C-USA Championship Game Pics

This picture says it all.
Greg Buchanan and Isa Garcia get tangled up after
Garcia was tagged out.

Jordan Dodson expresses himself after scoring a run.
This swing was the game changing homer.
Danny Lehmann gets a pitch to drive.
Brian Friday makes it look routine.
Will McDaniel was determined not to let the
Cougs back in this game.
UH-Rice C-USA Championship Game Pictures

C-USA CHAMPS!

Rice Jumps Over UH in Final Game to Claim Crown
By Mark Anderson

The Rice Owls, trailing the Univerisity of Houston Cougars by a score of 5-1, played a game of leapfrog as the number one ranked Owls overcame and early deficit to win big, 11-5.

The game changing moment came when Joe Savery stepped to the plate with the score 5-4. Savery, who had his share of struggles on the hill today, got exactly what he was looking for--a changeup--and drilled it high and deep into a very stiff wind. As the ball left the bat, SAvery leaped with a finger in the air--he knew immediately, wind or no wind, that he had homered to put the Owls up by a score of 6-5.

Savery, normally a very reserved person, reacted as he had in no other at bat this entire year. I asked Joe afterwards if he had ever in any game hit a home run and jumped as he did today. "No, not ever," Joe said, "but I knew that was gone."

Savery's game changing moment was set up by a rally in the fourth inning. Rodriguez led off the inning with a booming double to right centerfield. Joe Savery followed with a walk, and Luna singled, loading the bases. That brought up Jordan Dodson, who admitted afterwards he had been struggling a bit. Not on this at bat though--he crushed it to roght for a double, scoring Rodriguez and Savery. That brought in Hancock to face Lehmann, who reached on a throwing error, scoring Luna. That rally brought the Owls back from a 5-1 deficit to within a run.

In the fifth, the game changed in the Owls facor when Buchanan reached with one out . That brought Savery to the plate. Savery who had a hand in all the runs scored to this point, changed the momentum with one swing of the bat.

That put the game in the hands of Will McDaniel, who had replaced Savery on the mound. McDaniel was nothing short of outstanding. McDaniel had come on in the fourth in relief of Savery, and his pitching (3 1/3, 1 hit, no runs) gave the Owls the chance they needed to climb back into it.

In the sixth, the Owls stretched their lead when Zornes opened witha single to right and moved to second on JOrdon Dodson's infield single. Lehmann walked to load the bsdrd and bring up Tyler Henley. Henley's sharp single scored Zornes and Dodson, and moved Lehmann to third. Friday's single added another run. After Buchanan struck out, J-Rod stepped up and lined a single to plate yet another run. Although Savery struck out and Luna flied out, the Owls had added four more runs and they would never look back on this day.

Cole St. Clair came in to pitch with two outs in the seventh, and he was also brilliant, giving up no hits and no runs to shut the door for the Owls. Rice will host a regional next weekend, beginning Friday.

UH-Rice to Square Off in Winner Take All Match

The two top seeds from the CUSA will meet Sunday to decide the chamionship. Joe Savery will start for the Owls, and Matt Farrington will be on the hill for the Cougars. Game time is 1:00pm.

I'll be posting more pics from Satuday as well as game stories in the not-to-distant future.

Pics From Win Over Memphis

Cole St. Clair delivers in the 9th.














Joe Davery singles on this pitch













Savery uot on force play at plate











Friday safe at first














Friday gets the relay to begin a DP













You can't stop before you get to hte plate!
















Bryce Cox delivers

Pics From ECU-Tulane

C-USA Player of the Year Mark Hamilton

















McFadden singles in the game winner on
this swing.













Riser scores winning run as Hamilton awaits
















Mattox readies to drive the ball down the line

Green Wave Hoses ECU Out of C-USA Tourney

Tenth Inning Keeps Tulane Alive; ECU Goes Home

It was a hot, sultry afternoon in Houston—the kind where you sought refuge from as a kid under a garden hose. Unfortunately for ECU, the Green Wave got to T. J. Hose and stayed alive by winning a ten inning tight game by a score of 2-1.

Shane Matthews pitched a career best 8 1/3 innings for the Pirates, and kept the game tight. His counterpart, Billy Mohl, didn’t go as deep but was just as good, going six innings and giving up only a run on seven hits.

The game was decided in the tenth when Matt Riser singled up the middle to lead off the tenth. Everett sacrificed Riser to second. That brought Warren McFadden to the plate. Hose had no place to put McFadden with Mark Hamilton coming up next. Hose threw two sliders that McFadden couldn’t drive, and with the count 1-2, he came back with another slider—only a hanging one. “My eyes lit up,” McFadden said afterwards. McFadden stroked a single to right that scored Riser.

That put things in the hands of Daniel Latham, who on one pitch had gotten a double play to end the ninth. He got the first two hitters with relative ease, but Jake Smith singled. But on the very next pitch, Witter grounded out to end the game. Latham commented afterwards, “I knew that if I threw strikes, my defense would be there for me.”

Tulane moves on to face UH tomorrow morning at 9am in a win or go home game.

Pics from Southern Miss-Memphis Game

This play looked like "Who'sOn First?"










Amar misplays a grounder
















Adam Amar hit a three run double
that keyed the Mephis rally in the fifth.

Memphis Rolls On; Southern Miss Out

Three Run Double by Amar Key Hit in 8-5 Win
By Mark Anderson

The Golden Eagles were eliminated from the C-USA Tournament Friday night when the Memphis Tigers won the Friday elimination game by a score of 8-5.

The key to the Tigers’ victory on Friday was the fifth inning. Trailing by a score of 4-2, Memphis came back in a big way,. With runners on second and third, and a3-1 count on Bill Moss (hitting 351), the Golden Eagles elected to load the bases and face Adam Amar (hitting .401). Amar got a pitch on the outer part of the plate and drove it deep to right center, clearing the bases for the Tigers and putting Amar on second. He wouldn’t stay there long, as Goss’ single would bring him hime. Those two hits gave the Tigers’ a 6-4 advantage and they never looked back.

Memphis goes on to face Rice tomorrow in the 12:30game.

Pics of Rice-Southern Miss

Cox was dominating











Southern Miss out on this very close play at
first

















Zornes singles on this pitch
















Bobby Bell--great outing and
showed real resiliance

Pics from UH-ECU

Licoln turned up the heat on ECU

















Lincoln helped his own cause with a
single here
















FROZEN. . . that's what Lincoln's
selection of pitches did to many ECU
hitters

Rice, UH Roll On

Marshall, UAB Eliminated in CUSA Tournament
By Mark Anderson

The top ranked Rice Owls and the Brad Lincoln led Houston Cougars advanced in the C-USA Tournament today. The Owls were paced by a 13 hit attack and 7 stromg innings from Bobby Bell tp defeat Southern Miss by a score of 5=1.

The Owls jumped on the board first as Luna hit a hard to play by the third baseman, who threw errantly to first after Luna had reached safely. After Zornes grounded out, Dodson hit a deep fly that moved Luna to third. Kenny Ford walked, and Henley followed with a double down the left field line, bringing home Luna. Buchanan followed with a two run single to put the Owls up 3-0.

The Eagles had a golden opportunity to answer the Owls in the bottom of the third, but missed a golden opportunity. With one out, Sutton singled to left, and Maddox followed with the same. After a strikeout, Ewing walked to load the bases. Coker followed with a walk that forced in the only run the Eagles would score for the night. At this point in the game, Bobby Bell wasa struggling with his breaking pitches, and things were a little adventurous for Adam Zornes behind the plate at this point. But Adkins struck out to end the inning—and the golden opportunity had passed by Southern Miss. By the fifth inning, Bell gained control of his breaking pitch, and was absolutely nasty from that point forward, keeping the Eagles off-balance with an assortment of pitches.

The Owls would have added more onto the run total, but Joe Savery missed the bag at third and was out on an appeal play.

Bryce Cox came on in the eighth inning and was absolutely dominating, not giving up any hots or walks while striking out three.

For the Cougars, this game can be summed up in two words: Brad Lincoln. While striking out only 6 in 8 innings of work, Lincoln put the ball right where he wanted it virtually the entire afternoon. Houston pounded the Pirates pitching for 14 hits and 4 walks, including Matt Weston’s 15th homerun of the year.

Both Rice and Houston have the day off tomorrow and will play in the winner’s bracket on Saturday.
For Marshall and UAB, their journey came to an end in C-USA play today, as Memphis defeated UAB, and Marshall was mercifully eliminated on the “mercy rule.”

UAB-Rice Pics

Sawyer and Savery go different directions
as this third strike gets away.











UAB scored on this wils pitch in spite of
a valiant effort by Danny Lehmann.















Sawyer arrrives at third












So the hustle! This UAB runner nearly
picked off ny Danny Lehmann














Friday hit this ball on the screws.

UH_Marshall Pics

Hargove pitched well












Marshall runner dives back in
















Kingsbury nailed this pitch

CUSA Tournament Pics, ECU and Tulane

AGONY. . . Brody Taylor hurt his elbow in
the 8th inning. . . this picture tells a lot.












Ty Wallace dives in vain for a bunt.










Jakob Dean scores ahead of the tag.

















Jake Smith struck the big blow on this
swing with a long homer.

A Little Unorthodox, But a Win

Owls Big Burst in Sixth Propels Owls to Victory
By Mark Anderson

The opening game for the Rice Owls in the C-USA tournament can best be described as ”unorthodox.” It’s not every afternoon that Eddie Degerman walks seven hitters (four in an inning), and throws three wild pitches to boot. It’s not every day that you see a three run homer turn into a two run single because a runner passes another, as Greg Buchanan did. But that’s just some of what took place at Reckling this afternoon.

The Owls started it off in rather ordinary fashion in the second inning when Savery walked with one out. Aaron Luna followed that with a single to left. Savery then scored from second on Zornes’ single to left. After Dodson struck out, Zornes stole second and Luna stole third. A wild pitch scored Luna to make it 2-0 in favor of the Owls.

In the fourth, consecutive singles by Savery, Luna, and Zornes scored the Owls’ third run. Sounds pretty ordinary, right?

In the UAB sixth, Gutierrez walked to open the inning, After a strikeout, Gutierrez advanced to second on a wild pitch. Sawyer homered on a 2-2 count to make the score 3-2.

But Rice answered back in the bottom of the frame, and in a big way. Rodriguez opened the inning with a walk, and stole second. Savery then walked on a 3-2 pitch. But things got a little wacky at this point, because Jacob Legg began paying particular attention to Rodriguez at second. A pickoff attempt hit Rodriguez in the hip, and both runners moved up a base. Zornes’ single plated both runners. Dodson and Lehmann were walked, and Henley’s single scored two more. This is where it got truly unorthodox, as Buchanan stepped up and hit what might have been a three run homer—but passed the runner in front of him. Instead, it turned into a two run single. The Owls now had a 9-2 advantage.

But this is where it got really unorthodox for the Owls. With one out, Metcalf walked on a 3-1 pitch. After a wild pitch sent him to second, Turner walked. . . and Gutierrez walked. Metcalf then scored on a wild pitch. After Patmon struck out, Sawyer walked. At this point, Degerman was replaced by Bobby Bramhall on the mound. Bramhall got two quick grounders to end the threat—and close out the scoring for UAB.

Rice will play at 7:30 tomorrow evening, playing the winner of Southern Mississippi and Memphis (game underway at this writing).

No Surprise in Game 2—UH Dominates

UH Pours It On To Vanquish the Herd
By Mark Anderson

Marshall came to Recking Field hoping to put the recent past behind them. Unfortunately for the Herd, the past became a present reality as the Cougs defeated Marshall by a score of 9-1.

Houston had 13 hits—including six extra base hits—to pace the Cougars this afternoon. But not to be left out was Ricky Hargrove’s pitching performance. Hargrove allowed only one run in seven innings. The game was close early, but one turning point may have been a pickoff by Hargrove of Brit Vincent at first. That seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the Thundering Herd. They never seemed to recover, and things only snowballed as the game went on.

SURPRISE!!!!

East Carolina Upsets Tulane, 4-2
By Mark Anderson

The East Carolina Pirates came to Reckling this morning and stole the forst game from the Tulane Green Wave by a score of 4-2.

Brody Taylor outdueled Sean Morgan to give the Pirates the pitching they needed to surprise the Green Wave. Through 7 1/3 innings, Brody kept the Wave off-balance, hitting his spots, used his fielders to make the plays. Unfortunately for Taylor, he appeared to hurt his elbow in the eighth and was immediately removed. Taylor’s condition is unknown at this writing.

Te key to the Pirates win was the fifth inning. With the game tied at 1-1, Jakob Dean stepped top the plate and singled t oventer. A sacrifice bunt moved Dean to second, and Eldridge singled through the right side to scored Dean. After Eldridge stole second, aand after a strikeout, Jake Smith, the C-USA first team catcher, stepped up and hit a booming home run to left center field to plate both runs.

Athough Tulane added a run in the fifth to answer, they could never mount anything past that. After Taylor went down, Shane Matthews came in and shut the door on the Green Wave. East Carolina moves into the winner’s bracket, while Tulane faces elimination tomorrow.

OPENING ROUND OF C-USA TOURNEY SET

By Mark Anderson
The opening round of the conference tournament has been set for Wednesday beginning at 9 am at Reckling Park.

Here are the games scheduled for Wednesday:

9:00 am #6 East Carolina vs. #3 Tulane
12:30 pm (approx.) #7 Marshall vs. #2 Houston
4:00 pm (approx.) #8 UAB vs. #1 Rice
7:30 pm (approx.) #5 Southern Mississippi vs. #4 Memphis

No starting pitchers, as of this writing, have been announced. Lots of speculation, but we’re not going there. We’ll wait for official announcements by each team.

Here at the blog, I will attempt to keep you up to date with pics and stories as they unfold. Thursday’s games will be announced as soon as humanly possible here. I’m going to try my best to avoid jumping the gun with speculation because it simply isn’t fair to any of the teams involved. Hopefully, this can be a great source of news and pictures for you.

LINKS

Apparently, the links section in this blog has not been working. I would liike to diurect you to some links that you may find of interest:

www.CUSA-fans.com

www.ricefootball.net

I'll be adding more links as we go. . . and hopefully will figure out how the links section works on this thing in the meantime.

THE SILVER GLOVE

Josh Rodriguez (center) with Cole St. Clair (left),
Jordon Dodson (right) and the Slver Glove in his hands.













Aaron Luna, Joe Savery, Brian Friday, Cole
St. Clair, and Jordan Dodson with the Silver Glove















The team hoists the Silver boot awarded after
winning Sunday.

THE RUBBER MATCH. . . AND AWARDING OF THE SILVER BOOT

Savery HR to rigt center


















OUCH! Lehmann hit by pitch


















Brian Friday hits a HR in the 5th after
the Weston/Crow incident (Below)




















Weston and Crow co;;ide after Weston
was called out












After Lehmann was hit, this perfect bunt was
laid down

Saturday's pictures from UH-Rice

OOOOOOOH, soooo close!









Weston out at second on attempted steal

















Tyler Henley doubled on this swing



















Henley arrives at second with a double




















Cole St. Clair winds up



















Chad Lembeck chases down the final out

PICTURES FROM FRIDAY'S UH-RICE MATCHUP

Lincoln rocks and fires

















Rodriguez out on close play at first
















HEARTSTOPPER! Myers bid drifts foul




















Degerman throws out Flores on bunt
attempt




















Flores goes in search of one that got
away

When It Rains. . . It Pours

Deluge of Offense by Rice Sinks UH
By Mark Anderson

May 14, Reckling Park—The rain that soaked Reckling Park came after the Owls claimed a 13-3 win over the Houston Cougars on Sunday. But the Owls rained one hit after another (fifteen in all), including six extra base hits, to send the Cougars back across town with a second consecutive loss.

The Cougars jumped on the Owls and starter Joe Savery early. After a groundout to open the game, Isa Garcia doubled to right (a very popular spot in this game) and Weston followed with his third homerun of the Silver Glove series, a no doubter, to give the Cougs a 2-0 lead.

Rice came right back, however, in the bottom of the first. With one out, Buchanan tripled to right field. Brian Friday’s RBI single made it 2-1. Rodriguez grounded out on a fielder’s choice, moving Friday to second. Joe Savery, who had a great Silver Glove series (6-13, 2 HRS, 6 RBIs, and a 1.000 slugging percentage), singled up the middle to tie the game at 2-2.

The Cougars added another run in the third inning when Kingsbury singled, stole second, then advanced to third on Stirneman’s single. Stirneman stole second, and Logan reached .on a fielder’s choice to deep short. Stirneman scored with ease, but Kingsbury got rather adventurous and tried to score from second, only to find the ball waiting in Danny Lehmann’s glove. As it turned out, the third inning would be the last time the Cougars would cross home plate. When Craig Crow (the Wild Card Award winner in this series) entered the game, he cut off the flow of runs for good. “I was feeling great, and everything was working for me,” Crow said afterwards.

While the flow of runs was being cut off on the Cougar side, a deluge was about to take place on the Rice side. Rodriguez led off the fourth with a single to—where else?—right field. With Joe Savery at the plate, Flores worked the count to 2-2. Flores tried to sneak a fastball on the inside corner. Savery explained, “The ball drifted into the middle of the plate.” After Savery connected, the ball had provided beverage service before it came back down well beyond the right centerfield wall. Aaron Luna followed with a double to left, and Lehmann was hit by a pitch. Jordon Dodson followed with a perfect bunt down the third base line, loading the bases. That brought Aaron Brown in to pitch, and Travis Reagan greeted him with an RBI single to right centerfield. Reagan was out on Henley’s fielder’s choice, but drove in another run as Lehmann scored. Buchanan ended the inning with a ground ball that turned into a double play, but the tide had turned and Rice had a 6-3 lead.

Things got a little on the feisty side in the top of the fifth with Weston at bat and Craig Crow on the mound. Crow/’s pitch sailed directly over Weston’s head. That left the Cougs seeing red, because many on the UH sidelines interpreted that as a purpose pitch, and it sent nostrils and tempers flaring. When Weston grounded out, he ran into Joe Savery at first, and heated words were exchanged.

The Owls had the best response in the bottom of the fifth. Brian Friday stepped to the plate and homered to make it a 7-4 game. The Ow3ls then showed some composure and restraint when Aaron Luna was hit one batter later. But the Owls wouldn’t score again in the fifth. They saved the best fro the sixth.

The sixth inning started with Jordan Dodosn drawing a full count walk. Reagan laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving Dodson up to second. Henley then singled to make the score 8-3. Buchanan was then hit by a pitch. That brought up Friday, who singled to make the score 9-3. Laird replaced Boone at this point, but it was all over but the shouting—literally and otherwise. Laird opened up with a wild pitch, and then walked Rodriguez tro load the bases. That brought up “Smoking” Joe Savery, who doubled down the left filed line, driving in two more runs. Rodriguez then scored from third on a grounder to third. Lehmann ended the inning by lining out to third,m but the score stood at 12-3 Owls.

The Owls mercifully put an end to the Cougar misery in the seventh. Dodson led off with a walk. After Reagan flied out, Henley singled, putting runners on first and second. Buchanan stepped to the plate and hit an apparent triple. But because it basically was a walk off hit, Buchanan was credited with a singled, Dodson scored, and the ball game ended at 13-3 instead of 14-3.

For the Owls, this series win was very important, because it put the Cougars two and a half games behind with the final week of conference play looming. The Owls travel to Marshall this coming weekend. The Owls simply must continue to “take care of business” to win the C-USA title. The Cougs have one game left on their printed schedule; so one at Marshall should be enough to clinch the title. Hopefully it will be a “three and out” series for the Owls. Congrats to the Owls and to Coach Graham and his staff for getting the Owls into this position. Bring it home, guys!

SILVER SERIES NOTES: Matt Weston had an outstanding series against the Owls. With his three home runs, he had a slugging percentage that was out if this world at 2.000. But another thing can’t be overlooked—he had a had in every single run scored by the Cougs. . . . The Owls have won the Silver Glove series every year since its’ existence except for one. . . Brett Logan and Jake Stewart can testify to how good the Owls’ pitching is—both were the only regulars for UH held hitless. . . .

Owls Stem Tide, Part Red Sea

Owls Come Back From Early Deficit to Beat UH
By Mark Anderson

Reckling Park, May 12—The Rice Owls found themselves looking at a 3-0 by the Cougars early in the first inning, but didn’t let it get them down. Instead, the Owls made adjustments all the way through the game and ended up pulling it out by a score of 7-5.

The first and most important adjustment was made by starting pitcher Bobby Bell. After missing with his location early, Bell went to his bread and butter to put the kibosh on the Cougs bats. “The key was when I started being consistent with my changeup and spotting my fastball,” Bell said. Danny Lehmann told me the key to the turnaround of Bell was his change-up. “That’s his bread and butter,” he said.

The Owls also turned it around on offense. As Brian Friday said, “After facing Brad Lincoln, you just believe that you’re going to be able to come back.” And come back the Owls did, beginning in the first inning. Henley led off the Owls’ first with a double, and advanced to third on Buchanan’s groundout to second. Brian Friday drew a walk and stole second, and Josh Rodriguez singled to drive in Henley to get the Owls on the board.

But the second inning, the Owls’ bats awakened. With one out, Luna singled to right. Lehmann followed with a single, and Luna stopping at second. Dodson drew a walk to load the bases and bring Henley back up to the plate. Henley made the most of his opportunity by singling to drive in Luna and Lehmann. Greg Buchanan hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Dodson and out the Owls up for good.

The Owls’ bats were pretty silent through the third and fourth inning, but they woke up with a bang in the fifth. Joe Savery stepped to the plate. Joe had struck out and grounded into a double play in his first two at bats. But Savery was rather savvy in this at bat, because he had learned something in the previous two at bats. “They threw mew fastballs inside in the last at bat. I was looking for it and got it right where I was looking,” said Joe afterwards. “It would have gone father if I hadn’t broke the bat.”

Broke the bat? On a home run? Savery told me,“You’d be surprised how often aluminum bats break. I hit a liner the other night and it was flattened out where I hit the ball.” Well this wasn’t any liner that Joe hit this time—it was a homer to right centerfield that made the game 5-3.

Enter Cole St. Clair, the Owls’ closer, in the sixth inning. St. Clair had been told to be ready to be used in a different role, and he was. While he didn’t stike out the Cougs with the regularity he usually strikes out hitters, he was nonetheless effective, giving up only three hits and two walks over four innings. “I did get tired, “ Cole said. “Once you get into four iinnings, you get tired, and you have to find it within yourself.”

In the eighth, the Owls put up some insurance runs. Dodson led off with a walk, and the Cougs brought in Boone to pitch to Henley. Henley popped up a bunt for the first out. Greg Buchanan hot a grounder to first, and Dodson was out at second, but Buchanan beat the throw to first. Brian Friday then triped to left center field, scoring Buchanan from first. Josh Rodriguez then doubled down te right field line to drive in Friday. Lembeck flied out to right to end the inning, but not his contribution to the game.

In the ninth, Weston led off with a single. Kingsbury followed with a single to center, putting runners on first and second. Stirneman hit a fly ball deep to Henley, but Farrington was able to take third on the throw. Now, back to Lembeck. . . .Logan hit a fly ball to him with a runner on third. Chad made the catch and a strong throw back in that forced the Cougs to hold Kingsbury at third. Pounds, pinch hitting for Cougat, hit a ball to right that would have easily scored Kingsbury, and possibly having a runner on third. But Lembeck made a difficult catch look routine, and that was the ball game.

With the series tied up at one game each, the Silver Glove Trophy, awarded to the winner of the series, will be on the line Sunday as the two teams take the field. Game time is 1 pm, with the Owls starting Craig Crow. If the first two games are any indication, this one should be a great one.

SATURDAY'S PICS POSTED TOMORROW, ALONG WITH FRIDAY'S

Game of Inches Goes to UH

Near Miss Opportunities Cost Owls
By Mark Anderson

May 11, Reckling Park--It’s often said that baseball is a game of inches. If you didn’t believe it before, anyone that was at the game Friday saw plenty of evidence for it.

The marquee matchup between Brad Licoln and Eddie Degerman was a great matchup. The Cougs took an early lead on a booming triple by Josh Stirneman that drove in the first run of the game in the second inning. It stayted that way until the sixth, when Matt Weston homered with a runner aboard to make it 3-0.

But it truly was a game of inches. A pitch that could have been a strike here or there, a slow roller that just nipped the runner several times—these inches kept the Owls from mounting any serious threat.

But the real game of inches came in the ninth. After Friday struck out to begin the ninth, Josh Rodriguez walked on a close pitch. Joe Savery then singled back through the middle to put runners on first and second and set up the most dramatic moment of the ballgame. When Derek Myers came to the plate, some thought he would lay down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up. Maybe tat’s why Brad Lincoln more or less laid it in there. But a quick swing of the bat caused hearts for the Cougars to stop as the ball sailed towards the left field fence. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing in from right, and pushed Myers’ try to glory foul by inches. He ended up striking out. Jordan Dodson came up and hit a shot that initially looked like it might go over the rightfielder’s head. But remember that wind from right? It held up Dodson’s attempt to rally the Owls, and that ended the ballgame.

The Owls and Cougs tee it up again this afternoon at 1 pm. Hope that you will come out and support the Number one team in the country.

PICTURES FROM FRIDAY'S GAME LATER. . .

Top Ranked Owls In Final Stretch of Season

Good Surprises, Improved D Give Owls a Shot at Top Seed, CWS
By Mark Anderson

The top ranked Rice Owls baseball team heads into its’ final—and frankly, very tough—part of the schedule this week as it faces Lamar and cross-town rival University of Houston. And there are reasons for optimism as we approach this part of the season. Let’s look at them.

POWER SURGE—While it seemed at the mid-point of the season like there were some rolling blackouts in this area, that’s just not the case now. Adam Zornes has stepped up and provided the power surge the Owls have been looking for this season. Aaron Luna was hot at the beginning of the season, seemed to cool off, but guess what? He’s back! Add to the mix a resurging Joe Savery, Jordan Dodson, Josh Rodriguez, and Brian Friday, who has been an extra-base hit machine, and suddenly, you have a very powerful Owls team. Up until recently, the Owls had to scrap to get a run. The Memphis series proved to all that this team can light up the scoreboard. You’re not going to get twenty-two runs every game—but if the bats will just stay consistent, there’s no worry that there will be any rolling blackouts at Reckling—at least not when it comes to those bats.

SOLID DEFENSE—Early in the season this was a concern, because the Owls would play errorless ball one night and then have five the next night. But as the season wore on, so did Coach Wayne Graham’s influence. Right now, the Owls are playing the best defense they have played all year. Travis Reagan and Danny Lehmann have been solid behind the dish. The infield hasandidified==anmd Brian Friday has really come on defensively. The Owls have outfielders that can gun you down from anywhere—and they dare you to try and take the extra base, because more times than not, the opponent will find the ball waiting for them. This defense can play with any team in the country—and will.

STEPPING UP—could notoe Savery couldn’t pitch, it opened the door for several pitchers to step[ top the fore. Will McDaniel has turned out to be the answer to “Who will be the midweek starter?” McDaniel has done a very good job in that spot. Craig Crow was given an opportunity, and he has not disappointed the feathered flock. And who could have possibly imagined Eddie Degerman stepping up the way he has? Or Cole St. Clair? Or Bobby Bell? We can’t leave out Bobby Bramhall in this, either.

CONSISTENT PLAY OFFENSIVELY AND DEFENSIVELY—There are other names that deserve mentioning here. Tyler Henley has been a catalyst for the Owls on offense, and his defense and arm have been spectacular. One player that is easy to overlook—but should not be—is Danny “Clutch” Lehmann. Danny has come through in critical situations, especially with his bat (remember the Grand slam at College Station?). Greg Buchanan is quietly playing great baseball at the moment. There have been other key contributors, like Chad Lembeck, whose key hits, good base running, and strong arm have contributed to the success of this team. Kenny Ford has a keen eye at the plate and drawn crucial walks, not to mention scoring some important runs.

So here the Owls come to the final weeks of the regular season. Can Degerman, Bell, and Crow maintain the consistency they have displayed to this point? Will Joe Savery be able to rejoin the rotation—or at least help in relief? Can the bats stay consistent and provide pitchers like Degerman, Bell, and Crow—not to mention McDaniel—some runs and a lead to work with? If those questions are answered yes in the final weeks, look out—this team will be very dangerous. There’s no question that the talent is there. There’s also no question that this team is able to win a close game or a blow-out. They have also proven they can take on the very best in Division I and win (ask Oklahoma, Nebraska, Cal State Fullerton, and others). The only question is “Will they do it?”—not “Can they do it?” That second question has been answered affirmatively.

This weekend’s Rice-UH matchup has the potential to be very revealing. Can Rice play with the big boys? If you haven’t gotten that answer yet, you will in this series. Don’t let a sea of red dominate the crowds this weekend. Come out and show your support for a very talented—and top-ranked—Owls this weekend.