The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 2, 2007 Page: 10 of 24
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B2
THE RICE THRESHER BASEBALL 2007
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2,2007
Top-ranked Owls set high expectations for 2007
The baseball team is poised
to make a return appear-
ance at the College World
Series this season, one off-season
after exiting the tournament with a
22-inning scoreless streak and two
disappointing losses to the eventual
national champion Oregon State
University.
With seven starters coming back.
Rice has a deeper, more experienced
team than the one that tallied a
national-best 57-13 record in 2006.
Depth and experience helped the
Beavers to the national title — they
were the only team in last year's CWS
field that qualified in 2005—and was
a major factor in the Owls' ranking
as the consensus preseason No. 1
team in the country this year.
" [The ranking] has a lot to do with
getting to Omaha and bringing a lot
of people back," head coach Wayne
Graham said. "The leadership of the
team is back — the guys who set the
tone for everyone else."
' We try to apply
Occam's razor to
hitting — when there
are many conflicting
theories, the simplest
one is the best.'
Wayne Graham
Head coach
Among the Owls returning are
junior All-America candidates Cole
St.Clair and Joe Savery, arguably
among the best left-handed pitchers
in college baseball. However, their
health is an early concern for Gra-
ham and the coaching staff. Savery
is coming off surgery to repair a
torn labrum in his pitching shoulder
and StClair is rehabilitating a fluke
shoulder injury incurred while work-
ing out. Both expect to be ready for
the Owls' season opener tomorrow
at 2 p.m. against Division II power
Central Missouri State University.
Savery, Baseball America's pre-
season first-time utility player, will
start at first base despite his injury.
Last year, he hit .335 and led the team
with 66 runs batted in despite play-
ing most of the year with a shoulder
injury that limited him to only 62
innings pitched. If Saver yean return
to his 2005 form — when he hit for
a .382 average and 43 RBI while
posting a 2.43 earned run average
— he could provide solid offense at
the cleanup spot in the batting order
and serve as a much-needed anchor
in the weekend rotation.
As for his return to the mound.
Savery has had some pain-free
throwing sessions in the bullpen
during spring workouts, but Graham
said he will be eased back into the
rotation.
"No matter how ready [Savery]
is, we're not going to extend him
for a long time," Graham said.
"He's the one guy that will beg to
stay in a game, but I'm not going
to let him."
Junior Brian Friday, Rice's only
first-team All-American position
player a year ago, returns at short-
stop. Friday had a breakout season
in 2006, leading Rice with a .353
average while hitting 9 HR, 57 RBI
and stealing 17 bases. He also brings
major-league range to the middle
infield, and his fielding, once a weak-
ness, is now his most marketable
asset as a pro prospect.
The loss of Greg Buchanan, the
Houston Astros' ninth-round draft
pick, leaves a big hole at second
base. Buchanan was one of the
slickest-fielding second basemen in
the country, and his switch-hitting
ability made him an ideal hitter in
the second spot in the lineup. How-
ever, Graham and the Owls have
been grooming sophomore Aaron
Luna in fall and spring practices to
take up where Buchanan left off.
Luna, named to Baseball America's
first-team freshman All-American
team last year, hit a Rice freshman-
record 16 HR and drove in 50 runs.
Defensively, he jockeyed between
third base and left field all season.
Graham said he expects Luna to fill
the second base spot adequately.
"He's a smart ballplayer," Graham
said. "He adapts quicker than most
people. There's no pressure on him
because he knows a position, if not at
second base, [then] in left field."
Third base should be a major
point of concern for the Owls head-
ing into the season. With last year's
third-sacker Josh Rodriguez now in
the Cleveland Indians' farm system,
two newcomers are competing for
the spot. Freshman Diego Seastrunk
BASEBALL AT A GLANCE:
2006 record: 57-13
Conference- USA record: 22-2 (first)
Postseason: Rice steamrolled through its home regional with a win
over Prairie View A&M and two wins over Baylor to advance to the
Houston Super Regional against Oklahoma. The Owls needed three
games to win the best-of-three series with the Sooners, triumphing 9-5
in a controversial final game to clinch Rice's fifth College World Series
berth. In Omaha, the Owls looked poised to win a second national
champoinship, but following two wins against Georgia and Miami,
Rice hit a brick wall with back-to-back shutout losses at the hands of
Oregon State, which went on to win the series.
Key losses: 2B Greg Buchanan, 3B Josh Rodriguez, RHP Eddie Deger-
man, RHP Craig Crow, RHP Bryce Cox.
Top newcomers: RHP Ryan Berry (Humble HS), IF Jess Buenger (Texas
A&M), IF/OF Trey Crain (Corpus Christi Ray HS), OF/RHP Jared Gayhart
(San Jacinto College), IF/LHP Abel Gonzales (St.Thomas HS), RHP
Chris Kelley (San Jacinto College), RHP Matt Langwell (Sam Houston
St.), IF J.P Padron (San Jacinto College), LHP Jonathan Runnels (San
Jacinto College), IF/RHP Diego Seastrunk (Channelview HS).
Head coach: Wayne Graham (684-270 in 15 years at Rice)
. . .
MARSHALL ROBINSON/THRESHER
Junior shortstop Brian Friday makes a tough throw on the run In Rice's June 21, 2006 loss to Oregon State In the
College World Series. Tomorrow at 2 p.m., for the third straight season, the Owls open their season against Central Mis-
souri State at Reckling Park. The Mules play their first game today at noon against Texas A&M-Kingsvllle at Reckling
Park before squaring oif with Rice.
could get the opening-day start
tomorrow. He gives Graham lineup
options with his left-hand«_J bat
and may also see playing time as a
designated hitter as the season goes
on. But the early favorite to start at
third is J.R Padron, a junior transfer
from San Jacinto College. A much-
heralded power hitter in high school,
Padron had a measly 4 HR and 20
RBI last year. Graham said he hopes
his coaching staff can help Padron
regain his power stroke.
"One of his big problems as a
hitter is that he's had too much in-
formation," Graham said. "He's had
too many coaches. We're noted for
simplifying. We try to apply Occam's
razor to hitting — when there are
many conflicting theories, the sim-
plest one is the best."
Even with the competition for
third base, the Owls may be deepest
behind the plate. Junior catcher Dan-
ny Lehmann returns as the primary
backstop after a successful summer
playing for the Yarmouth-Dennis
Red Sox of the Cape Cod league, an
off-season league that features some
of the elite college baseball players
in the country. Lehmann earned
a reputation for his ability to keep
balls in front of him while catching
for former Owls Eddie Degerman
and Bryce Cox, two MLB draft picks
who threw devastating and difficult-
to-catch breaking pitches.
"Lehmann is held in high regard
throughout the nation not only for
what he did last season, but what
he did [in the Cape Cod League],"
Graham said. "His reputation has
grown just from the fact that his
teams win."
Joining Lehmann on the depth
chart are senior Travis Reagan and
sophomore Adam Zornes, both of
whom could start for most Divi-
sion I teams. Zornes has the most
offensive potential of all three and
will be a tough out as a designated
SCOUTING REPORT: CENTRAL MISSOURI STATE
Rice opens its season against Central Missouri State, which has become
a sister sports institution with Rice as result of winning the Division II
national championship in 2003, the same season Rice won its Division I
title. The Mules pride themselves on being the winningest college baseball
team of this millenium. Here's a brief comparison of the two schools:
Enrollment
National championships
2006 record
2007 preseason rank
Rice
4,971
1 (2003)
57-13
1 (Div. I)
CMSU
10,441
2 (1994, 2003)
44-16
9 (Div. II)
hitter against left-handed pitching.
He may also have the strongest arm.
Zornes may get the start in some
midweek games as Graham begins
to prepare him for the starting job
next year. Reagan was the everyday
starter in 2004 before missing the
beginning of 2005 with a foot injury
that opened the door for Lehmann.
Reagan should get one start per
weekend series like he did last
season when he was the primary
catcher for Degerman. He also plays
an adequate first base and could get
into the lineup when Savery is on
the mound.
4No matter how ready
[Savery] is, we're not
going to extend him for
a long time.'
— Graham
In the outfield, the Owls' speed
makes them one of the more
dangerous units in the country.
Together, juniors Jordan Dodson,
Chad Lembeck and Tyler Henley
are quick enough to make tough
plays. Henley has made 130 straight
starts in centerfield for Rice, and his
consistency from the left side of the
plate makes him a strong presence
in the batting order. He improved his
offensive production significantly in
2006, hitting .336 with 54 RBI and a
.436 on-base percentage.
Dodson is probably the most
clutch hitter of the group. A two-time
NCAA All-Regional team selection,
Dodson batted .500 in last year's
Houston regional and knocked a
two-run homer en route to beating
LSU at the Baton Rouge regional two
years ago. Lembeck, the probable
starter in right field, has tremendous
power but must improve on his .215
batting average from a year ago. He
struggled with a back injury that
kept him out of the lineup for much
of the season, but he will be healthy
heading into openingday and should
be a threat to put up a double-digit
home run total.
Sophomore transfer Jared Gay-
hart, also from San Jacinto, will
provide some competition for play-
ing time in the outfield. Gayhart s
left-handed bat will allow Graham to
stack the lineup against strong right-
handed starters. He also doubles as
a pitcher and should see some time
on the mound.
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Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 2, 2007, newspaper, February 2, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443111/m1/10/?q=%22%22~1: accessed June 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.