Mauricio Rodriguez Archives - Page 3 of 3

Rice Baseball posted an impressive low-scoring win against Sam Houston on Wednesday, silencing a powerful Sam Houston offense at Reckling Park.

Connor Walsh took advantage of his promotion to the top of the lineup on Wednesday evening, lifting a 2-1 pitch to left center and racing around the infield for a leadoff triple. He came in to score two batters later, courtesy of a single to right field by Jack Riedel, giving Rice an early 1-0 lead.

Last Time Out : Rice Baseball steals finale in series loss to Louisiana

That 1-0 lead would hold for some time thanks to some fantastic pitching performances from the Rice side. Mauricio Rodriguez got the start and went 3.1 innings of scoreless action, striking out three while allowing three hits and no walks. Krishna Raj came in to relieve him in the fourth, finishing that frame and the next inning without allowing a run. He would give way to JD McCracken, who worked around a double to keep Sam Houston off the board in the sixth.

McCracken had more magic in store in the seventh. After he overthrew first base and allowed the first SHSU hitter to reach via error he would come back and gun that same runner down at the plate two batters later. Then, after loading the bases on a single and hit-by-pitch, he would escape again, coaxing a soft groundout to second.

Rice was finally able to exhale ever so slightly when Guy Garibay blasted this opposite-field home run in the eighth, putting the home team up 3-0. Sam Houston would get their only run in the ninth inning, but Garibay’s cushion would be enough to keep Rice ahead.

That's our GUY!! Owls up 3-0!! pic.twitter.com/qYGfQcbzjN

— Rice Baseball (@RiceBaseball) February 23, 2023

What it means | Pitchers not named Smith

Parker Smith delivered a quality start on Friday night against Louisiana. The Owls’ No. 1 arm had a No.1 type performance, far and away the biggest pitching performance the Owls had on opening weekend. Smith isn’t infallible. He will have some rough outings, everyone does. But what’s most important for Rice baseball right now is to find the guys *not* named Parker Smith who can deliver quality outings.

Names to Know : Under the radar Rice Baseball players for the 2023 season

They might have found some answers on Wednesday night. Rodriguez, Raj and McCracken were all excellent in relief, bouncing back from lesser performances on opening weekend with a strong showing in the midweek game. These were three of the more high-profile transfers added to the roster this season. They’ve been penciled in as key contributors for months now. Seeing them live up to the billing was important, for them personally and the coaching staff.

To do what they did against Sam Houston was particularly impressive. The Bearkats had just put up 43 runs in their last 16 innings. They scored once in nine innings against Rice, and neither Smith nor ace reliever Matthew Linskey threw a pitch.

ON DECK | at Stanford (Fri-Sun)

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Entering Year 2 under head coach Jose Cruz Jr the Rice baseball roster is starting to take shape. Here are a few names to know on the mound.

Rice baseball will look to significantly retool its pitching staff this season. In addition to the hiring of Parker Bangs, a new pitching coach, this offseason, the Owls will also turnover a sizable portion of their staff and likely introduce a host of players to new roles.

Moving On

From purely an innings-pitched perspective, Rice will have to replace its top five arms from last year’s team. Cooper Chandler, Alex DeLeon, Roel Garcia, Thomas Burbank and Brandon Deskins have moved on, leaving a vacuum of mound time to back fill. That quintet accounted for 251 of 485.2 innings pitched, representing more than 50 percent of the innings worked by the entire 2022 staff.

Coming Back

While they are losing a lot of innings, the cupboard isn’t completely bare. Closer Matthew Linskey, who led the team with a 3.00 ERA last season, returns to the squad and could be stretched out to take advantage of his talents for more than an inning or two per weekend. Also back is Parker Smith, who made a strong case to be higher in the weekend rotation at the end of last season and throughout summer ball.

Blake Brogdon, who has been a weekend rotation guy in prior seasons, is back for his fifth season at South Main. It’ll be interesting to watch how his role plays out as well as a guy like Micah Davis that flashed his talents last year but lacked consistent command. Tom Vincent, Reed Gallant, Cristian Cienfuegos and Garret Zaskoda return as potential bullpen options.

Added to the Mix

The list of newcomers who will be in the mix is long. Rice added Mauricio Rodriguez from the JUCO ranks as well as Krishna Raj (Charleston Southern, Tulane), Hayden Durke (Louisiana), JD McCracken (Tennessee) and Tyler Hamilton (Texas Tech) from the Transfer Portal. Additionally, they converted Justin Long from catcher to hurler, and word of his development has been very positive throughout the offseason.

More: Expectations rise for Rice Baseball, Cruz Jr. in Year 2

Past that, there’s a strong compliment of freshman arms that will get looks. Head coach Jose Cruz Jr. singled out Ryland Urbanczyk and Garrett Stratton as early standouts at the onset of preseason practices, which would likely make the front runners in that regard. The Owls also added Marco Fuentes, Jake Crews and Tanner Fox in their incoming freshman class.