T1:

Edwards ropes a double down the LF line ... and scores on Comeaux' seeing-eye single through the right side.

1-0, Rice ... no outs.

Gneiting fooled by an off-speed 0-2 pitch tailing low & outside.

Two low & outside pitches to Bulman are out of reach of the catcher, and Comeaux advances a base on each. (The setting sun is shining directly into the catcher's eyes.)


Bulman walks on his second 3-2 pitch.

Garibay hits a soft liner into the right-side gap ... but it's caught by the 2nd baseman ... and Bulman is doubled up for an inning-ending double play.

1-0, Rice ... heading to B1.


BTW, there's no LiveStats link on riceowls.com ... but here it is, from the UAB page: https://uabsports.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

B1:

Holcomb mows down the Blazers, 1-2-3 ... on a 6-3 grounder & 2 swinging Ks with their putouts at first.

1-0, Rice ... after 1.

T2:

Karp walks on 3-1 pitch.

Karp steals 2nd on 1-1 pitch (wiffed) -- He's 9-for-9 in steals!

Becker ... 6-3 grounder on a 2-2 pitch advances Karp to 3rd.

Hughes taps a single over shortstop where it can't be caught. Run scores!

2-0, Rice!

Long hit by the first pitch he saw! 2 on, 1 out.

Edwards' 1-0 pitch nearly hit him in the head! But he wiffs twice for a K.

Comeaux hits his first pitch back to the pitcher. 1-3. Bummer.

2-0, Rice ... heading to B2.

Here are the up-to-date CUSA standings (on the western side - I'm still assuming top 4 from each division make the CUSA tournament but even if not, 5th place on the eastern side is FIU and they're 8-16 in conference).

3 UTSA 11-12
4 Middle Tennessee 10-13-1
5 UAB 8-16
6 Rice 6-17-1

Realistically, we need a sweep, but 3 of 4 might keep us in the loop (except next week is Charlotte). The good news is the other teams fighting for a spot have tough conference opponents. Middle is at USM, and UTSA is hosting ODU. Middle hosts FIU next week so that's a much easier final series. And UAB is at Marshall, who is probably the worst team in the league (even worse than us).

Yeah, we need a sweep.

B2:

Holcomb hits his first batter this inning on the foot on an 0-2 pitch. WTF??

0-2 to 2-2 on the next batter ... who then wiffs on an off-speed pitch. Nice!!

0-1 pitch smacked into right field for a single. Runner moves to 3rd.

A 2-1 pitch is low, skittering beneath Long's glove and a few feet away. The runner beats the toss to Holcomb. (Runner at 1st also advances to 2nd.)

2-1, Rice.

Batter eventually wiffs ... and the next one does, too (on a 3-2 pitch). Five Ks for Holcomb so far.

2-1, Rice ... after 2.

(05-07-2021 06:30 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Here are the up-to-date CUSA standings (on the western side - I'm still assuming top 4 from each division make the CUSA tournament but even if not, 5th place on the eastern side is FIU and they're 8-16 in conference).

3 UTSA 11-12
4 Middle Tennessee 10-13-1
5 UAB 8-16
6 Rice 6-17-1

The UAB announcer just said on the game video that he'd thought the tournament field would be the top 4 from each division ... but had just learned that it might actually be the top three from each division ... and the next two being the remaining teams with the highest conference winning percentage, regardless of division.

The announcer says UAB is 10th in consolidated standings. "We've got to win some games."

After our series, UAB travels to Marshall for their final 4-game conference series. The announcer said The Herd is last in the Eastern Division standings.

T3:

Gneiting leads off with a walk.

Bulman lined out to LF.

The UAB pitcher (Riley) slipped off the rubber -- balk!! Gneiting moves to 2nd base.

"With that balk, Riley has filled in just about every box on the scoresheet already."

Garibay Ks.

UAB commentator notes that Owls' pitching is 11th in ERA and last (12th) in opponents' batting average.

Karp hits a high chop in front of third base (3-2 pitch) and legs it out.

Runners at the corners, 2 out. Mound conference.

Becker lofts a 2-0 pitch into left-center, where the centerfielder catches it easily.

2 LOB. Bummer.

2-1, Rice ... heading to B3.

Top Four in East
Charlotte 18-6
ODU 17-7
FAU and WKU 13-11
(then FIU at 8-16 and Marshall at 4-20)

Realistically, it's going to take at least 13 wins to be a top eight team which would require a 7-1 Rice finish over the final two weekends (UTSA and MTSU will have tie-breaker edges over us). Considering we've only split one weekend series total, that seems an awfully impossible finish. But it's not over until it's over.

B3:

Leadoff batter: 0-2 to 3-2 ... Ball 4! Just a little low. GRRR!

1-0 pitch ... wiffed ... and runner is stealing. Long's throw is to 3rd-base side of the bag.

Two more pitches just off the black. And that's a walk (barely low again).

2 on, no outs.

Mound visit.

B3, cont'd:

Batter shows bunt. Pitch is low, bounces off Long's left foot back toward the first base side of the plate ... the runner from 2nd goes ... but it thrown out!! Yay!

(The runner at 1st did advance to 2nd.)

3-0 pitch hit hard to 1B. 3U ... runner takes 3rd. 2 outs.

Can o' corn to left-center ... hauled in by Garribay. Whew!!

2-1, Rice ... after 3.

T4:

Hughes grounds out to short.

Long slaps a single down the RF line.

Edwards smashes his first pitch over the LF wall!!!

4-1, Rice!!

(05-07-2021 06:36 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  B2:

Holcomb hits his first batter this inning on the foot on an 0-2 pitch. WTF??

0-2 to 2-2 on the next batter ... who then wiffs on an off-speed pitch. Nice!!

0-1 pitch smacked into right field for a single. Runner moves to 3rd.

A 2-1 pitch is low, skittering beneath Long's glove and a few feet away. The runner beats the toss to Holcomb. (Runner at 1st also advances to 2nd.)

2-1, Rice.

Batter eventually wiffs ... and the next one does, too (on a 3-2 pitch). Five Ks for Holcomb so far.

2-1, Rice ... after 2.

And once again, we gift the opponents the run. HBP and WP resulted in that run. Yes, Long should have blocked it, but the pitching continues to be little league caliber.

T4, cont'd:

Comeaux grounds out the 3rd.

Gneiting .. works count to 3-1 .. then bunts foul down 3rd base side ... and swings away ... sending a fly to left directly over the leftfielder's head ... who does a 36--degree turn while going back. Ball bounces ...then hits the wall. Easy double!

But he's stranded when Bulman grounded out up the middle, fielded by the 2nd baseman on top of the bag.

4-1, Rice ... heading to B4.

(05-07-2021 07:19 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  T4, cont'd:

Comeaux grounds out the 3rd.

Gneiting .. works count to 3-1 .. then bunts foul down 3rd base side ... and swings away ... sending a fly to left directly over the leftfielder's head ... who does a 36--degree turn while going back. Ball bounces ...then hits the wall. Easy double!

But he's stranded when Bulman grounded out up the middle, fielded by the 2nd baseman on top of the bag.

4-1, Rice ... heading to B4.

Already 6 men left on base; 4 in scoring position...and it would have been one more had Bulman not made that stupid baserunning goof to get doubled up in the 2nd inning.

B4:

"One pitch, one out." F-7.

Routine 6-3 grounder.

Looping single to LF.

First pitch ripped to the 1B bag, where Bulman snags it and completes the 3U groundout.

4-1, Rice ... after 4.

T5:

Garibay hits a towering fly to left-center ... where it's caught on the warning track.

Karp grounds out to short. Close play at 1st.

Becker also grounds out to the shortstop in the left-side hole.

The UAB's pitcher's first 1-2-3 inning.

4-1, Rice, heading to B5.

(05-07-2021 06:30 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Here are the up-to-date CUSA standings (on the western side - I'm still assuming top 4 from each division make the CUSA tournament but even if not, 5th place on the eastern side is FIU and they're 8-16 in conference).

3 UTSA 11-12
4 Middle Tennessee 10-13-1
5 UAB 8-16
6 Rice 6-17-1

Realistically, we need a sweep, but 3 of 4 might keep us in the loop (except next week is Charlotte). The good news is the other teams fighting for a spot have tough conference opponents. Middle is at USM, and UTSA is hosting ODU. Middle hosts FIU next week so that's a much easier final series. And UAB is at Marshall, who is probably the worst team in the league (even worse than us).

Yeah, we need a sweep.

I think it’s top 3 from each division and then the remaining 2 with highest winning percentage. This does not bode well for Rice at this time.

B5:

0-1 pitch flyout backs Garibay up a bit in center.

1-0 grounder hard hit right to Karp. 4-3.

0-2 to 2-2 (bouncing pitches that don't entice the batter) ... but he golfs another lowish pitch to Hughes ... who charges and gets the throw to first just in time! (Good pickup by Bulman, as the throw was a bit low.)

A nice and fast 1-2-3 inning.

4-1, Rice ... after 5.

Vandy's all-american, Rocker, has 10 stikeouts through the first 3 innings tonight.

T6:

Hughes flies out to short RF.

Long's HBP again!! The 3-2 pitch hit hi, square on his upper left arm.

Edwards flies out to short LF.

Comeaux hits a "hot shot up the middle" on 1-0 pitch. Long stays at 2nd.

UAB's bullpen is waking up.

Gneiting slaps 1-1 pitch to the opposite field, between SS & 3B into left field. RBI single. Comeaux stops at 2nd.

Pitching change.

5-1, Rice