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Rice Baseball goes winless in Puerto Rico Challenge

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Rice Baseball might have enjoyed the cultural experience, but the results on the field were lacking: an 0-3 start to the season at the Puerto Rico Challenge.

FRIDAY | Villanova 10 – Rice 6

Davion Hickson worked through four scoreless innings on Friday evening, seeing his outing cut short with command issues that yielded five walks and 20 batters faced despite no runs across. Von Baker took the baton and worked a scoreless fifth before Villanova got to him for four runs in the sixth, putting the Owls in comeback mode.

Down 5-1, the Rice bats would respond in earnest the following inning Luke Smith and Treyton Rank each tallied RBI hits to level the game before freshman Blaine Brown put Rice in front, 6-5, with a screaming single to center field in the eighth. Villanova would ambush closer Garrett Stratton in the ninth, scoring five runs, rendering the Owls’ comeback moot and handing them a crushing Opening Day defeat.

SATURDAY | Michigan 5 – Rice 2

Rice baseball got a career day from Robert Fernandez in his start against Michigan, where he hurled six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four. He left the game in line for the win courtesy of a go-ahead RBI single from Brown in the first inning. The Owls would tack on an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI ground out from Hiram Bocachica.

Leading 2-0, the bullpen faltered again. Blank allowed the first three batters to reach in the eighth, leaving the game with two on and a 2-1 Rice lead. Tom Vincent was saddled with the loss, throwing a wild pitch to advance both runners and allowing a single on the only batter he faced. Brown took over and allowed four runs, primarily from inherited runners, as the Owls fell 5-2.

SUNDAY | Virginia 7 – Rice 0

A steady trickle of Virginia runs made for a long finale to the Puerto Rico Challenge. The Hoos scored three in the second charged to JD McCracken, three more across the fifth and sixth innings charged to Austin Eppley and one final run on a sac fly against Matt Zatopek, tallying seven scores in eight trips to the plate.

More: 2025 Rice Baseball Season Preview

That ninth trip wasn’t necessary for Virginia because Rice would be shut out. Virginia pitching held Rice bats to three total hits and six base runners, making any hopes of a comeback against the No. 2 team in the nation short-lived.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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Rice Baseball works through opening weekend jitters in series loss to Louisiana

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Rice Baseball worked through some early season growing pains against Louisiana, salvaging the Sunday finale and learning a lot along the way.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball loses the series 2-1

Rice baseball came tantalizingly close to a win on Opening Day, but couldn’t hold on late against Louisiana, who pushed their winning streak over Rice to 11 games with a second win on Saturday. The Owls finally got their footing on Sunday, rallying from a 5-0 deficit to take the finale and build some momentum as they head into their first midweek contest against Sam Houston. Here are a few takeaways from the weekend.

1. The new kids are alright

Improving the roster was one of the top priorities for head coach Jose Cruz Jr. this offseason and there was plenty of anticipation when those fresh faces finally got the chance to step onto the diamond this weekend. It didn’t take long for several of them to impress in their early action.

On opening night, three hitters made their Rice debut (Max Johnson, Drew Holderbach and Ben Royo) and all three contributed to the go-ahead two-run rally in the sixth. Holderbach singled. Royo drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and Johnson walked, loading the bases for the go-ahead walk a batter later.

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

Immediately afterward, newcomer Krisha Raj struck out the side in the top of the seventh, his Rice debut. Raj wasn’t perfect — he surrendered the go-ahead run in the next inning — but the collection of newcomers, on the whole, was positive.

On Saturday Freshman catcher Paul Smith walked four times and collected his first collegiate RBI on Saturday. Then Holderbach found his groove on Sunday, mashing a go-ahead home run, the Owls’ first longball of the season.

2. Clutch hitting remains key

Without disclosing which games were which, here are the Owls’ outputs with runners in scoring position in each of the three games this weekend: 5-for-12 (.417), 1-for-7 (.143), 0-for-10 (.000).  Guess which game the Owls won?

One stat does not a game make, but the Owls’ lack of timely hitting in the first two contests (.000 on Friday and .143 on Saturday) made it hard to win, even with their solid pitching performance on opening day and a combined 17 walks issued to them in those first two contests. There were a lot of base runners, but not nearly enough runs.

“I’m happy for them because now it’s like a relief for the guys to be able to break through with bases loaded and guys on base,” head coach Jose Cruz Jr. said. “Hopefully moving forward they know they can do it and we get more of it.”

Getting 12 runs a game is a luxury few teams have. Expecting that on a daily basis would be pushing it, but getting past the four-run mark is going to have to be something Rice finds a way to do consistently if they’re going to find ways to win more than once on any given weekend.

3. Pitching depth goes under the microscope again

It was a mixed bag on the mound for Rice baseball this weekend. The first tip of the cap goes to Parker Smith for a quality start on Friday night, far surpassing the underwhelming performances from the starters on Saturday and Sunday. Cruz Jr will likely give both guys another shot or two on the weekend before making changes, but it’s safe to say neither Justin Long nor JD McCracken was thrilled with their less-than-two-inning outings.

As for the relief corps, Matthew Linskey remains the gold standard, but Rice got strong showings from Garrett Zaskoda, Blake Brogdon and a few others. Freshman Ryland Urbanczyk had an encouraging debut as did Texas Tech transfer Tyler Hamilton.

The bullpen might have actually been more effective than a cursory look might convey. On Saturday and Sunday combined, Rice relievers were charged with nine runs in 15 innings, an ERA of 5.40. That’s quite the contrast from the starters on those days who gave up 10 runs in 3.0 innings, an ERA of 30.00.

While 5.40 from the pen might not quite be good enough, it’s certainly good enough to keep you in most games, provide your starter went a reasonable distance and pitched well enough. Nevertheless, there’s a lot more work that’s needed to be done here before Rice feels confident in who they’re going to deploy in those key situations.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Louisiana 5 – Rice 4

With two outs in the bottom of the first, Guy Garibay reached base and Manny Gazra doubled him home. That proved to be one of only a handful of key two-out hits on the night for the Owls, who got on base plenty but watched the big hit evade their grasp.

Louisiana would break through with a three-spot against Rice starter Parker smith in the third, who delivered a quality start with that lone hiccup interspersed. A two-run homerun off reliever Krishna Raj was the only other blemish against the Owls’ pitching staff, but the lack of clutch hitting allowed that to be enough. Rice walked eight times but stranded 11 in a close Friday night loss.

SATURDAY | Louisiana 11 – Rice 2

Converted catcher Justin Long drew the Saturday start for Rice baseball and things did not go well in his her outing on the other side of the battery. Long was tattooed for six runs (five earned) in 1.2 innings pitched, walking two, hitting two and allowing three hits. Louisiana would nickel and dime the relief corps for five more runs over the next 7.1 innings, but the initial onslaught proved to be too much.

Rice was held to nine hits and two runs with Jack Riedel and designated hitter Paul Smith earning the lone RBIs for the home team. Again, Rice had base runners, walking nine times. The Owls just could not drive them in going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and 4-for-20 with runners on at all.

SUNDAY | Rice 12 – Louisiana 8

For the second straight day, Rice baseball was making a pitching change before the sixth out was recorded. Tennessee transfer JD McCracken was roughed up with a five-spot in the second inning, giving way to Garrett Zaskoda. He was able to stabilize things, and with a little run support, enabled the home team to creep back into the game.

Zaskoda handed the baton to Matthew Linskey, who was nothing short of phenomenal, striking out eight in 2.2 innings. Then, with the game tied, Drew Holderbach blasted the go-ahead home run in the fifth. Louisiana would draw the score level again before Rice put a four-spot up in the eighth inning, connecting on multiple hits with runners in scoring position, setting the stage for Blake Brogdon to close out the game on the mound in the ninth.

ON DECK | vs Sam Houston (Wed),  at Stanford (Fri-Sun)



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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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MTSU thumps Rice Baseball in Owls’ final home series of 2022

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Rice Baseball wrapped up their final homestand of the 2022 season with a whimper, falling in three straight games to Middle Tennessee at Reckling Park.

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

The final home series of the 2022 Rice Baseball season ended with a thud. Not only were the Owls officially eliminated from any sort of postseason appearance, they were outscored 33 to 11 in the three-game slate. The sweep is the Owls’ fifth of conference play. Rice is now 13-37 overall and 6-21 in conference play. Here are a few takeaways from the weekend.

1. The Seniors

Sunday was Senior Day for Rice Baseball. Pregame festivities included jersey presentations and a formal thanks in front of the crowd at Reckling Park. This class features several players who have become mainstays for the Owls in recent seasons.

Austin Bulman, Alex DeLeon and Brandon Deskins each made their marks at Reckling Park. Bulman has been one of the most productive bats in the Rice lineup over the past three seasons. DeLeon has worked as a Friday Night starter, bullpen option and everything in between. Deskins became one of the more reliable options out of the pen, becoming a frequently used reliever during his time at Rice.

Last Time Out: Rice baseball swept by explosive ULL offense in midweek duet

Roel Garcia, Thomas Burbank, Jonny Hoyle, Justin Dunlap, Dalton Wood, Drake Greenwood and Antonio Cruz were also honored.

2. The Future

After reflecting on the contributions of the seniors, head Coach Jose Cruz Jr. did express his excitement for the young core of players who saw meaningful experience on the diamond this year. Guys like Aaron Smigelski, Guy Garibay and Nathan Becker proved they’d be key pieces of this team moving forward. Garibay and Becker each collected hits in each of their starts on the weekend.

Catcher Manny Garza, who missed the middle portion of the season, went 3-for-5 on Saturday and 2-for-4 on Sunday, driving in four runs across those two games.

Cruz Jr. hopes the same will be true on the mound. Mark Perkins battled through two innings early before the wheels fell off on Sunday. Matthew Linskey through three innings on Saturday, allowing one earned run while facing 12 batters.

3. Four more

There will be much more to be said about the season as a whole in the weeks and months ahead. For now, Cruz Jr. hasn’t turned the page just yet. Regarding their midweek game against Houston and final C-USA series against FIU, Cruz said “I try to win every game I play. I’m still expecting them to go out and give me high effort and get out there and try to win a ballgame.”

By virtue of their losses this weekend, Rice baseball will officially fail to qualify for the Conference USA Tournament. Even given the understandably lowered expectations entering this season, to fall this far in the conference standings can only be viewed as a disappointment.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | MTSU 7 – Rice 0

For the second consecutive Friday night, Rice baseball was shut out by their opponent. This time around they were overpowered by Middle Tennessee starter Peyton Wigginton, who threw a complete game, striking out 10 batters and allowing just two hits and three walks. He kept the Owls off balance from start to finish.

On the mound, the two-man tandem of David Shaw and Alex DeLeon did what they could to limit the Blue Raiders’ bats. DeLeon entered in the fifth inning and held MTSU to three runs on five hits, but he did not get the support he needed from his offense to make the game competitive down the stretch.

SATURDAY | MTSU 5 –  Rice 4 (10)

Manny Garza opened up the scoring with a single that drove in Pierce Gallo in the bottom of the second inning. The Rice lead would not last long. Middle Tennessee answered immediately with three runs in the third and one more in the sixth, taking a 4-1 lead into the ninth inning.

For the second day, Rice struggled to get productive at bats against MTSU’s starting pitcher. This time, though, they were able to do some damage against their bullpen. Rice scored three in the ninth inning, two from a Jack Riedel home run, to force extra innings. Matthew Linskey would be charged with the loss allowing one run in the 10th in his third inning of relief.

SUNDAY | MTSU 21 – Rice 7

All smiles that lingered from Senior Day festivities were quickly put away in the Sunday finale as the Middle Tennessee bats went to work. The visitors scored one run in the first, two in the second and 11 in the third. Starter Mark Perkins was driven from the game in the third but Thomas Burbank did little to stifle the Blue Raiders’ attack, ceding to Garrett Zaskoda before the inning was over.

Trailing 14-0, Rice got its first hit of the game in the bottom of the third. Two runs that inning wouldn’t be nearly enough to stem the onslaught. MTSU would go on to hang 21 runs on Rice, taking the game and the series in landslide fashion.

ON DECK | vs Houston (Tues),  vs FIU (Thr-Sat)



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Rice Baseball sputters against surging Charlotte, dropping series 3-0

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Rice Baseball came out flat against the Charlotte 49ers and watched their C-USA Tournament hopes fade in a three-game sweep.

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

It was a rough weekend on the road for Rice baseball who couldn’t put together a complete game when they needed it most, falling to deficiencies on the mound, at the plate and in the field in a pivotal series for their postseason hopes. The sweep is the Owls’ fourth of conference play. Rice is now 13-34 overall and 6-18 in conference play. Here are a few takeaways from the weekend.

1. Two skunks

Rice knew they couldn’t afford to be swept this weekend if there was any hope of catching Charlotte in the race for one of the final remaining spots in the Conference USA Tournament. With that urgency as inspiration, the Owls then proceeded to trot out onto the diamond and put up zero runs in two of the three games of the series.

The twin skunks represented the fifth and sixth time this season the Owls had been held off the scoreboard entirely in a game. Texas, Baylor, Harvard and Southern Miss all hung a zip on Rice this season. Charlotte had two, and the 49ers’ 5.77 team ERA in conference after posting two shutouts is still in the bottom half of the league.

Last Time Out: Rice baseball drops Silver Glove series with UH loss

Rice tallied a combined five hits in games one and three together, saving the bulk of their productive contact for the Saturday in which they outhit Charlotte 17-15 but lost 14-13. Even on their best day at the plate, Charlotte was better, a subtle, but recurring theme in this series.

2. Spots earned

Pierce Gallo wasn’t a surefire lock to be in the starting lineup heading into the season. When injuries opened up playing time for him he grabbed hold of the opportunity and never let go. As good as Gallo has been in the field, his bat has brought timely hits as well. On a weekend when hits were hard to come by, Gallo has four base knocks (including three doubles) and two RBI.

In addition to Gallo, Aaron Smigelski and Nathan Becker both rank top five among all Owls in slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

While much will be made of where this team has collectively fallen short of expectations heading into the season, the emergence of those underclassmen with multiple years of eligibility remaining has been a salve to the hard times and a reminder that the future has plenty of bright spots.

3. Hoping for a miracle

In a game filled with superstitions, Rice needs the baseball equivalent of a hail mary over the course of the next few weeks. The Owls enter the final six games of Conference USA play exactly give games behind of UAB for the final spot in the conference tournament.

UAB took two of three from the Owls at Reckling earlier this season, giving them the tiebreaker should both squads end up deadlocked in their final records.

Rice can (mathematically) make the tournament if they sweep their final two series (vs MTSU, at FIU) and UAB is swept by FIU at home and UTSA on the road. Needless to say, the outlook is grim.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Charlotte 13 – Rice 0

Either David Shaw wasn’t nearly as crisp as he was the weekend prior or the Charlotte bats were on the warpath. Regardless of the cause, Shaw’s exit without recording an out in the fourth inning gave way to a spiraling effect for the rest of the team.

Trailing 5-0, Rice baseball head coach Jose Cruz Jr. rolled with dice with powerful, yet erratic, Miach Davis. He walked the bases full, handing Reid Gallant a powderkeg which exploded and turned into a seven-run inning for Charlotte. At that point, Rice found themselves in a 13-0 hole and there wasn’t anything they were going to be able to do on four hits to get out of it.

SATURDAY | Charlotte 14 – Rice 13

Charlotte struck with a big crooked number even earlier on Saturday morning, hanging six runs on Rice starter Alex DeLeon in the second inning. They’d add three more runs in the fourth and five runs in the fifth. Facing a daunting 14-4 deficit at that point, Rice could have very well hung it up. But with the fate of the series still at stake, the bats answered.

Rice got five runs back in the sixth inning with two RBI hits in the inning coming from Connor Walsh and Pierce Gallo. Now trailing 14-9, Rice would edge ever so closer on a home run from Walsh in the subsequent inning. 14-10. Had it not been for the masterful work of Mark Perkins on the mound, the comeback might never have gotten that close. He went 3 innings, allowing one earned run.

Then came the ninth where Walsh cleared the bases with a three-run home run to make the score 14-13, in favor of Charlotte. The dreams of a rally crescendoed right up until a double-play ball with the tying run on third base snuffed out the dream and ended the game with a heartwrenching thud.

SUNDAY | Charlotte 9 – Rice 0

The wind seemed out of the Owls’ sails from the start in the series finale. Brandon Deskins, Cooper Chandler and Roel Garcia combined to hand out nine walks, nine hits and nine runs while the lineup produced exactly one hit in support: a double from Gallo.  Even with the tepid output from Rice, the game still dragged on for three hours and twelve minutes.

Rice batters did manage to walk four times, but only managed to push a base runner to second base on two occasions. That wasn’t going to get it done against a Charlotte offense that would total 36 runs in the three-game sweep.

ON DECK | vs Louisiana (Tues, Wed),  vs MTSU (Fri-Sun)



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