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Rice Baseball: Anticipation, expectations rise for Owls in Year 2 with Jose Cruz Jr

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Rice baseball brings renewed vigor and elevated expectations into the 2023 season, the Owls’ second under head coach Jose Cruz Jr.

For a program with the storied history that Rice baseball has, it’s been a tough few years. And while the term “rebuilding” isn’t one the Owls would want to be associated with their brand, that’s essentially what last season was for this program.

New head coach Jose Cruz Jr. brought passion and a modern vantage point on the game of baseball. He reinvigorated the fan base and helped paved the way for a new playing surface at Reckling Park, which remains one of the most beautiful venues in the sport. There was a lot of good that happened during the 2022 season, but the actual results on the diamond were lacking.

“Last year, we didn’t win as many games as we wanted to,” junior outfielder Guy Garibay said. “We’re coming into this year with a bad taste in our mouth and we’re out to win.”

Rice baseball finished 17-39 in Cruz Jr.’s inaugural season at the helm and 9-21 in conference play. Two of their three series wins (over Marshall and over FIU) came on the road. Taking two of three at home against Western Kentucky was their best home series of the season.

Deadset on rising up from that slow start, the Owls embarked on a focused offseason with a clear directive. Rice hired a new pitching coach, Parker Bangs, and spent a significant amount of time and effort with their pitchers in the Pigpen Pitching Lab. They retooled their roster with key transfer additions and several talented incoming freshmen.

“We feel that as a staff we’ve challenged ourselves to be as prepared and as cutting-edge as we can possibly be when it comes to baseball,” Cruz Jr., said. “We’ve created a lot of things and a lot of support for our guys to succeed and we’re looking forward to seeing it happen on the field.”

Rice was picked to finish eighth in the 10-team league by conference head coaches this season. Newcomer Dallas Baptist got four first-place votes. The Owls did not receive any, nor were they honored with any individual players on the preseason all-conference team.

Cruz Jr. was undeterred. “We’re trying to win as many games as possible. We’re coming into every game thinking we’re going to win,” he said. “I don’t think outside of here expectations are very high but we have high expectations for what we can accomplish.”

Beyond general optimism, Cruz Jr. is confident because he’s tuned into the roster and recognizes the journey that his players have been on to get to this point. “Nobody is the same,” he recalled, comparing the growth he’s seen from his players from last year to this year. He was particularly adamant about the pitching progress, singling out guys like Parker Smith on the mound.

The Owls’ season gets underway on Friday, February 17 with the start of a three-game slate against Louisiana. The first pitch of the opener is set for 6:30 p.m.

** Photo: Maria Lysaker **
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Rice Baseball: Making sense of the 2022 Season

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The 2022 Rice baseball season did not go as planned. From the highs to the lows, here’s how Jose Cruz Jr.’s crew faired this year.

His exact words were “I’m not going to promise the moon right now” when asked what Rice baseball would look like this season. That humble acknowledgment of the forthcoming growing pains by new head coach Jose Cruz Jr. served as guardrails to what would become a challenging season at Reckling Park.

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From the most meaningful wins to the most head-scratching losses, from surprise superstars to questions still outstanding, here’s a deep dive on the 2022 Rice baseball season.

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Rice Baseball goes out on high note with sweep of FIU

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Rice Baseball ended its 2022 season on a high note, notching their first series sweep in their final weekend, taking all three from FIU on the road.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball wins the series 3-0

For the first time this season, Rice baseball swept their opponent in three straight games. Fresh off an extra-inning win over Houston, the Owls rode that momentum through the weekend, finishing the season playing what was by far their best baseball yet. Rice finished the year with a final record of 17-39 overall and 9-21 in conference play. Here are a few takeaways from the weekend.

1. The pitching came through at the end

After months of tweaking and shifting players into different roles, Rice baseball finally found a combination that seemed to work on the mound. Cooper Chandler was terrific, after missing time with an injury he bounced back to throw a scoreless seven innings on Friday’s win, backed by sterling relief appearances from Garret Zaskoda and Micah Davis.

Brandon Deskins pitched a pair of multi-inning outings this weekend, striking out nine of the 16 total batters he faced without allowing a run. Matthew Linskey picked up save number five on Sunday. Almost to the man, the Rice staff was incredible.

Last Time Out: Rice baseball rallies past UH in extras

Head coach Jose Cruz Jr. made was quick to acknowledge the Owls’ successes on the mound, running down a similar last of hurlers who had big weekend. He seemed particularly thankful to have guys like Linskey and Parker Smith (who pitched in two of the Owls’ final four wins of the year) back in the fold next season.

2. Austin Bulman will be missed

Although much has (and will be) said about the young talent Rice baseball will bring back next year, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the impact Austin Bulman had on this team during this series and this season. Bulman was the most productive hitter for the Owls on the weekend, driving in all three RBI in Saturday’s sweep-clinching win.

Bulman, who went 4-for-10 (.400) during the series, was measured in his final comments wearing blue and gray. “Things worked out for the Owls,” he said. “So I’m happy I got to go out on a high note.”

Beyond this series, Bulman will finish the season with a .280/.350/.514 slash line and the second-best OPS on the team (.864) among those who played in at least 30 games. A leader on this team for the past several seasons, his bat and his voice will be challenging to fill next year.

3. What the record says they are

With the 2022 season officially in the books, Rice baseball has finished ninth in the conference standings. Their combined record against the three teams below them (7-2) looks a lot different than their record against the top eight squads (2-19) who made the conference tournament. Given that divergence, it’s crystal clear just how good Rice was this season.

Cruz Jr. broke a smile but remained focused as he recapped how the year finished. “To be able to get a sweep is a big deal for us. It’s exciting to end in a positive way,” he said. “We changed some things around at the end and it worked. So now it’s just get ready, keep building and see how good we can get.”

At this point it seems clear Rice can beat the “bad” teams. What remains to be seen is whether or not the Owls can elevate themselves out of that tier of squads that didn’t play in any postseason games into a team that gets a chance at a conference tournament appearance next year. Cruz Jr. made no promises to that end, but he commanded his team for how they ended things.

“They committed to finishing out the season strong,” he acknowledge. “A lot of guys showed up at the end.”

THE PLAY BY PLAY

THURSDAY | Rice 8 – FIU 2

FIU scored the first run of the weekend in the bottom of the first inning, sandwiching a key stolen base around back-to-back singles to sneak across the opening tally. That was just about the only success the Panthers were able to have against the Rice pitching staff which shuffled through four different arms, all of which had success against the Panthers’ lineup.

David Shaw led the way with three strong innings before ceding to Alex DeLeon and Brandon Deskins, who was credited with his third win of the season. Meanwhile, the Rice bats went to work. Jack Riedel and Aaron Smigelski helped break the game open with RBI doubles in a four-run fourth inning before Connor Walsh added insurance with a three-run home run in the ninth.

FRIDAY | Rice 10 – FIU 0

Rice baseball utilized another big inning on Friday, quickly smashing through what had been a 0-0 pitcher’s duel with a 5-run sixth inning that gave Rice a commanding 7-0 lead. Aaron Smigelski, who had already driven in two runs with a fifth-inning home run, picked up two more RBI with another two-run shot in the sixth.

That second blast put the freshmen in rarified air. Smigelski became the first Owl to hit three multi-home run games in a season since Anthony Rendon did so in 2010. The long balls also provided Cooper Chandler with plenty to work with while he delivered a masterful seven-inning, three-hit scoreless gem on the way to his second win of the year.

SATURDAY | Rice 3 – FIU 1

To some degree, it was several of the familiar faces that propelled the Owls to their first sweep of the season on Saturday. Parker Smith worked a near-flawless 5.1 innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits. He have relief to Brandon Deskins, who pitched another strong outing in relief before handing the baton to Matthew Linskey to slam the door with two strong innings to earn the save.

Austin Bulman gave Rice a 2-0 lead in the first with a home run and provided an insurance run in the eighth via a sacrifice fly. It was an efficient, two-hour, 29-minute win that — while close on the scoreboard — had the feeling of a contest that was very much so under control from start to finish.

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Rice Baseball 2022: Owls rally past Houston in extras

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Rice Baseball rallied to take the lead against Houston in the 12th inning, holding on for a big win over their crosstown rivals on Tuesday.

Although the Silver Glover series had already been decided, Rice baseball entered their final midweek tilt against crosstown rival Houston with renewed focus. The Owls lost the first game to the Cougars 10-7, then dropped the second contest 8-2. That second contest kicked off a nine-game losing streak, which the Owls brought into the series finale at Schroeder Park on Tuesday night.

Last Time Out : MTSU thumps Rice baseball in Owls’ final home series

Houston struck first on an RBI single in the third inning off Rice starter Parker Smith. Rice answered quickly with a run of their own in the next half inning, driven in by this no-doubt blast from Connor Walsh:

Tied at one, both teams swapped two-run frames in the sixth inning, setting up a close contest as the fast-paced game careened into the later moments. Houston would take the lead in the bottom of the eighth, forcing the Owls into a do-or-die ninth inning where Wals, again, was the hero. He doubled, advanced to third on an error and scored on a balk to tie the game.

Garrett Zaskoda was tremendous in extras, pitching the tenth, eleventh and twelfth innings without allowing a run. Those zeroes allowed the offense, courtesy of a crucial two-out single by Jack Ben-Shoshan, to put Rice in front for the first time in the game before Zaskoda returned to close out the win.

What it means | Proof of life

It’s been a rough month for Rice baseball. Any thoughts that this team had turned the corner after a series win against Western Kentucky were quickly dashed by a string of games that were largely uncompetitive.

Win or lose, this team was supposed to show progress as the season moved onward. It hasn’t really felt like that’s been the case of late. That’s what made Tuesday’s somewhat inconsequential game so important.

No matter the record, head coach Jose Cruz Jr. indicated he hadn’t thrown in the towel just yet. When discussing the last few games after their weekend series with Middle Tennessee, Cruz Jr. was fairly frank. “I try to win every game I play,” he said. “I’m still expecting them to go out and give me high effort and get out there and try to win a ballgame.”

For the first time in more than two weeks, the Owls did it. On the road against a rival they came from behind, forced extra innings, pitched well enough to win and found the big hit when they needed it most. One good game won’t erase the weeks of disappointing play. But it is proof — however slight — that Rice baseball hasn’t quit just yet. There may still be hope here after all.

ON DECK | vs FIU (Thr-Sat)

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Rice baseball swept at home, drops battle of Owls to FAU

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In a battle of Owls, Rice Baseball was swept at home by Florida Atlantic over the weekend, outscored by their visitors 24-10 in the three-game series.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball drops series 3-0

A hot start early on in conference play has seemingly cooled off for Rice baseball, who dropped their fifth consecutive contest on Sunday as a three-game series against FAU resulted in a sweep. Going winless at your own ballpark is never fun, and Rice will have plenty to work on as they prepare for a tough road trip to Ruston, LA next weekend. But first, a few takeaways from the weekend.

1. Scoring output stumbles

The Rice bats haven’t been the problem in recent weeks. Even when they weren’t exploding for double-digit outputs, they still seemed to consistently reach six or seven runs, giving their pitching staff support and giving the team a chance in almost every game. Against FAU, Rice scored just 10 runs in three games.

FAU is in the bottom third of the conference in team ERA, and although they’ve pitched fairly well of late, this probably wasn’t the most dominant set of hurlers Rice baseball will see this season. They managed to do a number against the Owls.

Last Time Out: Ninth inning rally comes up short for Rice baseball vs TAMUCC

Perhaps this was just an off weekend, but it was telling that Rice baseball head coach Cruz Jr. opted to empty the benches on Sunday and put Jack Ben-Shoshan and Cullen Hannigan in the starting lineup for the first time in a long while.

He tried to shake things up and provide this lineup a spark. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. As the pitching staff struggles. the bats will continue to be relied upon to win Rice games. When they’re quiet, it’s going to make for long days at the ballpark.

2. Defense is picking up

It wasn’t that long ago where it seemed like Rice was due a three-error or four-error game every weekend. Keeping track of the baseball wasn’t something this team did well, that is, until the switch was flipped in late March and they became a stronger fielding team.

“I think our infield is starting to look really good defensively,” Cruz Jr. said, making note of the return of Hal Hughes to the lineup. Hughes made his season debut on Tuesday against Texas A&M Corpus Christi after missing the first half of the season with an injury.

Rice committed just two errors on the weekend, and although there were a few bad hops that some of the Owls’ defenders would have preferred to make, the focus is definitely better. That’s a plus, and a much-needed sign of growth for the program as a whole.

3. Pitching staff in progress

Had anyone offered Cruz Jr. a pair of two-pitcher games to open this weekend series he would have taken it in a heartbeat, especially against one of the best hitting teams in the conference. FAU leads Conference USA in hits, and although they picked up several against Rice, the Owls top end of the staff was competitive enough to be trusted with deep outings, even in the bullpen.

Weeks ago Cruz Jr. talked about finding a reliable corps to throw in the most high-leverage of situations. Even though the Rice bullpen gave up runs this weekend, it seemed evident some combination of Garret Zaskoda, Roel Garcia, Dalton Wood, David Shaw, Tom Vincent and Cristian Cienfuegos are going to the first guys to get the call just about every weekend from here on out.

More: Rice Baseball Midseason State of the Program

The shortlist has been built. What remains to be seen is which pitchers can make the adjustments and start to limit the damage against some of the deeper lineups in Conference USA. Matthew Linskey has been darn near perfect, but he can’ throw every day, not if he wants to maintain that level of effectiveness. No, it’s going to take another step up by a few more guys. Now it appears the staff knows who they’re looking for.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | FAU 9 – Rice 4

The series started out on a rocky note for Rice baseball starter Cooper Chandler who gave up four runs in the first two innings including a few very hard-hit balls. To his credit, he dug in and fought his way to the sixth inning. Cruz Jr. noticed his grit, saying Chandler “pitched really good”, casting his major complaints upon the Rice offense, which did little to support their Friday night guy.

Rice scored once in the first inning on a groundout. Guy Garibay pulled Rice within one run on a two-run blast in the fifth inning that made the score 4-3 in favor of FAU. The visitors tacked on five more runs after that, nickling-and-diming Chandler and Zaskoda as the Rice bats watched on, resulting in a 9-4 win for FAU.

SATURDAY | FAU 6 – Ricc 5

Filling for Parker Smith who left his start last weekend early, Alex DeLeon delivered a gritty four-run, five-inning effort in Game 2 with two of those runs unearned. Behind 3-0 in the fourth, Rice slugger Austin Bulman delivered an equalizing three-run shot down the left field line to breathe new life into the Rice dugout.

Both teams traded runs in the fifth inning to set the score at 4-4. Again in the sixth, single tallies from each side made it 5-5. FAU would take the lead for good in the eighth with a leadoff home run against Roel Garia following which Rice would send the minimum to the plate in the final two half innings.

SUNDAY | FAU 7 – Rice 1

Things were shaping up to be a close game on getaway day, until they weren’t. Rice took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by Austin Bulman. FAU tied the game in the third, then jumped in front in the fourth. Trailing 3-1, the game still felt in reach until FAU delivered the gut-punch 4-run finisher in the sixth inning.

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

Rice reliever David Shaw left with two runners on and one out, setting the table for Tom Vincent, who struggled to get out of the frame. He gave up three hits and allowed a run to score on a hit by pitch as Rice fell behind 7-1. They would not recover, tallying just four hits in the series finale.

ON DECK | Rice baseball vs Houston Baptist (Tues), at Louisiana Tech (Fri-Sun)

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