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Rice Baseball 2019 Season Review: Starting Pitching shines

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The starting pitching was the crown jewel of the 2019 Rice baseball team, giving the Owls a chance every time they took the diamond.

Coach Matt Bragga’s first season at South Main was filled with highs and lows. Now that the last pitch has been thrown, it’s time to take a closer look at 2019 starting with the starting pitchers, who more than lived up to their lofty early season expectations.

Matt Canterino

6-5 Record | 2.81 ERA | 99.1 innings | 121 strikeouts | 23 walks | .199 batting average against

In every way, Canterino was as advertised this season. As the offense and defense swung from one extreme to another he remained consistent. His bad outings were serviceable and his best outings were the kind of gems noticed by pro scouts. Canterino was the preseason Conference USA Pitcher of the Year and awarded the same honor at the conclusion of the regular season. The junior will be an early round selection in the upcoming MLB Draft, a fitting end to an impressive collegiate career.

Evan Kravetz

6-2 Record | 3.24 ERA | 80.2 innings | 108 strikeouts | 32 walks | .200 batting average against

Addison Moss was meant to be the Saturday night starter this year. Injuries kept that from ever materializing, while at the same time opening the door for Evan Kravetz. The senior southpaw took the opportunity and ran with it, becoming arguably the most unexpected, yet impactful member of the Rice team this season. His numbers are comparable to Canterino’s. That alone is an impressive feat

Jackson Parthasarathy

4-8 Record | 4.32 ERA | 73 innings | 68 strikeouts | 23 walks | .276 batting average against

The Owls’ Sunday starter for most of the season, Parthasarathy excelled when it was his turn on the bump. He threw strikes and got outs while setting career highs across the board. He didn’t come close to the strikeout numbers of Canterino and Kravetz, but he was one of the handful of arms able to consistently go deep into games and battle through a rough patch or too without having things fall apart.

Kel Bordwine

1-3  Record | 4.37 ERA |  45.1 innings | 27 strikeouts | 19 walks | .265 batting average against

The only other member of the Rice pitching staff with more than three starts, sophomore hurler Kel Bordwine settled into the midweek starter role rather early in the season. As he proved his effectiveness in short outings, he was trusted with more. Bordwine’s role will only grow with this team.

Others on the bump

Addison Moss, Drake Greenwood, Garrett Gayle, Dalton Wood

There weren’t many remaining starting opportunities to go around. Only four other Owls’ got starts, to varying degrees of success. Most of the impact of these four came as members of the relief corps, with the exception of Moss who saw his season ended abruptly with injuries.

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Rice Baseball: Owls top Southern Miss in water-logged series

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Rice baseball pushed through the rain for a massive series win over one Conference USA’s best team, taking two of three from Southern Miss.

Pouring rains forced the rescheduling of two games, but the end result was almost exactly what Rice baseball wanted — a series win over the first place team in the conference. The resiliency of this squad was on display as they played their final set of games at Reckling Park this season. The seniors sent themselves out on a high note and put Rice one step closer to a trip to the conference tournament.

Here’s the rundown of how each game played out and three closing thoughts on the impressive series win.

FRIDAY | Southern Miss 6 – Rice 3

The opening game of the series started out much the same way as the typical Friday has for the Owls. Matt Canterino powered through his first five innings with relative ease, allowing two runs on three hits. With Rice behind 2-0 in the fifth, the offense leveled the score. Aaron Beaulaurier flared a bases-loaded single into centerfield, bringing the score back to a 2-2 deadlock. It wouldn’t last long.

Canterino walked the first two batters in the sixth, setting the table for a 2-RBI single from the Golden Eagles. By the time he was relieved later in the sixth by Blair Lewis, Rice trailed 4-2. Southern Miss would add a solo home run in the inning, taking a 5-2 lead into the seventh.

Rice had chances, but four double plays turned by Southern Miss, a high for Rice opponents this season, kept the Owls from finding any level of consistency. Southern Miss and Rice traded single runs in the ninth, closing out the opener 6-3.

SATURDAY | Rice 4 – Southern Miss 0

After Friday’s disappointing showing and another modified schedule courtesy of incorrigible Houston weather, Rice returned to Reckling with purpose. Evan Kravetz was magnificent on the mound. The senior, who was a late addition to the Owls’ rotation to start the year, pitched one of the best games of his career in a moment when the team needed him the most. Kravetz struck out 10 batters in 7.1 innings, walking four while allowing three hits.

Kravetz was aided on the mound by a quick jolt from the offense. Trei Cruz took the first pitch he saw in the first inning and plopped it over the left field fence. The bomb scored Braden Comeaux, giving Rice a 2-0 lead. The Owls would tack on another run in the fifth on an RBI single by Comeaux and another in the eighth on an Andrew Dunlap sac fly.

A shaky relief performance from Kendal Jefferies produced nerves in the Rice dugout before the game was complete. Jefferies loaded the bases in the eighth before coaxing an inning-ending double play. He allowed to Southern Miss batters to reach in the ninth, but escaped that inning without any damage, too. It wasn’t pretty, but he got the outs and the Owls got the win.

SUNDAY | Rice 7 – Southern Miss 2

If a 2-0 lead was comfortable on Saturday, a 4-0 lead felt like an insurmountable advantage for Rice in the rubber game. With Jackson Parthasarathy on the mound, Rice jumped all over Southern Miss. Andrew Dunlap opened things up with a 2 RBI single in the first. Justin Collins followed it up almost immediately, ambushing the first pitch he saw and lifting it over the left field wall, driving in Cade Edwards.

Southern Miss would turn to the bullpen in the first inning. Rice had no such concerns, relying on their Sunday stud through 6.1 innings of one-run ball. In his final home outing, Parthasarathy struck out five, leaving the game in the hands of the bullpen for the final eight outs.

Dalton Wood got the first try but was pulled out quickly after walking two batters on eight pitches. Garret Gayle was up next. He wasn’t perfect, allowing two runs, one charged to each of his proceeding pitchers. He settled down, posting zeroes in the final two frames to lock down the win.

TAKEAWAYS | Rice wins series 2-1

1. This team plays differently with the lead

When Rice has one of their starters on the mound and an early lead the entire psyche of the team seems indomitable. The energy picks up, the bats are more focused and the defense stays in lockstep. That’s what happened Saturday when Cruz launched his home run and it’s what happened Sunday with the big first inning.

The starting pitching is the Owls’ best weapon. When those guys on the mound know they can throw strikes without the need to be absolutely flawless, they pitch better. Rice is going to have the advantage on the mound in almost every game they play through the conference tournament. If those arms can get even the slightest early bump this is a team who could contend for the tournament title.

2. The bullpen keeps getting more and more confusing

If not for a game-changing double-play ball on Saturday evening, Jefferies, one of the Owls most trustworthy relievers could have been sitting on his third bad outing over his last four appearances. He got the job done, but the performance leaves room for doubt.

Blair Lewis and Drake Greenwood both allowed runs in short appearances on Friday. Dalton Wood blew his chance on Sunday and Garrett Gayle allowed two inherited runners to score.

Rice won the series, but there wasn’t anyone in the bullpen who made a strong case to be the first man called in a tough situation. If coach Bragga is going to ride his starters as long as they can go, which makes sense given how good they’ve been, a sticky situation or two might occur. Right now, Rice lacks a go-to guy in the pen and they’ve got a week to find it.

3. Inching closer and closer to Biloxi

Entering their weekend series with Southern Miss, Rice needed to find a way to secure three wins in their final six games to feel confident about clinching a spot in the CUSA Baseball tournament. They didn’t take three from the Golden Eagles but they won two important games.

Rice is 14-13, good for fifth place in CUSA with the tiebreaker over Old Dominion. The Owls are three wins better than Marshall (11-5), UTSA (11-15), FIU (11-16) and Middle Tennessee (11-16). With a single win in their final conference series, Rice clinches a postseason berth.

ON DECK | vs Houston (Tues), at Marshall (Thur-Sat)

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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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