Justin Dunlap Archives - Page 2 of 2

Rice baseball (2-4) fell in three straight games to Louisiana. The Owls had good moments on the mound, but couldn’t keep up with the Cajun’s bats.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Louisiana wins series 3-0

1. The Bullpen posts another strong showing

The season hasn’t been long, but we’ve seen the same narrative play out more than once. Rice baseball starting pitching surrenders the lead. The offense doesn’t have the juice to catch back up, but the bullpen keeps the team within striking distance until the innings run their course.

That same scenario manifested itself on Friday and Saturday against Louisiana. Dalton Wood and Reed Gallant were terrific. Wood allowed no hits and struck out three in 2.1 innings on Friday. Gallant allowed two hits with one strikeout in 4.1 innings on Saturday. But despite their best efforts, neither factored in a decision on the weekend because the lead had already been lost before they got their chance on the mound.

Sunday’s collective wasn’t as strong, but it did include several faces seeing their first action of the season in a situation where Rice was already trailing.

2. More offense, please

Rice scored three runs in each of their three games against Louisiana. Justin Dunlap, the Owls’ most productive hitter against Houston Baptist, did not play in the series. Among the Owls that did, only four — Braden Comeaux (.364), Justin Long (.333), Cade Edwards (.304) and Bradley Gneiting (.238) — are hitting better than .220 on the season.

Guy Garibay, who made his Rice debut on Friday night, drew three walks and hit a home run. He’s fifth among all Owls with a .385 on-base percentage. Rice is going to need more from incoming transfer Connor Walsh and Hal Hughes at the plate, too.

3. Flipped rotation not working for the Owls

We’ve seen a lot of tremendous pitching performances from the Rice staff so far this season. Unfortunately, that hasn’t extended to their unexpected series-starting pitcher Mitchell Holcomb. Entering the season, Roel Garcia and Blake Brogdon were the sure-fire top two arms in the rotation. Holcomb was the likeliest candidate to pitch on Sundays. He wasn’t supposed to be a Friday night guy.

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But the storm and limited availability of others have made Holcomb the man tasked with opening series thus far. By head coach Matt Bragga’s own admission, he hasn’t been at his best. That’s put Rice in early holes.

If everything had gone according to plan, Holcomb still would have been in the rotation, so his struggles so far still would have impacted the team. But there’s something to be said from falling behind in a series so quickly. It changes how pitchers are deployed and how a team responds. Getting Garcia back into the No. 1 spot is a must.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Louisiana 7 – Rice 3

Louisiana struck early in the opener. A leadoff home run sparked a three-run, eight-batter first inning against Mitchell Holcomb that put Rice into comeback mode from the start. The Owls were able to equalize with a Connor Walsh home run, but the offense was quiet from that point onward.

Holcomb would allow another two runs before exiting after three innings. Alex DeLeon allowed two more runs in 2.2 innings before Dalton Wood came on and blanked the Cajuns for the final 2.1 innings. By then, it was too late. Rice had just four hits total after the second inning.

SATURDAY | Louisiana 5 – Rice 3

After trading zeroes in the first, Louisiana scratched across a run in the second and the third innings to take a 2-0 lead. Rice had their best opportunity in the fourth, striking for three runs and driving starting pitcher David Christie from the game.

The Owls did not hold the lead for more than a few minutes. A pair of RBI doubles against Rice starter Blake Brogdon put Louisiana in front in the bottom half of the inning. Brogdon would be chased before recording the third out. He was charged with all three runs in the inning as well as the 5-3 loss.

SUNDAY | Louisiana 6 – Rice 3

Rice struck first on Sunday, sneaking a run across on an error in the third inning. That 1-0 lead would hold until Garcia was lifted in the fifth inning for Brandon Deskins. The sophomore didn’t exhibit the same amount of control that he did against Houston Baptist. He was charged with three runs and saddled with the loss.

Including the three allowed by Deskins, the bullpen would collectively concede six runs before Rice baseball found a way back onto the scoreboard.

Garibay came through with his first collegiate home run in the eighth, but the celebration was somewhat muted with teammate Comeaux having been just escorted from the field after being hit by a pitch.

ON DECK | Rice Baseball vs Prairie View A&M (Wed) and Shriner’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park: Sam Houston (Fri), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Sat), Texas State (Sun).

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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)