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The Rice Thresher
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Marathon schedule may play role in occasional letdowns by Jose Luis Cubria thresher staff
Too bad it didn't mention beating everyone else, because the baseball team seems to have taken the adage a bit too seriously. Rice entered yesterday's game against the University of Nevada at 37-13 overall and 21-6 in Western Athletic Conference play. Both marks are solid, if not spectacular, considering the team's grueling schedule. Dig a little deeper, though, and you'll notice a very interesting trend. It's not necessarily disturbing, but worth noting nonetheless: Rice is a solid 28-13 against unranked teams, but a perfect 9-0 against ranked opponents. Simply put, the trend suggests the Owls really are at their best when playing the best. Further breakdown reveals even more. Against its so-called "big name" opponents - meaning former Southwest Conference rivals, teams ranked in the polls or both - Rice is 16-3. And against everyone else, Rice is 21-10. Coincidence? Maybe. The easy explanation would be that Rice doesn't always show up when the opposition isn't top-notch, though it's not as if 28-13 or 21-10 are bad records, no matter the opponents in question. Head coach Wayne Graham has his own theory about the trend. "I think the punishing nature of our schedule has made it almost selective, in the sense that the guys seem to get up for the better teams and we get beaten by the lesser teams," Graham said. "The schedule may have done that to them. But some of them are turning in 20-page papers right now, all this week, and some of them are taking final exams, so I think it's very honorable for them to be 37-13 at this time with that kind of schedule." The month of April has been a perfect example of the trend. It started in fine fashion, with the Owls completing a three-game sweep at Texas Christian University and then defeating Texas A&M University. Both the Horned Frogs and Aggies fit under the category of "big-name opponent." But just one day after beating A&M, the Owls were 8-6 losers against a dismal Sam Houston State University team, likely the weakest opponent on Rice's schedule. It was a classic letdown scenario, and it the Owls seemingly fell for the trap. Or did they? "It's a good question," senior pitcher/outfielder Billy Jacobson said after the loss to Sam Houston State. "I don't think there was a letdown, but maybe we didn't come out against Sam Houston as tuned in as we did against A&M. And it's difficult, because against A&M your adrenaline's going and you get fired up and it's just a different atmosphere in the ballpark. "The fortunate thing about it is that when you get to the playoffs, it'll be more like the atmosphere against A&M. You don't want to have players going only on the atmosphere, but you also like to have players who can rise to the occasion." The scenario has repeated itself the last three weeks. In that span, Rice has beaten the University of Houston, Baylor University and the University of Texas - again, all "big-name opponents." But in the same stretch, the Owls lost to Lamar University and dropped two of three home games against San Jose State University and the University of Hawaii. So what gives? "I can't answer that," senior first baseman Jesse Roman said. "We try to play hard every game. If we didn't, that wouldn't show very much character. And I think this team is full of character. I think we try to win every game, but sometimes things don't go your way. You can't win them all." The unyielding schedule had the Owls slated to play five games a week for five straight weeks through late March and most of April. It has added up to a 10-7 mark in April, which has knocked them down a bit in the national rankings. In the latest polls released this week, Rice was rated 11th by Collegiate Baseball, seventh by Baseball America and sixth in the ESPN/Baseball Weekly Coaches poll. It's not quite the No. 1 ranking Rice enjoyed for six weeks earlier in the year, but it's still pretty solid. And the Owls won't need to hit the panic button any time soon. "We're not going to lose confidence," Roman said. "We believe in ourselves, we believe in our work as long as we play hard every time out. We're just trying to finish well and go into the playoffs as a hot team." Following the end of this weekend's series against Nevada, which began yesterday and ends tomorrow, the Owls will take a 10-day break from baseball to concentrate on final exams. Rice traditionally plays its best baseball after the break, and the Owls don't expect this year to be any different. "Especially this year, because of the schedule we've been playing with five games a week, it's gotten to the point where guys are mentally and physically drained," senior pitcher Kenny Baugh said. "I think we've played pretty well with the tough schedule, and as soon as we're able to get through it, relax and get healthy, we'll put out more of the performances we know we're capable of."
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