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Rice Baseball 2023 Season Review: Lineup

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The offense was underwhelming for Rice baseball in 2023, posting the second-lowest OPS in Conference USA with over 500 strikeouts.

It wasn’t a good year at the plate for Rice baseball. The 2023 season saw the Owls finish in the bottom three in the league in batting average, runs, RBI, total bases and OPS, among other offensive measures. There were individual highlights — described in more detail below — but for the most part, the offense struggled.

More: Rice Baseball Season Review – Bullpen
More: Rice Baseball Season Review – Starting Pitching
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Rice Baseball falters late, drops series to MTSU

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Rice Baseball and MTSU went down to the final inning with the fate of the series in the balance before an MTSU walk-off spoiled the Owls’ weekend.

FRIDAY | MTSU 6 – Rice 0

It didn’t matter which portion of the weather-split game it was for Rice baseball, the bats just weren’t syncing up. Rice was held scoreless in their series opener against Middle Tennessee, which was paused in the sixth inning with Rice trailing 3-0 before being restarted on Saturday afternoon.

Prior to the delay, Tyler Hamilton and Cristian Cienfuegos kept the Blue Raiders to one unearned run through four innings.  Blake Brogdon was tagged for two runs in the fifth, but the Owls were very much still in the game until MTSU tagged Ryland Urbanczyk with three runs in the eighth inning on Saturday to put the game away.

SATURDAY | Rice 9 – MTSU 2

Rice baseball and MTSU traded single runs in the early innings then did so again in the top of the sixth and bottom of the seventh. The game was neck-and-neck, even when Paul Smith singled in Jack Riedel in the top of the eighth to put the Owls in front. Leading 3-2 entering the ninth, the Rice bats exploded.

MORE: Roost Pod – Rice Football Spring Ball Recap and Basketball Recruiting

Three consecutive RBI hits put Rice up 7-2 and prompted an MTSU pitching change. The new reliever didn’t fair much better, getting charged with two additional runs on sacrifice flies as the Owls smacked the Blue Raiders around, scoring six in the ninth to win 9-2.

SUNDAY | MTSU 5 – Rice 4 (11 innings)

MTSU took a 2-0 lead on a first-inning home run against JD McCracken in the series finale, forcing Rice to play from behind. The Owls chipped away with a run in the fourth on an RBI single from Trey Duffield and another in the eighth, this time via a Ben Royo home run. Finally tied again, that’s when the drama would begin.

Both teams traded solo runs in the next two half innings, forcing extra with the score deadlocked at 3-3. Royo came through again in the tenth with an RBI single, but MTSU leveled the score on a wild pitch charged Rice reliever Krishna Raj. After Rice went quietly in the top half of the next inning, Raj gave up the walk-off long ball on the very next pitch, handing the game and the series to MTSU.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball had their chances to win a series for the first time in a month and couldn’t close the deal. Here are a few takeaways from a wet, frustrating weekend in Murfreesboro.

1. RIP RISP

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ON DECK | vs Dallas Baptist (Fri-Sun)


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Rice Baseball drops marathon hit-fest to Houston

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Pitching fans, look away. Rice Baseball and crosstown rival Houston combined for 32 hits and 27 runs in an offense-heavy midweek matchup that went to the Cougars.

There were zero runs scored by either team in the first inning at Schroeder Park on Tuesday night. That would prove to be the only frame of split zeros between Rice baseball and Houston in a raucous midweek affair that featured plenty of runs and not as much quality pitching.

Rice starter Garret Zaskoda went 1.2 innings, surrendering two runs on three hits before being lifted. His counterpart, Houston starter Graysen Drezek made it 2.1 innings but was tagged for four runs on four hits. Those would prove to be among the longer relief stints for either side in a game that featured 14 pitchers.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball pitching woes fester in series loss to FAU

Despite the back-and-forth, Rice looked to have positioned themselves well with a three-run sixth inning that followed a three-run fifth. The Owls led 11-5 going into the bottom of the inning but were outscored 9-2 for the remainder of the game. Houston walked it off in the bottom of the ninth, breaking a 13-13 tie at the time.

What it means | Pushing the wrong buttons

Over the course of the last three games, Rice baseball has run into the realities that accompany having a revolving door at the back end of the rotation. Not having anyone nailed down to a particular role does give flexibility, but it also produces inherent challenges like what the Owls encountered on Tuesday night. No matter what button the staff pressed, outs wouldn’t come. Once an elite closer, Matthew Linskey was hit hard, too.

More: Rice Baseball Nonconference State of the Program

Midweek games against pitting teams with developing pitching staffs frequently feature lots of runs, that’s part of the game. Blowing six runs leads, though, that’ll sting regardless of how realistic your pitching expectations are for any individual contest. Houston scored in eight of nine innings. It’s hard to win any game where an opponent is that productive at the plate.

On the bright side, it was nice to see Paul Smith, Aaron Smigelski, Ben Royo, Manny Garza and Jack Riedel each deliver a multi-hit game. If the pitching staff isn’t going to be dominant, having healthy bats matters.

ON DECK | vs LA Tech (Thr-Sat)


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Strong start lifts Rice Baseball to win over Lamar

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A four-run first set the tone for a tremendous night for Rice baseball, which improved to 13-12 on the season with the victory over Lamar.

The first four to the plate for Rice baseball came around to score in the very first inning, a harbinger of good things to come for the Owls at the beginning of their five-game road trip. Little did they know it at the time, but those four runs would prove to be enough by themselves with Lamar’s only significant threat coming with a two-run fourth inning off reliever Garret Zaskoda.

With the game relatively close at that time, Rice broke out the boom sticks. Ben Royo, who hadn’t homered in a game this season until he went yard in the Saturday game against UAB, went yard for the fifth time in the Owls’ last seven games with a two-run shot in the sixth. Drew Holderbach added an insurance dinger in the seventh. Paul Smith and Guy Garibay each drove in a run apiece in the eighth.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball drops series, shows strengths vs UTSA

As the bats added to the total, the Owls’ arms kept the Cardinals off the board. Cristian Cienfuegos was terrific, striking out three of the five batters he faced. Jack Ben-Shoshan and Matthew Linskey each recorded multiple strikeouts and no runs in their relief appearances. It wasn’t a perfect performance from the pen, but it was a solid night, which is more than enough when the bats are hot.

What it means | Setting the tone

The bats deserve credit, but coming from behind to win games is far from an ideal strategy. To this point in the season, Rice has been able to get base runners early in games, but delivering a crooked number straight away hasn’t been in the cards… until Tuesday night.

Entering the game against Lamar, Rice had scored eight first inning runs in their first 24 games, an average of a third of a run per opening frame. That’s not very much. So when the Owls loaded the bases with no outs in the first, there was a sense of inevitability in the Beaumont air. Undoubtedly, the Owls were due.

More: Rice Baseball Nonconference State of the Program

A four-run first served as a resounding answer and set the tone for a midweek tilt that pushed Rice baseball back above .500. Getting that many runs in your first plate appearance aren’t likely to be an every night experience,  but the impact of the fast start had on the game was unmistakable. Having Justin Long deliver 2.2 scoreless innings on the mound helped, too. Rice needs more starts like this.

ON DECK | at FAU (Fri-Sun)


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Rice Baseball drops series, but pushes UTSA to the wire

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Rice Baseball went toe-to-toe with league-leading UTSA and while the Owls lost the series, they measured up well against the Roadrunners.

FRIDAY | UTSA 4 – Rice 3 (11 inn.)

It didn’t seem like it would turn into a pitcher’s dual on Friday afternoon following an exchange of two-run home runs by each starter in the first inning, but that’s where the game went following Guy Garibay’s game-tying blast over the right field wall. Parker Smith would settle in from that point onward, finishing with three runs allowed (two earned) and six strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched.

More: Rice Baseball nonconference Stat of the Program

The unearned run would prove to be costly, though. Smith committed an error on a leadoff bunt single, allowing the runner to advance to second. Then he came in to score shortly after on a wild pitch. Trailing 3-2, Rice baseball would rally to tie the score in the ninth on a pinch-hit single by Paul Smith before ultimately falling in the 11th inning.

SATURDAY | Rice 13 – UTSA 8

After a modest start at the plate for both squads, the bats came out swinging in earnest on Saturday. The teams combined for six runs in the second inning, with Garibay starting the hit parade for the Owls with a home run with Manny Garza and Benjamin Rosengard collecting RBI in the inning as well. UTSA would punch back to briefly take a 5-4 lead before the Owls’ offense exploded again.

Rice baseball struck for five runs in the fifth with two RBI from Garza and three from Paul Smith on a home run. The nine runs would be enough, but the Owls would add two runs each in the seventh and eighth innings for good measure, hanging on to win 13-8 and force a rubber game on Sunday.

SUNDAY| UTSA 6 – Rice 5

UTSA struck for two runs in the second inning against Rice starter Tom Vincent, signally another game that would require run production to win. Rice responded immediately afterward, taking the lead on back-to-back home runs by Aaron Smigelski and Ben Royo, on consecutive pitches, no less. UTSA answered with a two-run shot in the third to go up 4-3 and the game was on.

Another home run, this time by Connor Walsh, evened the score at five in the sixth inning where the margin remained until UTSA came through with a two-out double to right-center in the eighth, going ahead for good. Rice would not reach base in either of their final two frames, dropping the game and the series on Sunday afternoon.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball has dropped their three-game series with UTSA two games to one, narrowly losing out on the chance to win a series against the best team in Conference USA. Even in defeat, the Owls acquitted themselves well and proved they belong near the top of the standings in a variety of ways. Here are a few takeaways from the weekend.

1. Game On

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ON DECK | at Lamar (Tues),  at FAU (Fri-Sun)


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