The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 21, Ed. 1 Friday, March 13, 1998 Page: 18 of 24
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THRESHER SPORTS FRIDAY. MARCH 13, J998
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Rice began the season with a high
level of talent and even higher ex-
[H-etations.. A quick 4-0 start only
increased the latter. But, after a se-
ries of injuries to four starters deci-
mated the lineup, the Owls went on
a 5-6 run that included losses to the
University of Central Florida, North-
western State University and Sam
Houston State IJniversitiy. And while
fans and media worried that the sea-
son could be going nowhere fast,
players and coaches remained con-
fident and optimistic. "We'll be fine,"
they said, "once everyone gets back."
If the,, past two weeks are any
indication, they were right on the
money.
With a combination of strong
pitching and an averageol over eight
runs per game, Rice went 8-1 over
the past two weeks to improve its
record to 17-7. More importantly,
the Owls were (>(.) in Western Ath-
letic Conference play during that
time, uppingtheirconference record
to 9-0. And, once again, the key was
the return of all their players. •
"We're beginning to pick it up,"
freshman pitcher Kenny Haugh said.
"We've got our stars back, so we're
kind of in a groove. If we stay healthy,
we'll be in good shape for the rest of
the year. I think we're finally com-
ing together and playing ball like we
should be."
Junior pitcher Stephen Bess
agreed, saying, "Were really start-
ing to click and play like we should.
With the combination of runs and
defense that we've been getting, it's
hard not to have a positive attitude."
The returning players include
junior center fielder Bubba Crosby,
junior first baseman Jacob Baker,
sophomore right fielder Charles
Williams and senior left fielder J.J.
Savarino. Their return means that,
for the first time all season, the team
that expected to win the WAC and
return to the College World Series
is finally together where it really
counts: on the field.
"It's great to finally get our lineup
together," junior shortstop Damon
'As long as we keep
care'of business and playing
our own game, we should be OK.'
With Crosby and Baker, the
team'* two best RBI men. back in
the lineup, the Owls' production at
the plate is back where it should be
Leadoffhitter senior Jason Richards
continues to be among the best in
the country at "setting the table" for
the heart of the lineup, as demon-
strated by his 29 runs, 22 walks and
an on-base percentage over .475.
With Baker and Crosby batting .368
and .391, respectively, and driving
in 50 total runs in only 36 games,
Richards' job has gotten quite a bit
easier
"We're getting our team toget her,
and different guys are coming
through with the hits every day,"
Richards said. "My job is just to get
on base, and fortunately I've seen
some good pitches, 1 never know
who'll drive me in. but someone usu-
ally comes through with the clutch
hit."
lately, that "someone" has been
Thames. In the past two games, he
has gone 6-9 with six runs, 10 RBI,
two doubles, one triple and three
home runs. In raising his average to
.410. he also increased his team-
leading RBI and home run totals to
31 and 11, respectively. And though
his defense has not been as good as
he'd like it to be (.919 fielding per-
centage), his play at the plate has
more than made up for it.
"I've been seeing the ball real
well," he said. "But it also helps that
1 don't put too much pressure on
myself because I know that if I don't
get the hits, someone else will. It
has a lot to do with the added confi-
dence that having our entire team
brings."
The confidence lifted Rice to an
8-1 run, which included non-confer-
ence wins over the University of
Michigan. 5-1, and crosstown rival
University of Houston, 10-2. In both
games, Baugh shut down the oppo-
sition to lead the Owls to the victory.
"Baugh has been doing a fantas-
tic job," Head Coach Wayne Gra-
ham said. "He has three good pitches
that he can get over the plate consis-
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REBBECA BERGQUISt/IHRt SMI H
Junior first baseman Jacob Bakor fouls one off his hands against the Houston Cougars Wednesday night.
tently, and he's always out-thinking
hitters. If he keeps pitching like this,
he could work his way into the pic-
ture somewhere."
In the two victories, Baugh
pitched 14.2 innings, struck out nine
and gave up only 9even hits and two
runs, both of which were unearned.
In five appearances this year, he is 2-
0 with a 1.54 earned run average.
And while he has been a pleasant
surprise for the Owls, he thinks the
key to his success is actually quite
simple: throwing strikes.
"I focus on coming out and doing
a good job whenever I'm called in,"
he said. "I just concentrate on throw-
ing strikes and keeping the ball
down. And when my changeup' is
working, I've got three pitches that
I can throw over the plate."
Not to be outdone by the fresh-
man, the rest of the Owls' pitching
staff has been equally dominating.
Bess and sophomores Mario Ramos,
Jeff Nichols and Marc Gwyn com-
bined to go 6-1 over the past two
weeks, with the only loss coming in
a non-conference matchup Tuesday
against Lamar University. In the
other six games, the Owls swept
WAC rivals San Diego State Univer-
sity and Brigham Young University,
as their top four hurlers threw a
combined 46.2 innings, struck out
39 batters and had an ERA of 1.56.
Needless to say, Rice's pitching
has been outstanding.
"The key has beeji our pitching,"
Thames said. "We have a lot of con-
fidence in everyone that we put on
the mound, and as long as they keep
throwing like that, we'll be in good
shape. Even on days when they
haven't had their best stuff, they
haven't given up and have still shut
teams down."
'Die Owls are hoping their week-
end starters can continue their mas-
tery over WAC competition. Start-
ing today, the University of Hawaii
will be at Cameron Field for a cross-
over series against Rice. The Rain-
bows got off to a quick 16-3 start and
are ranked as high as 24th, despite
going 2-4 within the conference
against SDSU and San Jose State
University.
"Hawaii is a very competitive
team," Graham said. "They got off to
a good start, but they're trying to
right the ship because of some re-
cent losses."
With Bess, Nichols and Ramos
expected to start for Rice this week-
end, the Owls have reason to be
confident.
"I don't think we're too worried,,"
Ramos said. "We're confident thiM
our guys will go out and do a good
job on the mound. We just need to
play baseball, and I think we will."
Raker agreed with Raijios' as-
sessment and didn't hesitate to go
out on a limb.
"It would be great to sweep Ha-
waii," he said. "We obviously want
take it one game at a time, and as
long as we stay focused and our
guys continue to throw strikes, we'll
be all right. But if we were able to be
12-0 in the conference, it would take
offalotof pressure and wecouldjust
go out, play baseball and have some
fun." • w
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Hardi, Joel. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 21, Ed. 1 Friday, March 13, 1998, newspaper, March 13, 1998; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246617/m1/18/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.