Rice University Athletics
Wayne Graham Pleased With Owls' Showing In Final Fall Practice
11/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Nov. 19, 2007
HOUSTON -- The Rice baseball program held its final workout of the fall season Sunday (Nov. 18) and head coach Wayne Graham was pleased with what he saw over the course of the training period.
Typical of the team's depth and balance through 20 Blue-Gray scrimmages held during the fall, Sunday's intrasquad finale was another close contest (won 6-5 by the Blue). Ten of the 20 intrasquad games were determined by two runs or less.
"The main thing (in fall practice) is we're looking to evaluate what we have and to help players improve," Graham said. "We expect guys who were here last year to be better, hitting and pitching. What happens every fall is the hitters get to see the pitchers 5-6 times over a short period and begin to take advantage.
"Aaron (Luna) came back hard and ended up leading us in RBI, runs scored and batting average (with J.P. Padron)," Graham added. "Of the players who were here last year J.P. was the most improved and he was far and away our best at getting on base (.500 OB%). Jared (Gayhart) looked good last year (.339 batting average starting in 43 games), and he looked like he has the potential to be even better in 2008. Diego Seastrunk will be a force.
"We were playing most of the fall without one of our starting outfielders from a year ago (Jordan Dodson), and another (Rick Hargue) who has potential to be a starter in the infield. Jimmy Comerota's play gave us a sense of security at three positions in the infield because we know he can play three. We thought he played well all fall. He made only one error and had a .988 fielding percentage.
Adam Zornes looked good. He may have been unlucky in the beginning (while the Reckling Park playing field was being renovated) but once we moved back he hit well. We're working hard with the young catchers. John Hale improved a lot over the fall and he's going to be able to back up Zornes.
"Everything indicated the pitchers learned a lot from last year," Graham said. "We got Ryan Berry (a freshman All-America in 2007) 12.0 innings over a five-week period and there wasn't any need to go more than that. There's a reasonable expectation that Chris Kelley will be even better. He was good last year (maintaining a 3.43 ERA as a weekend starter). (Senior left-hander) Jonathan Runnels had the biggest improvement of the pitchers from last year (maintaining a 1.00 ERA in a team-leading 27 innings in the fall). I think (junior transfer) Jordan Rogers (1.35 ERA in 20 IP) is going to have a role. I cannot say that (freshman left-hander) Matt Evers was a surprise because he was one of our top recruits. I think he can help us immediately."
Sunday's scrimmage was as much a showcase of the recent renovations to Reckling Park as it was for the players going through the final fall practice. The new playing field with its state-of-the-art drainage system, the padded outfield wall, hospitality plaza and elevated grass berm in the outfield drew rave reviews from the fans at the game and the Owls' head coach.
"It rained heavily all Saturday night and into the morning, but the field was perfect," Graham said. "I said remove the tarp and went inside. I walked back out five minutes later and I asked 'where'd y'all dump the water?' There was a thin little line of dirt from the infield, but that was it. The water was gone. The fans who were there saw we have the best field in the country."
Last season the Owls compiled a 56-14 record and reached the semifinals of the College World Series in Omaha. The 2008 season begins with the program's biennial varsity-alumni game on Feb. 2. The official season-opener is a big three-game weekend series on the road against Long Beach State beginning on Feb. 22.
