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The Rice Thresher
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Commentairy by SUNIDH JANI
Boy, that sure seems like a long time ago. Since the slow start, the losses have continued for the Owls. When they pitched, they forgot to hit. When they hit, they forgot to pitch. Sometimes they pitched and hit but still fell short in the late innings. More often than not, they found some way to lose. As a result, Rice disappeared from the rankings and from national championship considerations. The players claimed that, in spite of the losses, they were right there, so close to turning things around. But the fans - students and others alike - were quickly losing interest as Rice baseball became synonymous with disappointment and failure. "We lost in the ninth? Again? Geez, someone give 'em the Heimlich." "Damn, they suck this year. What happened?" "Man, this season's over." The season's over? Now wait just one minute. Granted, odds are that this season will go down as a massive disappointment. Granted, the boys in blue and gray have yet to play up to their potential. And granted, the Owls still have a long way to go before entertaining thoughts of the postseason, let alone the College World Series. But to already give up on the season is a little premature. In case you haven't noticed - and the empty Reckling Park seats tell me you haven't - the Owls have climbed to within three games of first place in the WAC. Sure, losing two of three to co-leader Fresno State didn't help the cause. But the team's recent play has been quite encouraging, thanks above all to the fact that the Rice offense seems to have emerged from its deep hibernation. The Owls have scored 10 or more runs in three of their past eight games. While this is by no means unheard of in the world of aluminum bats, it is a definite improvement over the 2.6 they averaged over their first eight games. Plus, this team doesn't even have to score in double digits to win consistently. With the team's starting rotation, five to seven runs should be more than enough. There's a bona fide ace in Kenny Baugh, the Fresno State shellacking notwithstanding (hey, everyone's entitled to a bad outing every two years). Marc Gwyn and Jon Skaggs as the No. 2 and 3 starters are as good as anyone in the country. If the bullpen can settle down enough to hold some leads and not force the starters to throw 150 pitches an outing - and the relievers have shown signs of life - the staff as a whole is capable of carrying this team a long way. It won't be easy. Because there is no WAC tournament this year, the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament will go to the regular season champ. Oh, there are at-large bids too, but at this point the likelihood of grabbing one is not very good. Therefore, to get to where they want to go, the Owls must win the conference title outright. Impossible? Hardly. Over half the conference schedule - 16 games - has yet to be played. With three home games left against co-leader Hawaii and six more remaining against co-leader San Jose State, making up the three-game deficit is more than just a remote possibility. The Owls have all the components necessary to win the conference and earn the coveted postseason bid, which, at this point, would make the season nothing less than a rousing success. Do the boys have a run left in them? They must have noticed the excitement when the women's basketball team made its miraculous late-season run and rode it into the Big Dance. Not only did the Lady Owls put it together at the right time, they also went out and performed in a high-pressure situation. The pressure isn't quite as high for the baseball team yet, but soon enough, it will be. Sunidh Jani is a Sid Richardson College junior. - back -
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