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Rice Baseball: Owls switch gears to CUSA Tournament after Marshall sweep

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Riding high after a series win over Southern Miss, Rice baseball was stopped stone-cold in their tracks by Marshall, narrowly clinching a CUSA Tournament spot.

The week began on a high note, with Rice baseball besting rival Houston to clinch the Silver Glove Series. After the Tuesday night victory, Rice hit the road to finish conference play with a three-game set in Huntington, West Virginia. Both Marshall and Rice were fighting for a spot in the Conference Tournament. Rice clinched their berth on Friday but Marshall had more work to do, eventually locking up a spot of their own after taking three straight from Rice.

Both the Owls and the Thundering Herd earned spots in Biloxi this coming week. Here’s how the series unfolded with three overarching themes as Rice enters the conference tournament.

THURSDAY | Marshall 5, Rice 4 (11)

Rice used a big fifth inning to jump ahead in the series opener. Trei Cruz broke the deadlock with an RBI single to center, scoring Aaron Beaulaurier. Andrew Dunlap followed with a three-run bomb to break things open.

Matt Canterino was in top form on the mound, holding Marshall to two earned runs in seven innings with nine strikeouts. He handed the ball to Kendal Jefferies at the start of the eighth. Jefferies, and later Garrett Gayle, were unable to hold the line. Marshall walked it off in the 11th on a two-out RBI single after holding Rice scoreless through the final six innings.

FRIDAY | Marshall 4, Rice 3 (10)

Kel Bordwine took the ball on Friday after Evan Kravetz was a late scratch. Even with the deviation in the weekend rotation, the Owls weren’t threatened early in game two. Bordwine was superb, throwing seven innings of one-run ball. The Marshall offense mustered five hits off the short-notice starter, allowing the Rice offense to slowly build a lead.

Rice climbed ahead 3-0, courtesy of a few impactful extra-base hits. Bealaurier doubled in the third, scoring Antonio Cruz. Bradley Gneiting and Antonio Cruz added solo home runs in the fourth and seventh innings, respectively.

Marshall wouldn’t score until the eighth, leveling the score at 3-3 after Blair Lewis surrendered a 2-run home run. That score would hold for one more inning until Marshall scored a final, unearned run on an infield error to win the game in the 10th.

SATURDAY | Marshall 5, Rice 4

Marshall struck first in the finale, taking a 1-0 lead on a home run in the first inning. Playing from behind for the first time in regulation, Rice was forced to muster a comeback. Trei Cruz gave Rice the lead with a fourth-inning double. Justin Collins extended the advantage to 3-1 with a solo home run in the sixth. Jackson Parthasarathy powered through the Marshall lineup as Bordwine and Canterino had before. Things were looking good.

Yet again, Rice took a lead into the later innings. Yet again, Marshall found an equalizer. The Thundering Herd knotted the game at 3-3 in the eighth, but this time Rice punched back, squeezing out the go-ahead run via a sac bunt in the top of the ninth inning. The small ball wouldn’t be enough, though, as Marshall tied and went on to win the game in the bottom of the ninth, their third walk-off win of the weekend.

TAKEAWAYS | Marshall wins series 3-0

1. Who will step up in the bullpen?

The Owls most trustworthy bullpen arms failed them in big spots against Marshall. Staked to late leads with few outs to get, nobody was able to come up with an answer. That’s not a problem the Owls were hoping to run into this late in the season, but May is the time to make the best with what you have, not to reinvent the wheel.

Coach Bragga could try to implement a quicker hook or experiment with bumping someone like Bordwine from a spot starter to a bullpen piece. Bragga will undoubtedly push all the buttons he thinks will make the most sense for the team in its current state, but he’s not able to step on the mound and physically throw the pitches.

Those same players who had rough weekends have proven capable in the past. Jefferies and Gayle have combined for nine saves, 100 percent of the team’s total on the season. And that’s the peculiar thing about baseball. The sport built upon failure will put these same pitchers in high leverage situations again, soon. They’re going to get another chance. If they capitalize on their opportunities in Biloxi, their shortcomings in Huntington will fade, quickly.

2. It’s going to be a short week if something doesn’t change

Even without a win in their final regular-season series, Rice qualified for the Conference USA Baseball Tournament. The starting pitching showcased their extraordinary depth over the weekend, digging beyond their typical weekend trio and still producing three quality starts. The bullpen and the offense can’t ask for much better than they got against Marshall, setting the stage for a game of Russian Roulette going forward.

Assuming a strong start on the mound, Rice needs to find a way to avoid joint implosions by the bullpen and the lineup. If one of those two units can produce at a level commensurate to the starting pitching, Rice has a shot to advance deep into the conference tournament. If both units fade into a repeat of this weekend. Bang. Season over.

3. CUSA Tournament set

If there is any good fortune to be found in the weekend sweep, Rice draws a familiar opponent in the opening game of the CUSA Tournament. Rice took two of three from Southern Miss a week ago, relying on their now embraced pattern of high-caliber pitching and just-enough offense.

UTSA’s loss on Saturday might prove to be fortuitous for the Owls, too. A win by the Roadrunners would have dropped Rice to the 8-seed where they’d have met 1-seed FAU in Biloxi. FAU swept Rice earlier this season and the games weren’t as close as the three Rice loss to Marshall. Nevertheless, Rice has its opponent. Now they need to execute.

ON DECK | vs Southern Miss (Wed) in CUSA Tournament

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Rice Baseball: Owls crumble late as Houston evens Silver Glove Series

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Rice baseball took an early lead, but couldn’t hold on dropping the second game of the Silver Glove Series to Houston on Wednesday night.

A hot start from the Rice bats wouldn’t be enough to secure their second win over Houston this season and clinch the Silver Glove Series.

Things started off on the right track. Bradley Gneiting got things going with a double to left center. He was quickly driven in by Trei Cruz to give Rice the 1-0 lead. Next, Andrew Dunlap was hit by the pitch for a team-leading 17th time, setting up Cade Edwards for an RBI single to extend the Rice lead to 2-0.

Houston would tie the game up in the seventh with a two-out double down the right field line. The score remained 2-2 entering extra innings before disaster struck in the 10th. Jackson Tyner loaded the bases and Ben Schragger allowed three runs on two walks and a hit batsman. Two more relievers would try their hand, but the game was quickly out of hand. Rice was shut out in the home half of the inning, dropping the game by a final score of 8-2.

1. Defense moving from deficit to asset

Sloppy play in the field was a significant contributing factor to the Owls rough start to the season. Rice wasn’t able to string together two error-free games together until March 22 and March 23, two games into conference play. They haven’t been perfect in the field since then, but the Owls had 11 multi-error games before that juncture and have reached that mark six times since.

Not only are they not making mistakes, but players across the diamond are also stepping up to make big plays. Gneiting made a nifty save on the track in right field in the fourth and Brandt Frazier snagged a missile sent his direction in the fifth. Rice committed no errors in 10 innings.

2. Bordwine’s best

The chances of broaching the weekend rotation this season are slim to none, but Rice is going to need all the arms they can find if they want to make a run through the CUSA Tournament and vie for NCAA Tournament slot. Using midweek games like Wednesday’s clash with the Cougars to identify those extra weapons is a must. Bordwine rose to the occasion and could write his name into lineup cards more often moving forward.

Bordwine tied a career-long set earlier this season against Prairie View A&M with five innings pitched. He allowed one hit, struck out one and walked two. He might not be as dominant as some of the other arms Rice can turn to in a pinch, but having one more reliable option is always a good thing.

3. Failing to clinch the Silver Glove Series now is a missed opportunity

When Rice was in their heyday, the Silver Glove seldom left South Main. Rice won the series every season from 2001 to 2013. As far as baseball was concerned, the Owls ruled the city of Houston. A win on Wednesday would have given the Owls a 3-3 split with the Cougars over the last six seasons. Instead, they’ll get one more chance in the rubber game of the series, held later this season at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.

Winning rivalry games is an important step in restoring the program to its historic roots. Rice has already accrued wins over in-state powers TCU and Baylor. Those are proof of a strong foundation being built by Bragga during his first campaign at Rice. There’s still more to be done.

ON DECK | at Western Kentucky (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball: Evening the score in mind vs Texas State

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Rice baseball is out for revenge against a Texas State team who shut the Owls out earlier in the season. Can they even the season series at 1-1?

It’s been a long time since March 1 for both of these teams. That date marked the first of three scheduling meeting between Rice and Texas State this season with the Bobcats winning 1-0 at the Shriner’s Classic at Minute Maid Park.

The second edition promises to look much different. For one thing, the Owls seemed to have found their bats, scoring 48 runs in the seven games following their goose egg against Texas State. Second, neither team will have their ace on the mound during this Wednesday affair.

When and Where

Pitching matchups

Kel Bordwine could have been in line to start Wednesday, but the sophomore came in out of the bullpen in Tuesday’s win over Lamar. If Coach Bragga sticks with the status quo, Missouri transfer Drake Greenwood could be next in line. Given how Greenwood and the rest of the pitching depth has performed to this point, a wildcard like Ben Content or someone else could also be in play.

Garrett Herman (1-0) should be the man on the bump for the visiting team. The junior righty has two starts on the season, throwing nine innings and allowing eight hits, four runs and three walks while striking out six. That’s much more manageable for Rice than the seven innings of one-hit ball from Nicholas Fraze they faced earlier in the year.

Names to know from the plate

It’ll be the same suspects at the plate which Rice saw a few weeks ago. Will Hollis, who drove in the only run of the first meeting, has stayed hot at the plate. He’s hitting .364 this season with a team-high five doubles and 12 RBI.

Beyond Hollis, Jaylen Hubbard (.375 average) and Jaxon Williams (.339) continue to be key cogs in the Texas State offense. There has been a fair amount of shuffling at the bottom of the order so far. The Bobcats have five players who have appeared in at least 10 games with a batting average below .160. We could be in for another pitchers dual on Wednesday.

ON DECK | at FAU (Fri-Sun)

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Baseball: Two grand slams rocket Owls past Prairie View A&M

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Rice baseball jumped out to a sizable lead letting out their offensive frustrations with a lopsided home win over Prairie View A&M.

Rodrigo Duluc stood on the steps of the dugout with his teammates all season, not once stepping foot in the batter’s box until Wednesday’s game against Prairie View A&M. He looked on as the team dropped midweek contests to Arizona and Texas. He was watching when UC Irvine swept Rice at home, allowing the home team to score just nine runs over the course of the weekend.

Then, finally, after patiently waiting for his turn, Duluc took his place at the plate and let it rip. With the bases loaded two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Duluc deposited a 1-2 pitch over the left field wall. The Grand Slam broke a 13-inning scoreless streak, jumpstarting an offense in desperate need of a spark.

Staked to an early 4-0 lead, Rice would pour on at least one run over the first five innings. The Owls stretched their advantage to 10-2, and although Prairie View was able to creep back with a three-run sixth inning. It wasn’t enough to cause any serious concern, but Rice would put all hopes of a Prairie View A&M comeback to bed in the seventh.

Rice scored 13 runs on 14 hits, coming one batter shy of hitting around, twice. The mashed three home runs within the inning. The final score of 25-5 marked the most runs scored by Rice since a 26-17 victory over UAB in 2017.

Takeaways

1. The offense definitely exists

Rice hit .091 with runners in scoring position over the weekend, converting two opportunities in the span of three games. On Wednesday, Rice not only surpassed their weekend run total, but they also picked up 12 hits with runners in scoring position 20 tries.

In addition to Duluc’s coming out party, Bradley Gneiting and Andrew Dunlap had career-high five-hit games. Trei Cruz had his second grand slam of the season.

Justin Collins, Cade Edwards, Braden Comeaux each had multi-hit games. Prairie View is far from the caliber of pitching staffs the Owls have faced to this point and have on the docket this coming weekend. But, Rice should have scored in bunches against this squad, and they rose to the occasion — and then some. If Wednesday night isn’t proof they’re capable of packing a punch at the plate this season, what not much else will.

2. Kel Bordwine bounces back

Almost two weeks prior, the first win of the Matt Bragga era was made possible by a strong relief outing by Kel Bordwine. He threw the first three extra innings on the Saturday game against Rhode Island, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out two. Although he was charged with the go-ahead run, it was Zach Esquivel who allowed the runner to circle the bases.

His next outing wasn’t nearly as encouraging. Arizona knocked him out of his prior Wednesday start after he allowed six hits and three runs in the first three innings. Which Bordwine is the real deal? A five-hit, no earned run performance through five against Prairie View is a vote in favor of the season-opening version.

3. A complete team win is what this team needed

For whatever the reason, Rice hasn’t really gotten the offense, defense and pitching in sync this season. The Owls are still searching for their first error-free game of 2019, but the rotation and the lineup have each had bursts. Bordwine started the Owls off on the right foot on the mound and the offense was electric. The relief corps had a hiccup before settling down late in the game. The defense, again, wasn’t perfect. And Rice won by 20.

Winning big with some built-in mistakes is a step in the right direction. If Rice wants to contend with the heavyweights of the sport, they’ll need to start combining all phases in the same game. This was definitely a step in the right direction.

ON DECK | vs Texas State (Fri), vs Baylor (Sat), vs TCU (Sun)

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