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Rice Baseball: Previewing the FAU series

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Rice baseball opens conference play on the road against FAU after an up and down non-conference slate. Here’s what to expect from the other Owls.

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Just like the Rice Owls, the FAU Owls have had a bit of an erratic start. FAU won their first three, lost the next six and has since won eight of their last nine. Prior to opening up conference play on Friday, FAU topped Quinnipiac in a pair of midweek games.

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Let’s take a look at how the 2019 squad stacks up.

Projected Pitching Matchups

Friday – 5:30 pm: Matt Canterino (1-2, 1.50) vs Blake Sanderson (3-0, 3.33)
Saturday – 3:00 pm: Evan Kravetz (1-1, 4.35) vs  Ryan Sandberg (0-1, 2.20)
Sunday – 11:00 am: Jackson Parthasarathy (2-2, 2.05) vs  Mike Ruff (2-0, 6.75)

FAU Pitching

The FAU pitching staff is one of the most hittable units in Conference USA and they haven’t exactly faced the high caliber opponents Rice has in their nonconference games. Opposing batters are hitting .278 against FAU through 18 games against a staff which holds an uninspiring 4.22 ERA.

Their starting pitching has been serviceable. Ace Blake Sanderson has a 1.04 WHIP with 25 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched. Home runs have been his vex, though. He’s already given up four long balls on the season, the most on the team.

After him, Ryan Sandberg and  Mike Ruff have both been solid. Sanberg hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his limited appearances this season. Ruff has allowed five runs over his last two starts, going seven innings in both games with 14 strikeouts and one walk allowed.

Then there’s the bullpen. Quite like Rice they have a few pieces they trust in high leverage situations and plenty of “hold your breath and cross your fingers”-type relievers. Jon Jon Kostantis (0.84 ERA over 10.2 innings) and Zach Sneider (15K in 14.2 innings with four saves) have emerged as the biggest pieces in their pen. Michael Schuler (2.08 ERA) and Vince Coletti (2.33 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) should also see some time over the weekend.

FAU Hitting

The offensive side of the ball is where FAU hopes to make their living this season. Francisco Urbaez is crushing the ball right now, smacking home runs in each of the team’s midweek games this week to raise his slugging percentage to a hefty .768 (for reference, Trei Cruz is slugging .584).

Urbaez isn’t the only deep threat in the FAU lineup. Eric Rivera and Gunnar Lambert have each blasted four dingers apiece, part of 22 collective home runs which are by far the most by and CUSA squad. Rivera’s 29 hits ranks second in the conference to Rice’s Bradley Gneiting who has 33.

Six players in the FAU lineup have double-digit RBI and only one of those six has struck out more than 13 times. This is a team that hits for average, packs some pop, and makes clutch hits. The Rice pitching staff is going to be tested.

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Baseball: Owls can’t overcome slow start vs Texas State

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Rice baseball dropped a midweek game to Texas State on Wednesday, losing catcher Justin Collins to injury early in the contest.

For the second time this season Texas State got the better of Rice, shutting out the Owls again, this time at Reckling Park. The Owls were blanked 1-0 by the Bobcats in the Shriner’s College Classic and fell 5-0 on Wednesday night. The two teams will play once more this season in San Marcos on Tuesday, March 26.

With the first conference series of the season looming against FAU over the weekend, here are the most pressing notes from the loss to Texas State.

1. Justin Collins injury

Justin Collins was hit in the glove hand by the backswing from a Texas State hitter during the first inning. The extent of the injury isn’t known to this point, but Collins was removed from the game immediately. Senior backup Daniel Russell played the remainder of the contest in his place.

When healthy, the Rice lineup was already thin. The quartet of Trei Cruz, Bradley Gneiting, Braden Comeaux and Justin Collins has driven the bulk of the offense to this point of the season. Others have contributed with good games and good series here and there, but the four .300+ hitters have been the key cogs in run production this season.

That’s what makes the injury sustained by Collins on Wednesday night even more problematic. If he’s forced to miss any extended amount of time the production at the plate will take a hit.

2. Slow starts becoming a disturbing trend

Scoring first shouldn’t matter all that much in any given baseball game. Each team has nine innings to outscore their opponent, but for Rice, taking an early lead has proven to be of utmost importance. Rice is 8-2 this season when they score the first run. They’re 0-9 when their opponent scores first.

Momentum is a nebulous concept in sports. Some will say it doesn’t exist, but others swear on the tendency of good fortune to build on itself. For better or worse, the Rice offense has yoyoed back and forth, scoring in droves in one game and going O-fer in the next.

The team took a step forward when they rallied from a 5-1 deficit to top Lamar on Tuesday, but it’s going to take more consistency across the board if the Owls are going to flip the script on this startling statistic.

3. The grind is almost over

Rice beat Prairie View 25-5 on Wednesday, Feb. 27. That marked the first game of an exhaustive three week stretch for Rice in which the Owls were scheduled to play 15 games in 21 days. In addition to three weekend sets, Rice played two midweek games last week and this week. They’ll start conference play on Friday against FAU before ending the three-week run with a Tuesday night contest at Texas A&M.

“We haven’t had enough time to make sure we’re going back to fundamentals,” Bragga shared. He wasn’t making excuses, testifying fervently to the efforts of his team and his coaches to improve on the fly. Still, it’s evident this team needs time to practice. If nothing else, they need some rest.

ON DECK | at FAU (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: Owls rally from early deficit to blow out Lamar

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Rice baseball proved their resiliency on Tuesday night, rallying from a four-run deficit to top Lamar at home.

A 1-0 Rice lead was quickly turned into a 5-1 deficit as freshman starting pitcher Dalton Wood struggled in his first collegiate start. Trailing after three innings, Rice turned to the bullpen and took a deep breath. The same bullpen which had control issues against Oklahoma gave the Rice offense a chance — they took it.

It wasn’t a clean game in the field; both sides committed three errors. It wasn’t a crisp game at the plate; the two teams combined to strand 24 runners on base.

Despite the mishaps, Rice erased a four-run deficit, outscoring Lamar 11-0 through the remainder of the game, winning 12-5. Here are three immediate reactions from the win.

1. Gneiting quietly building impressive season

Trei Cruz has drawn the headlines early this season. All his accolades have been well deserved, but the most productive member of the lineup since opening weekend could very well be Bradley Gneiting. The junior utility man led Conference USA in hits entering Tuesday night, adding a first-inning RBI single to give Rice the early lead.

Gneiting added a 2 RBI double in the eight to secure his 10th multi-hit game of the season. His average now sits at.363 with a .440 average with runners in scoring position. Gneiting is second on the team in runs scored (15) and has stuck out only 12 times in 78 at bats, one of the best marks on the team. If the Rice offense is working, Gneiting always seems to be a part of the action.

2. Blair Lewis has become a bullpen staple

The Rice bullpen struggle heavily in the Owls’ Saturday and Sunday losses to Oklahoma. Kendall Jeffries has been tremendous, as has Addison Moss. Jackson Tyner had a rough weekend, but for the most part, has been reliable. After that, it’s been an erratic adventure.

“[The bullpen] just hasn’t been real consistent,” Bragga said honestly after the Sunday finale. “We need to find a couple more pieces.” It’s hard to imagine omitting Blair Lewis from the arsenal of those reliable options.

Lewis threw three innings against Lamar, allowing three hits, no walks and no runs. To this point, he’s been called upon to eat innings, but he’s become one of the most reliable arms Rice has out of the pen as evidenced by his 1.74 ERA in 10.1 innings.

3. No quit

“They don’t give up.” That’s what Matt Bragga had to say about his the growth his team has shown in the first month of the season. That resiliency hasn’t resulted in wins at every opportunity, but the progress has been evident.

Rice left the bases loaded in the first and fifth innings. Entering the sixth inning the Owls trailed 5-3 despite matching Lamar nearly hit for hit. This team had given in to their season-long offensive struggles many times, but Tuesday night would not be a reprisal of those woes.

The Owls broke through with three runs in the sixth, answering Lamar’s 5-0 run with a 5-0 run of their own to retake the lead, 6-5. Given another shot with the bases loaded in the seventh, Rice scored three times, taking advantage of Lamar miscues to extend their lead to 9-5.

This team is going to have its pains at the plate. The bullpen is a work in progress and the fielding remains a concern. Despite the challenges, they don’t quit. That will pay dividends down the road.

ON DECK | vs Texas State (Wed), at FAU (Fri-Sun)

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Baseball: Busy midweek slate starts Tuesday vs Lamar

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Rice baseball returns to action with a second pair of midweek which begin on Tuesday at Reckling Park against Lamar.

Matt Bragga admitted the wear and tear of so many games in such a short span of time was getting to his team. He said the squad still has “a lot of learning to do” and admitted “this group needs practice time.” Rather than rest, they’ll turn around and play two midweek games once again following the series loss to Oklahoma over the weekend.

Lamar (6-9) had had struggles of their own. The Cardinals were swept at home by SFA in their first Southland Conference series of the season over the weekend. They will return to conference play this coming weekend, as will Rice, but first a midweek tilt between the two southeast Texas clubs.

Rice won both 2018 meetings by scores of 6-2 and 2-1. Here’s how the first meeting of 2019 sets up.

When and Where

Pitching matchups

Addison Moss got his first start of the season last Tuesday against Houston, earning the win after five innings of two-run ball. He made a brief relief appearance against Oklahoma but should be fresh enough to throw against Lamar.

The pitching situation for Lamar looks much less certain. Three different hurlers have seen midweek starts this season with Taylor Rich the only man going further than three innings. He started their Sunday game against SFA, though, so a combination of arms will most likely be trotted out at Reckling on Tuesday.

Colleveitly, the Cardinals pitching staff isn’t too scary. AJ Ozorio-Brace and Austin Smith have been effective out of the pen, but a collective 4.04 ERA with 72 walks in 12 games bodes well for Rice, who won’t be facing one of their top weekend arms.

Names to know from the plate

Getting Reese Durand out will be the chief test for the Rice pitching staff. The freshman outfielder has hit safely in nine of his 11 appearances, picking up three triples on 13 hits. He’ll look to set the table for power hitters like Anthony Quirion and Robin Adams.

The bottom portion of the order hasn’t been productive to this point and that’s cost them opportunities to put up crooked numbers. Just once has Lamar scored more than six runs in a victory.

ON DECK | vs Texas State (Wed), at FAU (Fri-Sun)

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