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Rice Baseball 2024 Season Review: Bullpen

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The bullpen made improvements as the 2024 Rice baseball season progressed, turning into a dependable unit by season’s end.

It was a rocky start for the Rice baseball bullpen. It took a few weeks for the staff to figure out who they could trust in the most high-leverage moments and for the players put into those positions to feel comfortable in their own shoes. Once everything came together, though, this pitching staff really excelled, providing plenty of backing for the starting pitching and give the Owls a shot to win some ballgames. For the purposes of this discussion, we focused on players who through at least 20 innings this season.

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Rice Baseball overcomes deja-vu moment, soaring past UAB

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With the season on the line, Rice Baseball ace Parker Smith tossed a gem, powering the Owls past UAB in an AAC Tournament elimination game.

Parker Smith has been the Friday night starter for Rice baseball all season, typically making him the first man on the mound for every series. After head coach Jose Cruz Jr opted to throw JD McCracken a day early against East Carolina — a move that proved successful despite the unfavorable result — Smith was handed a somewhat unfamiliar role, the second man up.

That the Owls had their star pitcher on the mound with their season on the line is all that really mattered. Smith was unfazed by the juggled rotation order, mowing down Blazer after Blazer as he worked deep into the game, preserving the bullpen and giving his team the chance to play another day.

As Smith worked, his teammates steadily compiled a modest lead for him to protect. Jack Riedel launched a home run in the second inning. Another run came around to score in the next inning on a double-play groundout and a third followed in the fourth frame, courtesy of a UAB error. Kyte McDonald drove in another to make it 4-0 in favor of the Owls in the top of the seventh.

More: Parker Smith’s journey from hometown kid to Rice Baseball ace

Smith left the mound after running into some trouble in the bottom of the seventh, but a sprinting play by Ben Dukes in center field allowed Garrett Stratton to get out of the inning without damage. Smith finished the day with a final line of 6.2 innings pitched, six hits, eight strikeouts, two walks and, most importantly, zero runs allowed.

“It was very necessary,” Cruz said of Parker’s strong start. “I was very excited for him to be able to do that and give us that chance. It seemed like he was on his game from the beginning.”

In a somewhat fitting twist of fate, Rice found itself in a deja vu moment soon after Smith left the mound. The Owls once again held a 4-0 lead in the eighth inning with the bases loaded, just like they did in the prior game against ECU. Last time they failed to score and their opponent rallied to beat them late. This time, though, Rice got back-to-back run-producing at-bats, taking a 7-0 lead into the bottom half of the inning and preserving it with a double play.

“What a difference a day makes,” Cruz said with a bittersweet chuckle.

Riedel, who officially put the game out of reach with his league-leading 17th home run in the ninth inning, couldn’t help but notice the similarities in the situations. “We kind of were in the same spot today [as yesterday against ECU] and sometimes it just happens in baseball, right,” he said. “We were in a fortunate spot today to take advantage of it and get the lead right there.”

Rice will have an off day tomorrow before resuming tournament play on Friday. Tucker Alch is expected to get the start with the Owls’ entire arsenal in the bullpen available to assist. They’ll either be in a rematch with ECU for the fifth time in eight days or a matchup with Wichita State.

“It’s a gigantic confidence builder for us. We haven’t won a conference [tournament] game in years, it’s been a while. It’s exciting for us to be able to play on, in a do-or-die situation to come out like we did,” Cruz said. “Our confidence is high.”

Up Next: Friday, May 24 at 12:00 pm CT vs Loser of Wichita State/East Carolina

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Rice Baseball wins battle of the Owls over Florida Atlantic

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Rice Baseball took two of three from FAU in their final home series of the weekend, taking one step closer to a berth in the conference tournament.

FRIDAY | Rice 5 – FAU 4

Parker Smith and Davion Hickson combined to pitch nine innings of four-run ball in the series opener with Hickson taking over for Smith with two away in the sixth and going the rest of the way. Hickson’s lone blemish was a leadoff home run in the ninth which allowed FAU to tie the game 4-4.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball splits season series with Lamar

With the threat of extra innings looming, Manny Garza, who had already delivered a go-ahead home run, led off with a single. Jacob Devenny got the runner to third with a double down the line. The tying run scored on the next play when Rank hit a high hopper to shortstop who tried unsuccessfully to turn two, allowing Rice to win the game in walk off fashion.

SATURDAY (AM) | FAU 6 – Rice 5

After trading a run apiece in the early innings, FAU jumped in front with three runs in the third, forcing Rice starter JD McCracken from the game early. Tyler Hamilton came through with 3.1 clutch innings out of the pen, striking out four without allowing a hit. He handed the ball to Jackson Blank, who was tagged for two more runs in the seventh.

Facing a five-run deficit, Rice did all they could to make things interesting in the final frame. The Owls loaded the bases for Pierce Gallo who launched a grand slam over the right field fence. Eric Correa doubled to get the tying run to second, but he was stranded there, leaving Rice just run short of a thrilling comeback.

SATURDAY (PM) | Rice 5 – FAU 4

Tucker Alch delivered a gem in the second half of Saturday’s doubleheader, throwing 5.1 innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits with four strikeouts. A two-out RBI single in the second inning was the lone blemish on his resume, but even that run came after he’d been staked to a 2-0 advantage. Those runs, both unearned, came courtesy of multiple FAU errors in the first inning and a sac fly from Jack Riedel.

More: Jose Cruz Jr. and the trajectory of Rice Baseball

Both sides traded zeroes for quite a while after those early runs to open the game until the bats woke up in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rice scored three in that frame. FAU answered with three of their own in their next two trips to the plate, setting up a pressure-packed ninth inning which ended with a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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1. Manny Garza heating up

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ON DECK | vs Texas Southern (Tues), at ECU (Thr-Sat)

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Rice Baseball takes series from league-leading UTSA

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Rice Baseball took two out of three from league-leading UTSA, securing their third straight conference win to get back in the mix in the AAC.

FRIDAY | Rice 9 – UTSA 8 (10 innings)

Things were looking up when Tobias Motley and Ben Dukes each delivered two-run home runs in the second inning on Friday night, putting the Owls up 4-1 with Parker Smith on the mound. Smith would run into some trouble in the fourth, but leave the game in the sixth inning having staked Rice to a 7-3 advantage.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball sweeps USF

Tom Vincent and Davion Hickson got Rice to the ninth inning with a three-run lead, but Hickson suffered a rare blown save, allowing UTSA to tie the game in the top of the ninth. Garrett Stratton would come to the rescue, getting out of the ninth without allowing the Owls to fall behind and setting up a walk-off win. Motley led off the inning with a triple and scored on a squeeze bunt by Jacob Devenny.

SATURDAY | Rice 9 – UTSA 3

It was all Owls from the jump on Saturday. Rice loaded the bases with two outs in the first then picked up a pair of clutch hits: a bases-clearing RBI single from Nathan Becker to go up 3-0 and then a two-run home run from Trey Duffield.

As if that wasn’t enough, Rice followed that up with three runs in the second, taking advantage of errant UTSA pitching and an RBI single from Pierce Gallo to go up 8-0 midway through the second.

Handed a commanding lead, JD McCracken bore down and tossed another gem. He made it all the way to the ninth inning before being lifted for Jackson Blank, who picked up the final two outs.

SUNDAY | UTSA 4 – Rice 2

Seemingly out of nowhere, a pitcher’s duel broke out in the series finale. Rice’s Tucker Alch squared off with UTSA’s Ulises Quiroga for the better part of six innings with neither man ceding much to his opposition. Ben Dukes was able to sneak a two-run home run just inside the right-field foul pole in the third, but that was the only score either starter yielded on the day.

More: Jose Cruz Jr. and the trajectory of Rice Baseball

Rice maintained a slim 2-0 lead from that point onward, keeping the game in check until UTSA broke through with a four-run rally in the top of the eighth. The Roadrunners struck six hits in the frame, including a go-ahead two-run home run off Garrett Stratton. That would prove to be the deciding swing.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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1. Loud and clear

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ON DECK | at Lamar (Tues), at Charlotte (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball edges UAB for first-ever AAC series win

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Rice Baseball narrowly missed a series sweep, settling for two wins over the weekend against UAB, their first-ever AAC series victory.

FRIDAY | Rice 4 – UAB 2

The Rice bats wasted no time on Friday night, staking staff ace Parker Smith to an early lead. RBI singles from Treyton Rank and Pierce Gallo put the Owls in front 2-0 in the first. Rank drove in another run when he was hit by a pitch in the second inning.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball tops TAMU-CC in midweek action

Leading 3-0, Smith cruised through six innings. He briefly ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing the Blazers to score twice, but was otherwise unscathed. Jacob Devenney added an insurance run on an RBI double in the sixth. Tom Vincent took over in the seventh and bridged 1.1 innings to closer Davion Hickson, who earned the save.

SATURDAY | Rice 4 – UAB 3 (15 inn.)

JD McCracken delivered a quality start in Game 2, his lone blemish coming via an unearned run when a defensive error allowed the Blazers to get on the board in the third inning. McCracken avoided having a loss tacked on his ledger when Devenny delivered a sac fly in the eighth inning to tie the game. That would be the last run for quite a while as the game entered extra innings and stayed deadlocked at 1-1 until the twelfth.

UAB went in front with two runs in the top of the inning and it might have been more had the potential third run not been tagged out at the plate. That proved to be significant soon after as Rice tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a single and a sac fly. Level at 3-3, Eric Correa provided the final dramatics, delivering a walk-off double to right field to clinch the series.

SUNDAY | UAB 4 – Rice 3

The two sides traded runs in the early innings, completing the third inning tied at one and the fourth inning tied at three before UAB went out in front in the fifth, 4-2. Rice starter Tucker Alch was lifted for the tandem of Garrett Stratton and Mauricio Rodriguez, who combined to throw five scoreless innings, giving the offense a chance to claw back.

Rice got one run in the eight on a two-out, RBI single from Ben Dukes. They then had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the ninth, but squandered a leadoff triple from Jack Riedel, failing to get him home. With the running run 90-feet away, the Owls fell by one run.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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1. It’s Time for a Devenny/Dukes Dialogue

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ON DECK | at USF (Fri-Sun)

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