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Rice Baseball swept by WKU, extending Owls’ C-USA slump

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Rice Baseball was swept for the third consecutive weekend, this time falling in three games to Western Kentucky on the road.

FRIDAY | WKU 5  – Rice 4 (10 inn.)

Rice baseball ace Parker Smith was met with a forceful greeting on Friday night in Bowling Green, allowing four runs in the first two innings, more than he typically allows over the course of a full start. Even with the rocky beginning, though, Smith settled in and was able to pitch into the eighth, allowing no further runs as he waited for the offense to arrive.

Last Time Out: Rice baseball snaps losing skid with win over Houston

The Owls got on the board for the first time in the fifth, using three doubles to score three runs, followed a frame later by a solo home run from Drew Holderbach to even the score. Smith left without a decision, but the game was within reach. He had done his job. Justin Long would be less fortunate. He pitched a scoreless remainder of the eighth and a flawless ninth before WKU walked it off against him in the tenth.

SATURDAY | WKU 10 – Rice 2

With JD McCracken on the bump, Rice and WKU moved quickly through a pitching-centric game in the early goings on Saturday. Both starters had allowed just one run through four innings and it wasn’t until McCracken ran into some trouble in the fifth that the bats on either side began to wake up. McCracken would battle through another two innings, leaving in the seventh in a one-rune game.

Jack Ben-Shoshan was called upon for just one batter — he walked him — before handing the ball to Krishna Raj. That would turn out to be a fateful decision. Raj was handed the disservice of entering the game with the bases loaded an no outs, but he was pelted to the tune of seven runs (four charged to him) as Rice fell behind 10-2. That would be the eventual final score.

SUNDAY | WKU 5 – Rice 2

Rice struck first in the finale on a Guy Garibay RBI single in the top of the second, but the lead was short-lived. WKU took the lead back in the bottom of the inning, scoring twice. The Hilltoppers added single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to cautiously extender their advantage. Much of those insurance runs would prove unneeded.

Jack Riedel, who saw his 16-game hit streak snapped, delivered an RBI groundout in the top of the seventh, scoring the Owls’ only other run of the afternoon. Rice simply had no answer for WKU hurler Dawson Hall who earned the win with six innings of one-run ball, tallying as many strikeouts (five) as hits allowed.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball couldn’t afford to be swept this weekend, but they were handed three-straight losses nonetheless. Here are three takeaways from a tough weekend on the road.

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1. Fast start fizzles again

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“It Killed Us”: Rice Baseball swept in heartbreaking fashion by DBU

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Rice Baseball took Dallas Baptist to the wire three times but came away winless. More on a tough weekend at Reckling for the Owls.

Rice baseball had their chances to win this series, but fell short. I asked head coach Jose Cruz Jr. for his take on the frustrating weekend and left it unlocked for all to read.

“It killed us”

“This hurts because we’re playing good. We’re desperate for wins. And we’re playing good enough to win, we’re just not getting the end result which stinks,” head coach Jose Cruz Jr. said. “If you tell me that we’re going into the ninth inning with a two-run lead, I’ll take it all day. For whatever reason, it just hasn’t gone our way here of late.”

Rice baseball knew what it was up against when Dallas Baptist came to town this weekend. Even without the impressive 14-game winning streak, which was snapped on Tuesday by TCU, Rice was going to be up against it facing one of the most complete teams in Conference USA and the No. 19 ranked team in the nation.

To win, Rice was going to have to take risks. If not perfect, the Owls were going to have to be pretty darn close. And for most of all three games, it sure looked as if Rice had accomplished just that. Rice led DBU through seven innings in all three games: 4-3 on Friday, 2-1 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday.

As if that weren’t enough, entering the weekend, Rice was 13-2 when leading after seven innings, that’s a clip of victories on 87 percent of such occasions. That’s what made this weekend sting all the more, because not only did they come in well below that 87 percent threshold, they were winless.

On Friday and on Sunday, it was the longball that did Rice in. “It killed us,” Cruz said of the DBU home run that put Rice behind. “It’s part of the season, right? It’s part of it. “You get ups and downs and you get a bit of heartbreak and gut punch. And that’s basically what happened this last weekend.”

In an alternate universe, Rice baseball sweeps DBU and we’re talking about a resurgence late in the season. That’s not what happened, and it’s been a downward trend that’s been apparent for a month now. But as Cruz pointed out, the pieces are there. If Rice can hang with DBU they can hang with anyone in C-USA. It’s time to turn that effort into results.

“We played good enough to win at least two games. I mean, we led in the ninth by two runs, twice,” Cruz said. “It’s just a matter of our belief in ourselves to be able to do what needs to get done to win. I think that’s the essence of what we need to do right now is just believe that we can and I think we will.”

FRIDAY | DBU 8 – Rice 6 (12 innings)

It was a race to beat the rain on Friday night and both starting pitchers certainly did their parts. Rice starter Parker Smith threw 5.1 innings with six strikeouts, allowing three runs, two of which came in his final inning of work. DBU’s ace Ryan Johnson was lifted after four innings and Rice pounced quickly, tying the game 3-3 quickly after he left.

From there, Rice tacked on solo runs in the seventh (a Drew Holderbach RBI single) and the eighth (a Guy Garibay home run) to go ahead 5-3 before thunderstorms forced a postponement to Saturday. Upon resumption, DBU tied the game in the ninth with a two-run home run before pouring on three more in the 12th to complete the come-from-behind win.

SATURDAY | DBU 10 – Rice 3

Even though the Owls had used several arms to complete the first game on Saturday afternoon, the pitching staff came through in a big way in the early portions of the evening game. JD McCracken racked up a career-best seven strikeouts and Matthew. Linskey looked much more like his old self, striking out three while allowing one run in two innings.

MORE: Roost Pod – Rice Football Spring Ball Recap and Basketball Recruiting

McCracken and Linskey’s arms combined with two solo home runs from Jack Riedel positioned Rice with a 2-1 lead entering the eighth inning. Five walks, two home runs and a single later, DBU had hung an eight-spot on the Owls and put the game out of reach.

SUNDAY | DBU 4 – Rice 3

DBU struck first in the finale, but Rice was quick to follow. They trailed for a matter of minutes, answer a DBU solo home run in the first inning with three straight two-out hits, capped off by a two-RBI single from Manny Garza. Jack Riedel added some insurance in the third with a sacrifice fly, staking the Owls to a 3-1 lead in the early going.

That lead held for a good while thanks to strong pitching performances from Cristian Cienfuegos, Ryland Urbanczyk and Justin Long. When Long was relieved in the top of the ninth following a lead-off home run from DBU, Rice led 3-2. Once again, the Owls were unable to get those last three outs. Jack Ben-Shoshan was credited with the loss, allowing a walk and a go-ahead home run in relief of Long.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rather than a series win, Rice baseball is reckoning with one that got away. Here are three takeaways from a tough weekend at home.

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Rice Baseball falters late, drops series to MTSU

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Rice Baseball and MTSU went down to the final inning with the fate of the series in the balance before an MTSU walk-off spoiled the Owls’ weekend.

FRIDAY | MTSU 6 – Rice 0

It didn’t matter which portion of the weather-split game it was for Rice baseball, the bats just weren’t syncing up. Rice was held scoreless in their series opener against Middle Tennessee, which was paused in the sixth inning with Rice trailing 3-0 before being restarted on Saturday afternoon.

Prior to the delay, Tyler Hamilton and Cristian Cienfuegos kept the Blue Raiders to one unearned run through four innings.  Blake Brogdon was tagged for two runs in the fifth, but the Owls were very much still in the game until MTSU tagged Ryland Urbanczyk with three runs in the eighth inning on Saturday to put the game away.

SATURDAY | Rice 9 – MTSU 2

Rice baseball and MTSU traded single runs in the early innings then did so again in the top of the sixth and bottom of the seventh. The game was neck-and-neck, even when Paul Smith singled in Jack Riedel in the top of the eighth to put the Owls in front. Leading 3-2 entering the ninth, the Rice bats exploded.

MORE: Roost Pod – Rice Football Spring Ball Recap and Basketball Recruiting

Three consecutive RBI hits put Rice up 7-2 and prompted an MTSU pitching change. The new reliever didn’t fair much better, getting charged with two additional runs on sacrifice flies as the Owls smacked the Blue Raiders around, scoring six in the ninth to win 9-2.

SUNDAY | MTSU 5 – Rice 4 (11 innings)

MTSU took a 2-0 lead on a first-inning home run against JD McCracken in the series finale, forcing Rice to play from behind. The Owls chipped away with a run in the fourth on an RBI single from Trey Duffield and another in the eighth, this time via a Ben Royo home run. Finally tied again, that’s when the drama would begin.

Both teams traded solo runs in the next two half innings, forcing extra with the score deadlocked at 3-3. Royo came through again in the tenth with an RBI single, but MTSU leveled the score on a wild pitch charged Rice reliever Krishna Raj. After Rice went quietly in the top half of the next inning, Raj gave up the walk-off long ball on the very next pitch, handing the game and the series to MTSU.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball had their chances to win a series for the first time in a month and couldn’t close the deal. Here are a few takeaways from a wet, frustrating weekend in Murfreesboro.

1. RIP RISP

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Bullpen roulette bites Rice Baseball against McNeese State

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Rice baseball got hits from eight of nine starters, but bullpen woes ultimately cost them a winnable game against McNeese State.

When Tom Vincent managed to record just four outs during the second-midweek game of the week, things had the potential to go south quickly for a Rice baseball squad with limited pitching depth against a McNeese State team that entered the game 21-11 on the season. Jack Ben-Shoshan limited the damage to just three runs and Blake Brogdon followed with a fantastic 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.

No longer spiraling, it seemed like the pitching staff was going to give this team a chance. Aaron Smigelski got Rice on the board with an RBI double in the third. Guy Garibay and Connor Walsh delivered back-to-back RBI singles in the fifth, driving in three to put Rice ahead 4-3. The Owls had battled back.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball rallies past Lamar

Matthew Linskey surrendered the lead in the top of the sixth, but Ben Royo took it right back in the bottom of the frame. Tyler Hamilton got Rice to the ninth up by two, but Garret Zaskoda scuttled the save, allowing three runs in the ninth. The Owls would get the tying run to third base but Walsh’s last-ditch liner fell a few shy of the fence, a loud fly out to end a disappointing game.

What it means | Bullpen Roulette

The lack of depth on the pitching side has been an issue for Rice baseball all year and it reared its ugly head again on Wednesday. Of the seven pitchers Rice called upon in the game, Vincent, Linskey and Zaskoda each had bad outings. Mark Perkins, the seventh arm, was only called upon after Zaskoda blew a two-run lead in the ninth.

It wouldn’t be fair to expect every reliever to bring his A-game on every night, particularly not in a midweek game when teams are typically reaching further down their staff. Still, having a fifty-fifty chance of a disastrous inning won’t work either.

The Owls might have to seriously consider changing their strategy on the mound. If Brogdon is dealing through 2.2 innings, leave him in. If Tyler Hamilton has allowed one hit in two innings, leave him in. The alternative is spinning the wheel again and the odds aren’t looking very good right now.

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Strong start lifts Rice Baseball to win over Lamar

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A four-run first set the tone for a tremendous night for Rice baseball, which improved to 13-12 on the season with the victory over Lamar.

The first four to the plate for Rice baseball came around to score in the very first inning, a harbinger of good things to come for the Owls at the beginning of their five-game road trip. Little did they know it at the time, but those four runs would prove to be enough by themselves with Lamar’s only significant threat coming with a two-run fourth inning off reliever Garret Zaskoda.

With the game relatively close at that time, Rice broke out the boom sticks. Ben Royo, who hadn’t homered in a game this season until he went yard in the Saturday game against UAB, went yard for the fifth time in the Owls’ last seven games with a two-run shot in the sixth. Drew Holderbach added an insurance dinger in the seventh. Paul Smith and Guy Garibay each drove in a run apiece in the eighth.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball drops series, shows strengths vs UTSA

As the bats added to the total, the Owls’ arms kept the Cardinals off the board. Cristian Cienfuegos was terrific, striking out three of the five batters he faced. Jack Ben-Shoshan and Matthew Linskey each recorded multiple strikeouts and no runs in their relief appearances. It wasn’t a perfect performance from the pen, but it was a solid night, which is more than enough when the bats are hot.

What it means | Setting the tone

The bats deserve credit, but coming from behind to win games is far from an ideal strategy. To this point in the season, Rice has been able to get base runners early in games, but delivering a crooked number straight away hasn’t been in the cards… until Tuesday night.

Entering the game against Lamar, Rice had scored eight first inning runs in their first 24 games, an average of a third of a run per opening frame. That’s not very much. So when the Owls loaded the bases with no outs in the first, there was a sense of inevitability in the Beaumont air. Undoubtedly, the Owls were due.

More: Rice Baseball Nonconference State of the Program

A four-run first served as a resounding answer and set the tone for a midweek tilt that pushed Rice baseball back above .500. Getting that many runs in your first plate appearance aren’t likely to be an every night experience,  but the impact of the fast start had on the game was unmistakable. Having Justin Long deliver 2.2 scoreless innings on the mound helped, too. Rice needs more starts like this.

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