Baseball compiles winning streak

By Ryan Glassman     3/31/11 7:00pm

As the most successful sports program at Rice over the last 20 years, the Owls' baseball team faces no shortage of expectations on an annual basis.

Needless to say, a 10-9 start as of Mar. 16 and an inconsistent offense does not fully meet these expectations.

Rice welcomed Louisiana Tech University to Reckling Park for a three game set with Conference USA action just a week away. Freshman Austin Kubitza was on the mound for the Owls as he brought energy to the ballpark with another dominant pitching performance. In the first seven innings, Kubitza scattered seven hits without allowing a run, striking out a career-high 10 batters with a late-tailing fastball overpowering the Bulldogs batters.

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In appropriate fashion, the game's first run came unearned on a passed ball in the top half of the eighth after a leadoff single started the inning for Louisiana Tech. Kubitza would finish the rest of the inning, calling it a night with a line of eight innings pitched, eight hits allowed, one unearned run, two walks and 10 strikeouts.

Trailing by a run, the Owls came to bat in the bottom of the eighth facing yet another one-run late inning deficit with the offense struggling to produce runs. The breakthrough would finally come for the Rice offense, thanks to sophomore second baseman Michael Ratterree who delivered with a line drive in the left field corner that plated two to give the Owls a late 2-1 lead. Continuing the act with the very next at bat was freshman third basemen Shane Hoelscher, who drove a ball in the left field gap for a double of his own and two more RBIs to give Rice the 4-1 lead. After an insurance run extended the Owls' lead, freshman closer John Simms slammed the door shut by striking out the side to clinch the Rice victory in the series opener.

Head Coach Wayne Graham's squad continued on the winning path Saturday afternoon, with McDowell taking the mound. McDowell was sharp, holding the Bulldogs hitless in the first 4 innings as the Owls took an early 2-0 lead on RBI hits from Hoelscher and sophomore first baseman J.T. Chargois. But the fifth inning would be the undoing for McDowell after three of the first four Louisiana Tech batters reached base with hits, resulting in two runs and bringing sophomore reliever Tyler Duffey into the ballgame.

In the bottom of the fifth, a one-out double from Hoelscher, and a single from freshman shortstop Derek Hamilton gave Rice the 3-2 lead. After sophomore catcher Geoff Perrott walked and a wild pitch, freshmen Keenan Cook singled to plate two more and put the Owls up 5-2 before inning's close. Duffey and senior pitcher Tony Cingrani combined to allow just one hit over the final 4 2/3 innings with the help of a strong team effort defensively.

"[Duffey and Cingrani] both did a good job of keeping Louisiana Tech off the bases. They gave us a great chance to win, and our offense played well today," noted McDowell of the stellar bullpen work that secured the Saturday afternoon win and clinched the series victory.

Bad news came for McDowell two days later after he left the game with elbow discomfort. It was announced two days later that MRI results revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament. McDowell will require Tommy John surgery, an operation with a typical recovery time of 12 months, bringing his season to an end.

On Sunday afternoon, it was junior Matthew Reckling's turn against Louisiana Tech. Reckling held the Bulldogs without a hit as the game entered the fifth inning with no score. Rice's offense broke out in the fifth, thanks to Cook with the big hit, this time a two-run double for the game's first runs. Both Manuel and Ratteree helped put Rice up 5-0 before the inning came to an end. The Owls added to their lead with two runs in the sixth. Reckling retired the first hitter in the seventh, before pinch-hitter Colby Johnson singled to left field to break up the no-hitter. Reckling received a strong ovation from the home crowd before working out of the inning unscathed. Reckling would be removed after seven innings, allowing no runs on one hit while striking out eight to get the win.

The Owls cruised to an 11-3 win to complete the sweep, with Cook driving in four runs on the afternoon to pace the offense.

Looking for their fourth win in a row, Rice traveled to Beaumont on Mar. 22 looking to avenge an early season loss to Lamar University (17-10). The pitching was done by committee for the Owls in the midweek game, with senior Abe Gonzales, sophomore Jeremy Fant and Simms combining to allow one earned run while striking out nine over the course of the ballgame. Rice put across three runs in the first, led by a two-run double from Ratterree, and never trailed in the game. Ratterree finished three for five with three RBIs as Fant got the win and Simms his first career save, as Rice cruised to the 7-2 win.

Mar. 23 marked the opening of the Silver Glove Series, a five-game set matching up the Owls with the rival University of Houston (11-11). The Owls collected 14 hits on the evening and got strong pitching by committee as they opened the series with a 7-2 win over Houston. The win was the fifth in a row for Rice, putting the team at 15-9 on the season entering conference play.

The first C-USA series of the season took place last weekend, as the No. 23 University of Central Florida (19-6) brought their high-octane offense to Reckling Park. Kubitza took to the hill and threw four scoreless frames, but Rice fell behind 3-2 in the fifth when an RBI single by UCF followed a pair of leadoff singles and an error from the Owls. Kubitza worked into the seventh, finishing with just two earned runs allowed, but was plagued by five walks in what was not one of his sharper outings of the season. Meanwhile, the Owls offense was frustrated by the UCF defense, which turned five double plays on the night. UCF pulled away for a 7-2 win in the opener.

Gonzales was called on to start the Saturday afternoon game for Graham. He got some early help from the offense, as sophomore right fielder Ryan Lewis, Manuel and Chargois all had RBI singles to give Rice a 3-0 lead in the second inning. The Owls added three more on four hits in the fifth inning. The stout UCF bats were limited to just one hit over the first five innings by the senior southpaw. The Knights scored a run in the sixth, the lone blemish for Gonzales, who threw a career high 6 1/3 innings without a walk while allowing just four hits. The Owls would not look back as they won the game, 6-2.

Reckling took the mound for the rubber match as he was solid, allowing three runs over five innings. With the game tied after five innings, Simms came on in relief but gave up runs on a sacrifice bunt and a walk with the bases loaded as UCF took a 5-3 lead into the late innings. The Owls added a run in the eighth but went down in order in the ninth, falling 5-4 and dropping their first C-USA series of the season. Hamilton extended his hit streak to 10 games with a three hit, two RBI performance.

Rice took on Houston on Tuesday in the second game of the Silver Glove Series. Sophomore Tyler Spurlin made his first career start after pitching just 4 2/3 innings on the season leading up to the game. Spurlin exceeded all expectations, throwing six shutout innings while allowing just two hits without walking a single batter. Hoelscher collected three hits while Rendon and junior center fielder Daniel Gonzales-Luna each drove in two runs as Rice shut out the Cougars 7-0.

Conference play continues this weekend as the Owls host Marshall University (10-13), with the opening game of the series tonight at 6:30 at Reckling Park.

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