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Rice Baseball 2020: Owls swept by No. 2 Texas Tech

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Rice baseball pushed No. 2 Texas Tech to the wire on multiple occasions but left Lubbock without a win. More on the good and bad from the wild weekend.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Texas Tech wins series 3-0

1. The starting pitching is gradually getting better

Texas Tech scored in droves over the weekend, but the Rice bullpen was the primary victim of the rain of runs. Starters Alex DeLeon (5 IP, 3 ER), Blake Brogdon (3.2 IP, 1 ER) and Drake Greenwood (5 IP, 2 ER) were able to battle and keep the potent Texas Tech offense at bay.

It wasn’t all positive. Although all of the Owls starting pitchers surrendered less than three earned runs, none made it through the sixth inning, the bar necessary to earn a quality start. A quality start isn’t a perfect measure of a pitcher’s mettle, but the toll exacted on the bullpen from the starter’s short outings couldn’t have been any more apparent after Texas Tech exploded at the end of games. 21 of their 33 runs were scored in the sixth inning or later.

2. Top-heavy lineup

Rice jumped out to a multi-run lead in two of the three games in this series. Given the Owls’ propensity to play from behind, a cushion for the starting pitching was an encouraging sign. The chief contributor for the early success was the top bats in the Rice lineup showing up in big ways.

The usual cast of characters — Braden Comeaux, Bradley Gneiting, Trei Cruz, Austin Bulman and Cade Edwards — gave the Texas Tech pitching staff fits. The bottom half of the order was an entirely different story. Justin Collins had a few hits, but struck out eight times. Aaron Beaulaurier and Antonio Cruz went 0-fer at the dish for the weekend.

On Saturday, Rice exhibited how dangerous this lineup can be when the top hitters are in a groove. The difference in the game, though, was the ability to score runs from the back half of the lineup. Rice 6-7-8-9 hitters had one combined RBI. The same portion of the Texas Tech lineup had 14 RBI.

3. Not yet five units strong

Before the season began, Rice skipper Matt Bragga said the team needed to be five units strong. That meant consistent pitching, Hitting and defense (catching, infield and outfield). Rice has had flashes of greatness in all three levels, but the defense has been the only facet this team can rely on with any level of dependability.

The defense has had blips here and there, but those units looks night-and-day different from where they started in 2019. The bats seem to be inching in the right direction; Rice has scored five or more runs three times since Feb. 28 after topping out a four runs in their 0-7 start.

Individual pitchers have had solid outings, but collectively they’ve struggled. Rice has held an opponent to fewer than four runs twice (not counting sunday) in 15 tries. That’s not going to cut it, especially when the offense isn’t able to consistently put up crooked numbers.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Texas Tech 7 – Rice 1

Rice baseball fell behind early on Friday night against Texas Tech and was unable to battle back. The one-two punch of Clayton Beeter and Micah Dallas completely flummoxed the Owls, who struck out a season-high 17 times. It’s hard to mount any sort of rally when punchouts outnumber hits (Rice had six) by nearly three to one.

Even with the lack of production at the plate, Rice kept things within striking distance until starter Alex DeLeon left the ballgame. Freshman Matthew Santos came in and threw 1+ inning, walking three and allowing four runs. A 4-1 deficit became a 7-1 deficit, a score which held for the final two frames.

SATURDAY | Texas Tech 19 – Rice 12

Through two and a half innings, Rice led the No. 2 team in the nation 7-1. Blake Brogdon had worked through some trouble on the bases, but kept Texas Tech limited at the plate. Control issues and a rising pitch count forced Rice to go to the bullpen, opting for Cristian Cienfuegos in the fourth inning.

Cienfuegos had been one of the Owls’ more dependable bullpen pieces, but wasn’t able to do anything against the Red Raider lineup. He was tattooed for nine runs (eight earned) in two innings. Josh Larzabal and Johnny Hoyle, who followed Cienfuegos, were equally scarred. The Rice offense tied a season-high with 12 runs, but couldn’t keep pace with the home team.

SUNDAY | Texas Tech 7 – Rice 6 (11 inn)

Things started out on the right for the Owls in the series finale. Rice struck for four runs in the first inning despite only recording one hit. Texas Tech starter Austin Becker walked the bases full setting up a 2 RBI double by Rodrigo Duluc. Up big early for the second day in a row, all the Owls had to do was hold on.

Both teams had scary moments, loading the bases in the later innings with the chance to push the game to one extreme or the other. The differentiator was a bases loaded walk by Justin Collins and a deftly induced double play ball by Branden Deskins. Everything finally came together to help Rice salvage a much-needed marquee win.

ON DECK | vs Texas A&M (Tues), vs Marshall (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Women’s Basketball beats ODU to clinch C-USA Regular Season Title

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Rice women’s basketball clinched the 2020 Conference USA Regular Season Title with a thrilling win over Old Dominion at Tudor Fieldhouse.

In a game that had all the makings of an instant classic, Rice women’s basketball emerged with a conference title-clinching victory. Neither team ever held a lead greater than eight points in a contest with 18 lead changes that came down to the final seconds.

Both teams came out firing. Rice shot 53.6 percent from the field in the first half, but only found themselves up by four points at the break. That was due, in large part, to an incredible game from Old Dominion’s Victoria Morris. The junior finished with a season-high 29 points, 12 of which came before halftime.

The big game by Morris was countered by one of the Owls’ most complete team showings of the season. Senior guard Erica Ogwumike battled foul trouble but still finished with an impactful 20 points and five rebounds in her final game at Tudor Fieldhouse. She was one of five Owls that finished in double figure points.

Rice got key contributions from their bench, something they lacked in their loss to Old Dominion earlier in the season. That included a season-high 11 points from Katelyn Crosthwait off the bench and important minutes from Destiny Jackson as well.

Once their 30-game conference winning streak was over, Rice seemed vulnerable in C-USA for the first time in two years. Beating Old Dominion gave Rice a win over every C-USA team this season. In a sense, it restored some of the Owls’ swagger.

Rice had already secured at least a share of the title with their win over UTEP on Thursday. Saturday’s triumph put the Owls’ alone atop C-USA. More importantly, it locked up the No. 1 overall seed for Rice in the Conference USA Basketball Tournament, set to begin on Wednesday, March 11.

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Rice Basketball: Owls swept by UTEP, drop regular season finale

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Rice basketball fell to UTEP in their final regular season game, their last before the Conference USA Tournament next week.

A game of runs ended running away from Rice basketball at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday. Every time UTEP took a lead, Rice was able to battle back to within one score. The back and forth continued through the first half into the early moments on the second half. Then UTEP took a double-digit lead and held on for the win.

Rice has lived and died by the three point shot this season. That came to fruition once again in the loss to UTEP. Rice shot 25.7 percent from three, well below their season average of 34.3 percent. Two of their nine made threes came in the final minute and half, when the Owls had resorted to fouling to extend the game. The same shooting woes had doomed the Owls in their two prior games with UTEP.

Final Stats

Player of the Game – Robert Martin

The senior forward came close to a double-double in the last home game of his Rice career. He finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists, despite missing all five of his shots from three. Even though he came off the bench, he played 32 minutes, the second most on the team to Trey Murphy and more than every other Rice bench player combined. He will be missed next season.

Up Next

Rice basketball clinched a spot in the Conference USA Basketball Tournament earlier in the week with a win over Southern Miss. Saturday’s game against UTEP was for seeding purposes. The Miners clinched the highest seed in bottom pod, leaving the 12-Seed for Rice. The Owls were the 11-Seed last year and were bounced in the first round. The full bracket should be set for the 2020 tournament by the end of the day.

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Rice Baseball: Owls extend losing streak at Texas State

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Rice baseball fell to 0-7 on the season, dropping their first midweek contest in San Marcos to Texas State by a score of 9-2.

Texas State struck first with a solo home run in the first inning and never looked back. A three-run third inning and a three-run fifth put Rice baseball in an insurmountable hole, from which they were unable to return.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Pitching staff remains a work in progress

Kel Bordwine’s early-season struggles opened the door for Brandon Deskins to start on Tuesday. He lasted just 2.1 innings before a two-walk, three-hit third inning chased him from the game. Bordwine came on in relief and was a bit wild, walking three batters while recording five outs.

Andrew Kane and Joshua Larzabal had the best nights out of the bullpen, maintaining their spotless 0.00 ERAs. Each should move up in the pecking order after the trio of Bordwine, Ryan Rickett and Garrett Zaskoda were all tagged with runs in their brief outings.

Still not enough clutch hits

Rice baseball picked up hits with runners in scoring position during the fifth and the sixth innings. Even getting one key hit evaded Rice all weekend against UC Irvine. More than zero is a step in the right direction, but it’s nowhere near the level Rice needs to be if they want to win games.

The problem has impacted the entire lineup. Here are the averages of the Owls’ top hitters with runners in scoring position this season.

  • Trei Cruz – .167
  • Cade Edwards – .167
  • Austin Bulman – .000
  • Bradley Gneiting – .000
  • Justin Collins – .000

On most nights, those five have represented the majority of the top five spots in your order. If they aren’t driving in runs, there won’t be any sort of consistent offense.

Much tougher than expected

Going back to March 2018, Rice baseball has dropped five straight games to in-state rival Texas State. That losing streak is only two games shy of the Owls’ current seven-game skid. Every team starts the season winless, but few teams make it to the third weekend without a single tally in the lefthand column.

Rice has shown deficiencies in the starting rotation, the bullpen and the batting order. The defense has been strong — much improved from this point last season — but there is plenty more work to be done to get this team back to where they want to be.

Up Next | Missouri State

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Rice Baseball 2020: Bats quiet in road sweep by UC Irvine

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Swept for the second time in as many weekends, Rice baseball leaves a three-game stint at UC Irvine with an 0-6 record for the season.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | UC Irvine wins series 3-0

1. Roel Garcia will be the Owls’ ace

Transfer Alex DeLeon has failed to seize the Friday night role after his first two outings with the Owls. He gave up six runs in four innings on Opening Day. He followed that up with a three-inning, four-run outing against UC Irvine. His 14.09 ERA through two starts won’t knock him from the rotation just yet, but the juxtaposition of Garcia’s first outing in more than a year with DeLeon’s work against the same lineup was telling.

Garcia struck out three and allowed no hits in two scoreless innings. Some rust was understandable in his first time back on the mound since the 2018 season. Holding the Anteaters scoreless through one inning would have been an encouraging sing. Blanking them in two innings is an indication he could be closer to returning to his usual self than might have been anticipated.

The Friday night role will be Garcia’s when he’s back to 100 percent, or perhaps sooner. How DeLeon, Blake Brogdon, Dalton Wood and others fit into the rest of the rotation remains to be seen.

2. Sputtering offense struggles to string together hits

Saturday’s 2-1 nail biter was even more agonizingly close than the final score reveals. After being no-hit through four innings for the second day in a row, Rice had a runner in scoring position in the final five innings. That runner got all the way to third base in four of the final five frames. Rice recorded zero hits in eight opportunities. The only RBI came on a groundout, a productive out, but a hollow showing nonetheless.

The pitching staff has been largely a net-positive through the first two weeks of the season. Singular crushing outings by one pitcher here (and another there (DeLeona and Bordwine in this case) have led to the jagged box scores.

On most days, the Owls won’t need 10 runs to walk away with a victory. Getting two to three of those hits in clutch moments could sway games, even some series, in the Owls’ favor. What Rice can’t do is disappear completely at the plate every time they have the chance to put up a crooked number.

Rice baseball has scored 14 runs through their first six games. Frankly, that’s not good enough. Rice capped the UC Irvine series with four runs on 10 hits on Sunday. Their opponents managed twice the run total (nine) on just one fewer hit.

3. The continued development of Trei Cruz

Coaches and fellow players raved about the growth of Trei Cruz this offseason. A Cape Cod League All-Star and the Preseason Conference USA Player of the Year, Cruz has played well in the Owls’ first two series. The shortstop has made multiple Sportscenter Top 10-caliber plays in the dirt, showcasing his defensive prowess.

His bat has been as productive as the rest of the Rice hitters, but it’s been his discipline that’s been most impressive. Cruz is tied for the team lead in walks (five), taking advantage of pitchers who know how dangerous a mistake thrown his way can be.

Finding protection behind in the lineup should get him more hittable pitches. But for the time being, Cruz is extending innings and giving his teammates opportunities to produce runs. He can’t do it all himself, and he’s not trying to force it.

FRIDAY | UC Irvine 10 – Rice 1

Despite having no offensive output for most of the game, Rice kept the game within reach through five innings. Roel Garcia got the Owls off to a strong start. Alex DeLeon got roughed up upon his entrance but navigated the fourth and fifth innings allowing just one run. Then the floodgates burst and UC Irvine took complete control of the game with a 4-run sixth inning.

Aaron Baulaurier doubled to right center in the eight, breaking up UC Irvine’s combined no-hit bid. Justin Dunlap scored later that inning on a wild pitch. But salvaging a run was too little too late in a one-sided series-opening loss much more convincing than any of the Owls’ losses to Texas on opening weekend.

SATURDAY | UC Irvine 2 – Rice 1

This was the ultimate game of missed opportunities. Rice baseball was one hit away from winning this one for what felt likes hours. The hit never came. Blake Brogdon’s strong night (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K) came up void. The two runs Brogdon allowed came immediately following leadoff doubles, one in the fourth and another in the sixth. When faced with similar chances, Rice hitters couldn’t push even the tying run across.

The final effort came with two outs in the ninth. Braden Comeaux and Cade Edwards singled to put runners on the corners. Trei Cruz came to the plate, a hit from tying the game. He popped one down the right field line in foul territory. UC Irvine outfielder Riley Kasper made a play on the ball but was injured and forced to leave the game after an extended delay. Facing one more pitch after the wait, Cruz struck out.

SUNDAY | UC Irvine 9 – Rice 4

Comeaux slapped a leadoff single to start the game, ruining any no-hit bids out of the gate. Rice would tally 10 hits on the day, three more than they’d managed in the first two games of the series. The Owls wouldn’t score until the eighth inning. By that time the game was essentially over.

UC Irvine dealt a three-run blow to Rice starter Drake Greenwood in the second inning. The finishing blow came as soon as he was relieved in the fifth. Kel Bordwine was ambushed upon his entrance. He allowed six runs (five charged to him) on four hits and one walk, retiring two of the seven batters he faced. Down 9-0, Rice baseball played things out to the finish.

ON DECK | at Texas State (Tues), vs Missouri State (Fri-Sun)

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