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February 23, 2007 > Sports > Baseball takes series from Long Beach State

Baseball takes series from Long Beach State

By Ben Jedlovec | For the Thresher

With a disappointing 3-3 record after the first two weeks of play, the baseball team’s road to recovery became less rocky last week with three wins in four games. After a heart-breaking 4-3 loss in 11 innings Friday, Rice (6-4) rode outstanding pitching to victories over Long Beach State University Saturday and Sunday and continued with a convincing win over Dallas Baptist University on Tuesday.

With the series victory over LBSU, the Owls extended their streak to 33 consecutive weekend series wins at Reckling Park, dating back to April 2001. The weekend’s success — combined with previous No. 5 University of Miami dropping two weekend games to unranked Florida — allowed Rice to move up one spot to No. 6 in Baseball America’s weekly poll.

The Owls’ three-game winning streak will be put to the test this weekend as Florida Atlantic University (9-0), 19th-ranked Nebraska University (3-1) and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (9-1) visit Reckling Park for the Rice Invitational.

The FAU Owls have turned heads early with their undefeated start, and Rice head coach Wayne Graham said his team is not taking them lightly.

“They’ve got a pitcher … who is a solid number one Division I pitcher,” he said. “They’ve got a pretty good team.”

A perennial baseball powerhouse, Nebraska is looking to avenge last year’s 3-2 Rice Invitational loss that pitted Rice ace Eddie Degerman (Sid Rich ‘06) against the Cornhuskers’ Joba Chamberlain, both among last year’s top collegiate pitchers. Despite losing Chamberlain, a second-round draft pick of the New York Yankees, the Nebraska rotation remains strong. Lefty Tony Watson, with a 1.50 ERA, and right-hander Johnny Dorn, with a 1.80 ERA, make the Huskers a formidable opponent.

Rice pitching continues to exceed expectations and carry the team, posting a combined 1.69 ERA through ten games. By comparison, last year’s Owls finished with a 3.16 ERA, fourth-best in Division I.

Senior Ryne Tacker stood out again this week, following a 5.1 inning masterpiece on Feb. 13 with five shutout innings in relief of starting junior Joe Savery on Sunday. Tacker, who allowed only two hits and two walks while striking out five, notched his second save in the 2-1 nail-biter over LBSU.

“Joe set them up perfectly,” he said. “I could see the way he was getting them out, and I just stayed with that approach.”

Tacker has compiled a team-leading 0.55 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 16.1 innings, all in relief. He throws a low-90’s fastball, a curveball/slider hybrid he calls a “slurve” and a change-up to keep opposing hitters off-balance.

The Owls’ starting rotation also turned in yet another solid weekend. Junior transfer Chris Kelley kept pitching himself out of jams in Friday’s 4-3 extra-inning loss. The right-hander from San Jacinto College allowed seven hits but only one earned run in 4.1 innings before giving way to the bullpen. Graham said Kelley’s pitches are good but that he lacks consistency.

“When he has command of his stuff, he’s good, and when he doesn’t, he struggles,” Graham said. “Right now he’s making a few too many bad pitches.”

Rice struggled towards the end of the game, getting only one hit in the final four innings. Sophomore Jared Gayhart and senior Kyle Gunderson surrendered only one more run in the 11th inning, but it was enough for the Dirtbags to take the series opener.

Owl bats turned things around on Saturday, with 11 runs against a Long Beach State staff already depleted by injury. Freshman starter Ryan Berry went 7.2 innings, allowing only two runs while striking out eight Dirtbag hitters for his second win in two collegiate starts. Berry’s ERA stands at 1.08 in 16.2 innings; he has 17 strikeouts and averages less than one base runner per inning. He should get the start in Saturday afternoon’s matchup with Nebraska.

Savery will wrap up the Rice Invitational on Sunday against TAMU-CC. Last Sunday, Savery threw 60 pitches in four innings, picking up his second win as he continues to build up his arm strength after offseason surgery. A preseason All-America Candidate, Savery allowed his first run in 10 innings in 2007. He has allowed as many baserunners as strikeouts — 8 — on the season. His three starts have been brief, but the Owls expect his strength to continue improving with each outing.

“He’s still in spring training,” Graham said. “His arm is not nearly as live as it will be two weeks from now.”

While the Owls’ pitching is looking more than dominant, the offense is still searching for the consistency that carried them to the College World Series last season. The Owls have compiled a paltry .226 team batting average and a .340 slugging percentage on the young season, significantly worse than last season’s .315 and .504. The team has combined for only 6 home runs, compared to last season’s mark of 11 through 10 games.

“It’s all the things that hitters do when they’re not hitting,” Graham said. “They swing at the pitches they can’t hit, and they take the ones they can hit. Their discipline’s broke down because they’re pressing.”

Coach Graham’s frustrations had the team back to the basics for Monday’s practice. After a hitters-only meeting, the team spent several minutes on fundamentals before the usual rounds of batting practice.

The extra work brought immediate returns, as the Owls scored six runs in the first two innings of Tuesday’s 7-1 win over Dallas Baptist. Sophomore transfer Jared Gayheart singled in juniors Tyler Henley and Brian Friday, and sophomore Aaron Luna added a solo homer in the first. Rice scored three more in the second on four hits before forcing Patriots starter Randall Taylor from the game. Henley, Luna and junior catcher Danny Lehmann each had two hits in the seven-run attack, which was more than enough run support for the pitchers.

Junior Scott Lonergan threw 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing only four hits in his first start since transferring from Santa Clara University last year. Sam Houston State transfer Matt Langwell followed with 2.1 innings of no-hit baseball, striking out two Patriots. Junior Jordan Dodson and freshman Mike Ojala made their 2007 mound debuts, shutting down DBU and sealing the win for Lonergan. Dodson, who has logged 22 at bats in the Owls’ lineup this season, allowed only one walk while striking out a pair in two innings. Ojala allowed a hit and a walk, contributing to an unearned run before finishing off the Patriots.

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