Here's the lineup...

Quote:Rice Owls‏@RiceOwlsdotcom15m
Rice lineup: Byrd CF, Stainback SS, Stringer 2B, Teykl 3B, Cook LF, Aquino DH, Ratterree RF, Kopycinski C, Taylor 1B, Simms P. 6:30

No real surprise, but interesting that Taylor is getting extended playing time at 1B, rather than platooning with Fox. Not sure if or why Ewing is suddenly in the doghouse, but he now appears to be playing only as DH against left-handed pitching.

It was sunny earlier, but now overcast and gray. Still should be okay for game time.

(03-19-2013 05:39 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  No real surprise, but interesting that Taylor is getting extended playing time at 1B, rather than platooning with Fox. Not sure if or why Ewing is suddenly in the doghouse, but he now appears to be playing only as DH against left-handed pitching.

I think he has to turn over every rock that might yield more offense subject to not giving up too much on defense.

Kirby was a 2B at Bellaire, and that often bodes well for defensive play at 1B. Kirby also put up pretty good numbers at San Jac after an excellent high school career. Someone posted he may have been battling injuries earlier in the spring.

Leon!

Blooper falls for a double for Ford.

Owls strand Ford at 3rd. 1-0 to the 2nd.

1-2-3 first inning for Big John (2 fly outs, strikeoutK).

Byrd leadoff bomb#1! Nice way to get started...and they couldn't pull this one back in the park.
Stainback double into the gap.
Stringer grounded out to 2B, but runner moved to 3B with one out. Gotta put the ball in play here...
Teykl infield pop. Ugh.
Cook grounded out to 1b.
Another wasted opportunity.

Good guys take a 1-0 lead heading to the top of the second inning.

1-2-3 second inning for John (fly, groundout, strikeoutKK).

Aquino flied out to CF.
Ratterree lined out to LF. Tough luck there.
Kopycinski ground out to 2B.
Lightning quick inning for the Owls.

Good guys lead 1-0 heading to the top of the third inning.

(03-19-2013 06:37 PM)JMay Wrote:  Blooper falls for a double for Ford.

Ford opportunistic.

1-2-3 third inning for John (two grounders, line out). He's being efficient knowing he's on a strict 80-pitch max count. Let's get him some runs so he can leave safely after 5 innings.

Taylor lined out to LF (ala Ratterree). Hitting into tough luck so far.
Byrd popped to SS.
Stainback hits another double into the gap. Runner on 2B, two outs.
Stringer flied out to CF. Christian has had a rough past couple weeks.

Good guys lead 1-0 heading to the top of the fourth inning.

(03-19-2013 07:02 PM)grol Wrote:  

(03-19-2013 06:37 PM)JMay Wrote:  Blooper falls for a double for Ford.

Ford opportunistic.

And the same the second time around.

Lead off triple for the Jacks. But the runner can't score on a tough ground ball to second. Hoping that comes back to bite them.

Sac fly ties the game. 1-1. CS end the inning. Bottom 4.

1 out. K Cook bunts for a hit.

1 out 2b for Aquino who avoids a disaster after rounding second and not picking up the lead runner. Need a hit from Rat. Second and third one out.

Leadoff triple, coupled with a wild pitch on a strikeoutKKK (allowing what would have been the 2nd out of the inning to reach 1B), proves too much for John to overcome. Run scores on sac fly (would have been 3rd out). Offense needs to get going. Need baserunners. Perhaps, we should try taking a pitch or two?

Teykl first pitch pop to SS.
Cook bunt single. Runner on 1B, one out.
Aquino double. Runners on 2B and 3B, one out. HAVE to score here, especially with our fastest runner on 3B.
Ratterree struck out. Geez, the one thing he couldn't do there; had to put the ball in play.
Kopycinski pop to 2B.
This is getting beyond old. 4 men left in scoring position in 4 innings. 2 guys don't score from 3B with less than two outs. 5 hits, 1 HR, 3 doubles in 4 innings...and just one run to show for it. Almost impossible to do, but we find a way to do it repeatedly.

1-1 tie heading to the top of the fifth inning.

Lost opp there…

John puts two base runners on with two outs (single, walk), but then ends the threat with a strikeoutKKKK.

Taylor ground out to SS.
Byrd double down the line. Another runner on 2B, with one out.
Stainback ground out to 1B, with Leon advancing to 3B. Christian is overdue...
Stringer hits another infield pop. Geez, I've never seen a team press so much with runners in scoring position. Insane. 6 hits, 5 for extra bases in 5 inning, and we only have one lone run on a leadoff HR?

Still tied at 1-1 heading to the top of the sixth inning.

(03-19-2013 07:28 PM)grol Wrote:  Lost opp there…

You can simply repeat that refrain every single inning.

Settling in to an all too familiar funk.