Rice scouting report

[cajuns56]

I am from Houston and am very familiar with the Rice player's so here is a brief scouting report: 1.It starts with Anthony Rendon the 3b..possibly the best college player in the country..he is a beast!! He hit close to .400 with 23 bombs and only 21 strike-outs while the opposing teams were pitching around him all year..he had a whopping 62 walks!! Also,he is tremendous defensively with only 5 errors all year..He will probably be the first player picked in the June 2011 draft..we CANNOT allow him to beat us!! 2.They are a very young team(only 2 of the 8 position player's are seniors) 3.Their pitching staff is good but not dominant..we will probably face Wall or Rogers..if they start Anagnoostou they are not taking us seriously 4.Overall they are a good defensive team except where it matters the most..up the middle..Hague their SS has 23 errors and Ratterie their Freshman 2b has 14.. 5.They are 26-9 over their last 35 games and have been WHITE-HOT offensively averaging 11 runs during that span..If Zach can hold them to 5 runs or less I think we will have a chance of beating them

[ManAboutTown]

_ I am from Houston and am very familiar with the Rice player's so here is a brief scouting report: 1.It starts with Anthony Rendon the 3b..possibly the best college player in the country..he is a beast!! He hit close to .400 with 23 bombs and only 21 strike-outs while the opposing teams were pitching around him all year..he had a whopping 62 walks!! Also,he is tremendous defensively with only 5 errors all year..He will probably be the first player picked in the June 2011 draft..we CANNOT allow him to beat us!! 2.They are a very young team(only 2 of the 8 position player's are seniors) 3.Their pitching staff is good but not dominant..we will probably face Wall or Rogers..if they start Anagnoostou they are not taking us seriously 4.Overall they are a good defensive team except where it matters the most..up the middle..Hague their SS has 23 errors and Ratterie their Freshman 2b has 14.. 5.They are 26-9 over their last 35 games and have been WHITE-HOT offensively averaging 11 runs during that span..If Zach can hold them to 5 runs or less I think we will have a chance of beating them _

Whats the bullpen like, and are they the kind of team that jumps on you early?

[HOUCajun]

_ I am from Houston and am very familiar with the Rice player's so here is a brief scouting report: 1.It starts with Anthony Rendon the 3b..possibly the best college player in the country..he is a beast!! He hit close to .400 with 23 bombs and only 21 strike-outs while the opposing teams were pitching around him all year..he had a whopping 62 walks!! Also,he is tremendous defensively with only 5 errors all year..He will probably be the first player picked in the June 2011 draft..we CANNOT allow him to beat us!! 2.They are a very young team(only 2 of the 8 position player's are seniors) 3.Their pitching staff is good but not dominant..we will probably face Wall or Rogers..if they start Anagnoostou they are not taking us seriously 4.Overall they are a good defensive team except where it matters the most..up the middle..Hague their SS has 23 errors and Ratterie their Freshman 2b has 14.. 5.They are 26-9 over their last 35 games and have been WHITE-HOT offensively averaging 11 runs during that span..If Zach can hold them to 5 runs or less I think we will have a chance of beating them _

Rice was putting up football scores during the C-USA tournament. Fortunately for UL, Texas is not considered a hitters park and Osbourne is better than the guys they were scoring 17 on.
We need a 7 inning < 4 ER game from Osbourne and some clutch hits!

[cajunhawk]

_ Rice was putting up football scores during the C-USA tournament. Fortunately for UL, Texas is not considered a hitters park and Osbourne is better than the guys they were scoring 17 on.
We need a 7 inning < 4 ER game from Osbourne and some clutch hits! _

Doesn't texas play all regionals at Round Rock?

[Bigcobra]

_ IHe hit close to .400 with 23 bombs and only 21 strike-outs

WOW

[NewsCopy]

After scoring 53 runs in the first three days of the tournament — all wins — top-seeded Rice was stymied by the Southern Mississippi duo of Todd McInnis, the two-time C-USA Pitcher of the Year, and Scott Copeland, who hasn’t lost yet this season and was working on two days of rest.

The rest of the story

[/center]

[cajuns56]

_ Whats the bullpen like, and are they the kind of team that jumps on you early? _

Their bullpen is like their starting pitching..they are good but they should not scare us

[GoneGolfin]

_ I am from Houston and am very familiar with the Rice player's so here is a brief scouting report: 1.It starts with Anthony Rendon the 3b..possibly the best college player in the country..he is a beast!! He hit close to .400 with 23 bombs and only 21 strike-outs while the opposing teams were pitching around him all year..he had a whopping 62 walks!! Also,he is tremendous defensively with only 5 errors all year..He will probably be the first player picked in the June 2011 draft..we CANNOT allow him to beat us!! 2.They are a very young team(only 2 of the 8 position player's are seniors) 3.Their pitching staff is good but not dominant..we will probably face Wall or Rogers..if they start Anagnoostou they are not taking us seriously 4.Overall they are a good defensive team except where it matters the most..up the middle..Hague their SS has 23 errors and Ratterie their Freshman 2b has 14.. 5.They are 26-9 over their last 35 games and have been WHITE-HOT offensively averaging 11 runs during that span..If Zach can hold them to 5 runs or less I think we will have a chance of beating them _

Rice's front line starting pitching is definitely not dominant ... as it has been in the past.

Rendon, what can you say? The college game is simply slow for him. He followed a brilliant All-American freshman campaign with an even better sophomore campaign ... as he is patient.

Mike Ojala is Rice's best arm and has been working his way back from injury this season (elbow problems in 2009 and TJ surgery after the season). Graham has been throwing him on Saturday's (once he became available) and I do not see that changing. Ojala definitely has the best stuff on this Rice starting pitching staff ... he has what I consider one of the best curve balls in college baseball ... a beautiful tight 12-6 breaking ball ... and settles in at 88-92 with his fastball. He was a legitimate All-American candidate in 2009 before his injury and has significant postseason experience.

Despite Texas having struggled vs. lefties this season, I expect Ojala to continue to be reserved for the second game ... which means lefty Taylor Wall (likely) or righty Jared Rogers going against the Cajuns. Rogers stuck it to the Cajuns last May in Houston, getting the win and going 5 1/3, 4 hits, 1 R. I was there and remember Keefer, Hawkins, and Goulas struggling against Rogers.

Wall's best pitch is his changeup and thus it should be no surprise that he fares reasonably well against righties. He is not overpowering ... lives in the mid to upper 80's.

Rogers settles in at about 88-91 with his fastball and will hit 92 occasionally. He has decent movement in general and a nice slider.

Brian

[raginsaints]

Sounds like they aren't the team that's beat us up in midweek games recently. Hoping for a gem from Oz.

[GoneGolfin]

_ Their bullpen is like their starting pitching..they are good but they should not scare us _

Abe Gonzales is their best and most consistent bullpen guy. Good pitcher, but not dominant (definitely not a David Aardsma). Has been used in the closer role some this year.

Graham wanted to groom freshman Tyler Duffey for the closer role. But this has had mixed results. He has the power arm ... typically about 91-94, but must continue to improve the changeup.

Brian

[GoneGolfin]

_ Sounds like they aren't the team that's beat us up in midweek games recently. Hoping for a gem from Oz. _

No, they are exactly the team that beat us up in the midweek games recently ... specifically last May in Houston (plus they have their best arm (Mike Ojala) back and healthy). Rogers handcuffed us and Matt Evers finished us off in that game.

HoustonCajun was so frustrated I thought he was going to run onto the field.

Brian

[cajuns56]

_ Abe Gonzales is their best and most consistent bullpen guy. Good pitcher, but not dominant (definitely not a David Aardsma). Has been used in the closer role some this year.

Graham wanted to groom freshman Tyler Duffey for the closer role. But this has had mixed results. He has the power arm ... typically about 91-94, but must continue to improve the changeup.

Brian _

another interesting point..there second best player is Rick Hague..He had the highest batting avg. on the Team USA team last summer..Before this season started he was projected to be a sure first round pick in this years draft..I think he was feeling the pressure because he had a horrendous start to the season..He has settled down the last month or so and is really hitting the ball well now..He finished with a .352 avg. with 14 hr..We need to be extra careful with Rendon and Hague..Those 2 are the heart of this team offensively