but for now, he’s going to continue to experiment.

“I’m learning this team. I’m learning these guys and trying to figure out what’s best suited for us to score runs,” Bragga said. “We’ll do whatever it takes to get those runs in because are pitching staff is throwing really well.”

Cruz was the offensive MVP of the weekend, leading the team with eight hits, including two home runs and two triples on Saturday, and 10 RBI. Dominic DiCaprio and Cade Edwards had a pair of doubles. Bradley Geniting had six hits, scoring five times. Four Owls (Gneiting, T. Cruz, Collins, Edwards) leave opening weekend with a batting average better than .300.

3. The fielding must get better

The pitchers shined and the offense showed flashes, leaving the errors with the gloves the most glaring concern of the weekend.

Rice committed seven errors on the weekend. If they play clean baseball the series could very well have ended in a sweep. When the offense is firing on all cylinders they’ll have the wiggle room to work past the occasional fielding mistake. For now, it’s even more imperative the team tightens up their fielding.

Both of the first two games were decided by errors with the deciding runs coming for each squad via fielding miscues. Even with a sizable lead on Sunday, Rice couldn’t come up with a clean sheet.

ON DECK | vs Texas (Tues), vs Arizona (Wed), vs UC-Irvine (Fri.-Sun.)

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