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Rice baseball wins first C-USA series, 2-1 over Marshall

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Rice Baseball took their first weekend series of the season, winning the opening two games against Marshall on the Owls’ first C-USA road trip.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball wins series 2-1

A one-run defeat on Sunday must not be allowed to sully what was an impactful first Conference USA series win for Rice baseball head coach Jose Cruz Jr. and his team. The Owls held nothing back, pressing every button they could to ensure they didn’t fly back to Texas defeated.

Last Time Out: Rice baseball falls to Texas A&M in marathon game

The pair of wins gives Rice five victories in their last nine games. As modest as that may seem, playing .500 baseball following a 2-9 start represents a significant step-change in the trajectory of this program.  But first, a few takeaways from the weekend.

1. Finding the few

As Cruz Jr. mentioned earlier this week, finding a core group of pitchers he could trust in key situations was one of the Owls’ most pressing priorities. The picture might not be crystal clear right now, but things look much better after this weekend than they have at any other point this year.

On Friday, Rice was able to use one reliever (David Shaw) in between a quality outing from starter Cooper Chandler and a shutdown performance from closer Matthew Linskey. Getting one inning from Parker Smith on Saturday wasn’t the plan, but nice relief outings from Roel Garcia, Tom Vincent and Garret Zaskoda turned things around for the Owls before the day was through.

Vincent and Shaw reprised their performances was good Sunday appearances as well. At a minimum, it appears Chandler, Smith, and Garcia are reliable starting options, with DeLeon quality depth and a viable Sunday guy. Shaw, Vincent, Zaskoda and Linskey have also done enough to be trusted. Rice will still need a few more guys to enter that important circle of trust, but the foundation has clearly been laid.

2. Sharing the success at the plate

Early on in the season, the vast majority of the offensive production seemed to be coming from the contingent in the middle of the order. That group was typically comprised of Guy Garibay, Austin Bulman and Aaron Smigelski. That core has grown to include the red-hot Nathan Becker in recent weeks, but it’s been the productivity from top to bottom of the lineup that has been the most encouraging.

Piere Gallo, who has hit in the bottom third of the lineup for most of the season, is fourth on the team with 15 RBI. He has 11 RBI in his last eight games. And he’d have more if he hit even a few spots higher. Johnny Hoyle had big hits this weekend. So did Connor Walsh. It’s starting to feel like someone new is contributing every other night and the offensive production is reflecting that.

3. Weekend win

For the first time this season, Rice baseball has won a weekend series. The ascent has been slow. Things started out rocky. But Rice does appear to be rounding into form at the right time. Errors are down (just four total on the weekend). Runs are trending up (Rice outscored Marshall 17 – 12) and the pitching is becoming more well-rounded and reliable. Opponents are putting up fewer crooked numbers.

Part of that is the break from playing teams like Texas and Texas Tech in three-game series. That certainly plays a factor. But just watching the team that took the field this weekend makes it abundantly clear that something has changed, they’ve grown. They’re gotten better. And that makes what comes next all the more intriguing.

More: Rice Baseball Midseason State of the Program

Cruz Jr. was intent not to “promise the moon” upon his arrival. A few good weekends of baseball should be cause for anyone to offer major course corrections when it comes to those expectations. But it’s clear that should Rice string a few more positive weekends together, they’ll officially be a competitive team that has the ability to go toe-to-toe with anyone in their conference.

If the Owls can do that, they’ll have done more than enough to earn a passing grade for Cruz Jr,’s first campaign. From there, the limits aren’t predetermined. This team still has the potential to be as good as it believes it can be.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Rice 7 – Marshall 2

Pierce Gallo put Rice baseball out in front in the top of the second inning with a solo shot down the right field line. Austin Bulman followed in the third with a home run of his own with the Owls tacking on one more to take a 3-0 lead. Marshall would tally two runs on solo shots of their own in the bottom of the third, but that would be all they were able to do against Rice pitching that afternoon.

Rice starter Cooper Chandler breezed through six innings, allowing just those two earned runs on four hits with seven strikeouts. He gave way to David Shaw and eventually Matthew Linskey who stifled the Marshall bats while the Rice offense tacked on additional insurance runs in the fifth, seventh and ninth, winning by the final score of 7-2.

SATURDAY | Rice 6 – Marshall 5

Things started out poorly for Rice baseball in the middle game of the series. The Owls committed two errors in the first inning and fell behind 4-1. Starter Parker Smith would last just one inning as the Owls’ were hurled into comeback mode. Marshall added another run in the second, stretching their lead to 5-1 before Rice would mount a counteroffensive.

The Owls sent six men to the plate in the fourth inning, scoring three times, the final two runs coming from an RBI double from Austin Bulman. That put Rice back within reach, trailing 5-4. Roel Garcia delivered a masterful three scoreless innings out of the bullpen, keeping things tight before Guy Garibay and Nathan Becker could tack on RBIs in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively to give Rice a 6-5 win.

SUNDAY | Marshall 5 – Rice 4

Marshall scored first for the first time in the weekend, jumping out in front of Rice 3-0 as Alex DeLeon battled through 4.1 contested innings. He would leave after 4.1 innings, charged with four runs, the same total as the Owls’ hard scored in his defense. Rice scored all of their runs in the fourth and fifth innings, leveling the game at 4-4 before both teams went quiet for several at bats.

Podcast: Rice Owls’ Voice JP Heath talks baseball, basketball, broadcasting

It was Marshall that broke the quiet, delivering an RBI double against Thomas Burbank in the eighth to steal the game and avert the series sweep.

ON DECK | Rice baseball vs Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Wed), vs FAU (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball 2021 Season Review: Lineup

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The offense played a lot of catch-up for Rice baseball in 2021, relying on a potent top of the lineup to carry the load.

The Rice bats produced a modest .271/.356/.410 slash line by the end of the regular season, finishing more or less in the middle of the pack in most statistical categories when compared to their Conference USA peers. Championed by a stellar season from Braden Comeaux, the bulk of the heavy lifting was done by a select few hitting near the top of the lineup week in and week out.

Cade Edwards

Games – 53 | AVG .288 | OBP .355 | SLG .485 | 2B – 8 | 3B – 2 | HR – 9 | BB – 18 | K – 52

Edwards led Rice with a .308 batting average last year and wasn’t too far off that pace this season. His 19 extra-base hits were the most on the team, making good use of his spot atop the order for the majority of the season. He was one of two players to start every game for Rice this spring, racking up an 8-game and a 9-game hitting streak during conference play.

Braden Comeaux

Games – 52 | AVG .346 | OBP .419 | SLG .408 | 2B – 7 | 3B – 1 | HR – 1 | BB – 16 | K – 21

Comeaux had his best statistical season of his career during the abbreviated 2020 campaign and did not slow down entering 2021. He led the team with an eye-popping .419 on-base percentage, combing a keen eye (16 walks), good plate discipline and a skillful bat to find ways to get on base. He and Edwards set the table for this offense, giving the players that followed in the lineup plenty of RBI opportunities.

Bradley Gneiting

Games – 53 | AVG .302 | OBP .369 | SLG .481 | 2B – 10 | 3B – 0 | HR – 8 | BB – 21 | K – 42

A versatile defender, Gneiting cemented himself further into everyday playing status in 2021 with his bat. He was fractions of a point behind Edwards for the team-lead in slugging percentage, racking up 10 doubles and eight home runs. With the power came an elevated strikeout total, but he made up for that with the most productive run-scoring bat in the order. His 37 RBI were by far the most on the team.

Austin Bulman

Games – 44 | AVG .270 | OBP .352 | SLG .468 | 2B – 7 | 3B – 0 | HR – 7 | BB – 19 | K – 27

Bulman slotted into the cleanup spot for most of the year, coming on strong in the final weeks of the regular season. He provided some pop (seven home runs and seven doubles) in the middle of the order that proved to be important. He improved across the board from last year’s shortened season, seeing almost a 70-point uptick in slugging percentage and more than a 30-point lift in on-base percentage.

Hal Hughes

Games – 52 | AVG .258 | OBP .330 | SLG .362 | 2B – 6 | 3B – 1 | HR – 3 | BB – 14 | K – 18

Hughes wasn’t brought in for his bat, but the LSU transfer handled himself well with the stick, proving to be a decent contact hitter in the middle to back end of the lineup. He came through with a few important home runs. And although it wasn’t a frequent occurrence, he had just three dingers all year, Rice did win all three games in which he left the yard.

Guy Garibay

Games – 48 | AVG .234 | OBP .331 | SLG .403 | 2B – 6 | 3B – 0 | HR – 6 | BB – 22 | K – 37

Garibay pulled double duty this year, seeing success on the mound and at the plate. He was a pretty streaky hitter with the bat in his hands, collecting waves in bunches with nine multi-hit games, including a couple of three-hit outings against Texas A&M and Charlotte. He’s has power and will build on his plate discipline as he gets more experience against live college pitching.

Multi-game starters

Will Karp | Games – 48 | AVG .271 | OBP .365 | SLG .326 | 2B – 3 | 3B – 1 | HR – 1 | BB – 18 | K – 22
Justin Long | Games – 44 | AVG .257 | OBP .396 | SLG .314 | 2B – 3 | 3B – 0 | HR – 1 | BB – 21 | K – 32
Connor Walsh | Games – 31 | AVG .231 | OBP .308 | SLG .433 | 2B – 5 | 3B – 2 | HR – 4 | BB – 11 | K – 35
Nathan Becker | Games – 36 | AVG .253 | OBP .314 | SLG .495 | 2B – 5 | 3B – 0 | HR – 6 | BB – 7 | K – 21
Justin Dunlap | Games – 35 | AVG .234 | OBP .344 | SLG .355 | 2B – 4 | 3B – 0 | HR – 3 | BB – 16 | K – 26

This next group cycled in and out of the lineup during most weekends. The four-game conference series required Rice to deploy a fair amount of depth. Will Karp and Justin Long tag teamed catching duties. Freshman Nathan Becker continued to build up confidence as the year progress. Each of those guys, along with Walsh and Dunlap who had down years at the plate, played important roles this season.

Reserves

Antonio Cruz | Games – 19 | AVG .259 | OBP .355 | SLG .407 | 2B – 3 | 3B – 1 | HR – 1 | BB – 7 | K – 21
Johnny Hoyle | Games – 19 | AVG .214 | OBP .353 | SLG .214 | 2B – 0 | 3B – 0 | HR – 0 | BB – 0 | K – 4
Ben Dukes | Games – 26 | AVG .161 | OBP .316 | SLG .161 | 2B – 0 | 3B – 0 | HR – 0 | BB – 7 | K – 8
Cullen Hannigan | Games – 6 | AVG .500 | OBP .500 | SLG .500 | 2B – 0 | 3B – 0 | HR – 0 | BB – 0 | K – 1

The bench got thin quickly after the first wave of key reserves. Had Ben Dukes found more success with his bat, he likely would have gotten more opportunities. Those may come in the future. Antonio Cruz was productive when called upon, but there just weren’t very many outfield at bats to go around this year.

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Rice Baseball 2021 Season Review: Bullpen

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The bullpen never quite came together for Rice baseball in the 2021 season. Strong, lengthy outings were the exception rather than the rule.

The Rice baseball pitching staff was a work in progress from the start of the 2021 season until its conclusion. There were days when the bullpen and starting rotation were in sync, but most weekends featured an assortment of good and bad from both units. This roundup will focus on the relievers.

Guy Garibay

2-2 Record | 5.28 ERA | 12 Appearances (1 Start) | 29 Innings | 16 K | 5 BB | .302 Batting Avg Against

Garibay was one of the most anticipated signees in the most recent recruiting class. A talented hitter and pitcher, the initial plans were to have him focus on his craft at the plate and use his arm on the mound sparingly, if at all. That changed quickly when he became one of the most dependable options. He finished on a high note, throwing a career long 7.2 innings allowing just three runs against Charlotte.

Dalton Wood

1-2 Record | 4.13 ERA | 14 Appearances  | 24 Innings | 25 K | 15 BB | .239 Batting Avg Against

Wood had the lowest ERA of any of the Owls’ relief corps. His start, including a streak of 11.1 innings of scoreless baseball, was better than his finish. He allowed one or more runs in five of his final seven appearances, only one of which lasted more than one inning. Overall, there was a lot to like from his season.

Micah Davis

0-1 Record | 6.75 ERA | 10 Appearances (2 Starts) | 10.2 Innings | 13 K | 13 BB | .200 Batting Avg Against

Davis had a rather curious season, moonlighting briefly as an opener, throwing an inning to start games before being lifted. Abnormal usage or not, he did well on the mound. His command was steady, piling up more than a strikeout per inning. The ERA ticked up higher because of a rough outing against Southern Miss, but Davis had a strong freshman campaign that should inspire confidence going forward.

Matthew Linskey

0-2 Record | 7.15 ERA | 10 Appearances (2 Starts) | 11.1 Innings | 12 K | 14 BB | .135 Batting Avg Against

Like Davis, one bad outing obscures what was an encouraging beginning for this young hurler. Linskey’s .135 batting average against was the best on the staff by a wide margin. Walks were his undoing, a self-inflicted consequence that should be able to be corrected as he progresses in his career. The stuff is there and when he found the zone, it was tremendously effective.

Drake Greenwood

0-1 Record | 8.82 ERA | 13 Appearances | 16.1 Innings | 22 K | 16 BB | .259 Batting Avg Against

Greenwood saw his role diminish as the season progressed, losing work to other relievers as he struggled with walked multiple batters and allowed multiple runs in each of his final five outings that lasted longer than one out. His best outing came earlier in the season, throwing 2.2 scoreless innings against Texas A&M with a season-best five strikeouts.

Reed Gallant

2-1 Record | 6.49 ERA | 11 Appearances (1 Start) | 26.1 Innings | 17 K | 16 BB | .277 Batting Avg Against

Gallant began the season in a long-relief role and faired reasonably well, earning a rare Monday win with five scoreless innings against Houston Baptist. Like others, he struggled to keep command and gave up big innings too often. Only a freshman, Gallant has room and time to build up consistency and become more dependable on the bump.

Alex DeLeon

2-0 Record | 5.96 ERA | 11 Appearances (2 Starts) | 22.2 Innings | 20 K | 10 BB | .310 Batting Avg Against

DeLeon fell out of favor following last year’s brief stint as a starter. He worked primarily in long relief this year, appearing in six conference games. He could typically be relied upon to get a few strikeouts, give up a few hits and battle as best he could through jams. Some of those firefights turned out better than others.

Garret Zaskoda

2-1 Record | 7.65 ERA | 10 Appearances (3 Starts) | 20 Innings | 18 K | 13 BB | .320 Batting Avg Against

Like Greenwood, Zaskoda saw his high point in the midweek game against Texas A&M. He threw 5.1 innings, allowing one his while walking four and striking out four. He kept the Aggies at bay but wasn’t able to replicate a performance of that caliber for the remainder of the season. When facing the better offenses in Conference USA, Zaskoda struggled, but so did much of the rest of the Rice bullpen.

Reserves

Cristian Cienfuegos | 0-0 Record | 23.88 ERA | 8 Appearances | 8.2 Innings | 6 K | 12 BB | .390 Batting Avg Against
Dillon Janac | 0-0 Record | 12.27 ERA | 7 Appearances | 7.1 Innings | 5 K | 10 BB | .269 Batting Avg Against
Joshua Larzabal | 1-0 Record | 10.80 ERA | 6 Appearances | 8.1 Innings | 9 K | 5 BB | .436 Batting Avg Against
Johny Hoyle | 0-0 Record | 3.37 ERA | 3 Appearances | 2.2 Innings | 2 K | 6 BB | .200 Batting Avg Against
Jared Plank | 0-0 Record | 5.40 ERA | 3 Appearances | 3.1 Innings | 5 K | 1 BB | .308 Batting Avg Against
Will West | 0-0 Record | 9.00 ERA | 1 Appearance | 1.0 Innings | 2 K | 1 BB | .000 Batting Avg Against

The remainder of the bullpen was used sparingly, and proved to be more erratic than the first handful of relievers mentioned above. ERA isn’t a tell-all stat for players that primarily work an inning or two at a time, but the inflated marks tell the story fairly well here. The list of dependable options was short, and even those few didn’t deliver as often as Rice needed them to.

There is talent on this staff and it did flash at times. But there’s also a lof of work to do before the Rice baseball pitching staff is on par with what those around South Main have become accustomed to in past seasons.

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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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