BASEBALL: Season starts with victories over Southwest Texas

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by John Fredland

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Southwest Texas has not beaten them since Head Coach Wayne Graham took over the program in 1992. Still, the Owls achieved those wins at a level of performance significantly below what will be required to compete with the elite.

Rice did not look like a team likely to be picked out of a police lineup as a potential national champion.

The first game was definitely the better of the two: a first-inning Bubba Crosby three-run homer gave Rice an early lead, and relief pitchers Kevin Joseph and Matt Anderson held off Southwest Texas after starter Stephen Bess tired. But the second was just about as ugly as a victory could be: The Bobcats built 12-4 and 14-11 leads on a five-home-run barrage against Owl pitchers Adam Herndon and Mario Ramos, only to give the game away with four unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Certainly, it was conduct unbecoming of the caliber of team that the Owls expect to be. Fortunately for Rice, however, much of it probably can be excused as opening-day jitters and rustiness, and the second-game comeback did reveal impressive tenacity.

Additionally, Southwest Texas State is no pushover: They were picked to win the Southland Conference, and they have already defeated Texas A&M University.

"I don't think anybody was expecting us to play perfectly," Owl catcher Tim McLaughlin said. McLaughlin ended the afternoon with a single that drove in Jacob Baker in the ninth inning of the second game.

"We knew that we still had a way to go. It was good to get these games under our belts and get wins out of them," McLaughlin said.

"I expected us to be a little bit erratic with the bat, and a little bit erratic in the field -- that's expected in the first day," Graham said. "Southwest Texas is picked to win their conference. [First game starter Jason] Divin is an outstanding pitcher, and they split with A&M. But we didn't get enough pitching. The pitching in general was just poor."

Both of Rice's starting pitchers looked good initially, but ran out of steam after a few innings. After shutting out the Bobcats for the first four innings, Bess tired in the fifth, lost his accuracy and allowed four runs.

"My legs got tired, and I walked two guys, and that's how the runs came around to score," Bess said. "When I started the game they told me the most I was going to do was five. I was really happy with my first four innings."

Likewise, Herndon looked to be in command with a 4-1 lead after three innings of the nightcap, but he allowed a three-run homer to Jason Fikac in the fourth and a solo shot to Matt Schnabel in the fifth.

Although his expectations of how long his pitchers should last are reduced early in the season, Graham did expect more from his starters.

"They've gone four innings -- it's time to work five and six," Graham said. "That's not an excuse."

Following Herndon, Ramos made his collegiate debut an inauspicious one by allowing home runs to Fikac, Joel Bomersbach and Schnabel.

"My fastball was good, but I couldn't get anything else over," Ramos said. "You can't survive here with just a fastball. I can't wait to get out there again."

Freshman Jeff Nichols was able to stop the bleeding and give Rice the chance to make their late rally, but the overall Owl pitching performance did little to improve its standing as the team's biggest area of uncertainty.

"Anderson was overpowering, Joseph looked fine, and Nichols looked good -- he's a good pitcher, period," Graham said. "But we're going to have to have a lot more than that."

The Owls were able to display some of their considerable offensive firepower. Crosby had five hits in eight at-bats, freshman right-fielder Charles Williams contributed his first collegiate home run, and the Rice lineup generally looked as though it will provide few -- if any -- weak spots for opposing pitchers.

With six errors on the afternoon, the Owl defense had its shaky moments, but first baseman Lance Berkman was able to make several spectacular plays, including a hustling catch of a pop-up while colliding with Williams.

Rice moves on to a home-and-home weekend series with old Southwest Conference rival University of Houston.

The Owls and Cougars meet tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Cameron Field and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Cougar Field. According to Graham, Joseph will start on Saturday, and Bess will take the mound on Sunday.

Although Houston spent the final three years of SWC play in the conference's lower echelon, they enjoyed a disproportionate amount of success over Rice during that time. By winning two out of three games from the Owls in last season's final weekend series, they were able to drag Rice into a last-place tie at the end of the regular season.

"Unfortunately, our history -- especially last year -- wasn't really good with them," McLaughlin said. "We're looking to get a little redemption."

This item appeared in the Sports section of the February 7, 1997 issue.

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