Ryan Rickett Archives

Fresh off their first series win of the season, Rice baseball dropped its midweek contest to Louisiana that was close through four innings.

Trei Cruz and Austin Bulman opened up the game with back-to-back doubles in the first inning, tying the score at one apiece after starter Ryan Rickett allowed a run in the first inning. That would become the extent of the Owls’ offensive production on the night.

Rice would manage to pull together five hits, paling in comparison to the 13 hits Louisiana accrued in their 10-run win. A game this lopsided has become all-too common this season, but it was the first time an opponent tallied 10 runs at Reckling Park this year.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Foreboding first innings

Rice has allowed at least one run in the first inning in seven of their 11 games this season. Their opponents are sending their best bats to the plate in the first inning. But that’s no reason for the Owls’ starting pitching to be this porous so early in games. Like Rickett tonight, who settled in for his short start after the one-run first inning, Rice starting pitching has been mostly adequate. If they can cruise through the second and third inning, getting three outs to start the game shouldn’t be too much to ask.

Owls can’t afford to be this sloppy

By the time the conference tournament came around, Rice baseball had become one of the better fielding teams in Conference USA. That level of play had held steady since. Entering Tuesday night, Rice had committed one error or less in eight of their 10 games. A pair two-error games were the exceptions.

Rice committed four errors against Louisiana, three of which came in the fifth inning. Three reliable infielders — Cruz, Bulman and Cade Edwards — all allowed free bases to the Cajuns who made the Owls pay. The seven-run fifth inning crushed what had been a promising start.

No rest for the weary

The schedule doesn’t ease up. Rice gets crosstown rival Houston on Wednesday night. Following that they draw Texas Tech for a three-game series on the road and return home for a midweek game against Texas A&M before starting conference play against Marshall.

The road looked tenuous before the Owls’ started playing games. The early results have been hard to process. How much of blame does Rice deserve? How much credit is due to the quality of the competition? As usual, the answer is probably a little bit of both.

Up Next | Houston (Wed), Texas Tech (Fri-Sun)

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Pitching has always been the backbone of Rice baseball. Can the 2020 rotation and bullpen carry on that rich tradition of excellence?

It’s about time to get back to the ballpark for the beginning of the 2020 Rice baseball season. The Owls open up against long-time rival Texas on Valentine’s Day. Who will be on the mound for that Friday night tilt?

More: 2020 Rice Baseball lineup and position player breakdown

“Pitching is where the story is written most of the time,” head coach Matt Bragga said before diving into depth charts. With that as our frame of reference, here’s a breakdown of the potential starting pitching rotation and a look at the Owls’ bullpen.

Projected Starting Rotation

Alex De Leon, RHP
Roel Garcia, RHP
Kel Bordwine, RHP
Dalton Wood, RHP
Drake Greenwood, RHP

I fully expect Alex De Leon to throw the first pitch of the 2020 Rice baseball season. Taking over for Matt Canterino is no small task, but De Leon has done nothing but impress in his short stint at Rice. Coach Matt Bragga said De Leon “has been our most consistent guy from the moment he got here as a junior college transfer until now.”

While De Leon will get the Opening Day nod, he could be supplanted down the line by Roel Garcia. After missing the entire 2019 season with injury, Garcia is getting close to being back to his usual self. He’s back on the mound and throwing bullpens, but isn’t likely to be extended more than a few innings until March.

That timeline would put him back in the starting rotation at the beginning of conference play. Bragga considers him “an absolute Friday night guy”, which could bode well for a rotation replacing two Top 5 round MLB draft picks, Canterino and Evan Kravetz.

The rest of the rotation is fluid. Kel Bordwine inserted himself into a weekend role late last season, but the staff has spoken highly of Dalton Wood, too. Wood came on strong at the end of the year, turning himself into a reliable piece out of the bullpen. Those two, along wide Drake Greenwood who was a midweek starter in 2019, will more than likely fill out the Sunday role and midweek jobs.

Projected Bullpen

Jack Conlon, RHP
Caleb Burgess, RHP
Matthew Santos, LHP
Andrew Kane, RHP
Blake Brogdon, RHP
A.C. Plum. RHP
Brandon Deskins, LHP
Ryan Rickett, RHP

Rice will be retooling in the bullpen as well. Garrett Gayle and Kendal Jefferies, their first two arms out of the pen on most nights, are both gone. The most intriguing name to watch is junior righty Jack Conlon. The former fourth round draft pick has a huge arm and has dazzled during the offseason. Bragga was adamant he’d have an important spot out of the bullpen.

Caleb Burgess is another guy who could ascend into the forefront of the relief corps. Currently rehabbing from Tommy John, Burgess “has a chance to be special” according to Bragga. Like Garcia, Burgess is likely to be eased in slowly as he works back toward being 100 percent.

Freshman Matthew Santos alongside transfers Andrew Kane and Ryan Rickett are three names to watch. Each of those guys has the potential to work themselves into a staple in the bullpen. They’ve each been successful at previous stops. Now they have to show they can do it at Rice. Meanwhile Blake Brogdon, A.C. Plum and Brandon Deskins have continued to develop after seeing brief action in 2019.