Saturday, October 11
Lafayette, LA
1 PM
Rice University
at
Louisiana
Taking the Next Step
10/10/2025 10:13:00 PM | Baseball
Exhibition at Louisiana next step for Owls
After three weeks of facing teammates in intrasquad action, the Rice Baseball team will face off against unfamiliar opposition on Saturday as the Owls travel to Lafayette, Louisiana to take on the University of Louisiana in a 14-inning exhibition at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Bixby Family Head Baseball Coach David Pierce, who took over guiding the Owls 21 games into the 2025 season, Saturday's action will be the next step in his reshaping the fortunes of the program.
While the first three weeks have given Pierce and his coaching staff plenty of time to evaluate the Owls, the chance to compete against another team offers clarity that intrasquad action cannot always replicate.
"From a coach's perspective when you pitch well in an intraquad, you think, 'well, not sure we can hit' and when you hit the ball around the park, you're not really sure if you can pitch. When you go against a new team with a different colored jersey, there's a little more adrenaline, and a little more butterflies, Some guys respond really well and that's what we're looking for."
Pierce said the trip to Lafayette on Saturday morning is an extension of the mission of the fall, which is to challenge the players.
"One of the things that we try to do in the fall is get them uncomfortable and see how they react. We're going to leave early in the morning, play 14 innings, come back late, but we're still gonna practice on Sunday and play another in squad game. How they respond to that, is part of the process.
Saturday's 14 innings will be played consecutively, but in essence will be pair of seven inning games.
Tennessee transfer Braden Sharpe will start the first game and Anthony Diaz the second, with a group of relievers assigned for each game, with the events in each game determining their order of appearance.
"We'll be looking at situations where you want to bring a guy in the middle of an inning, so it's not scripted and they won't know far in advance that they are going in."
Any pitchers who do not pitch on Saturday will throw during Sunday's intrasquad.
"The Fall is all about getting ready to be at our best when we start and then continue throughout the spring season. Saturday is another opportunity to gather information about how these guys respond to every situation."
While much was made of the unusual circumstances—at least in the world of college baseball—surrounding Pierce's in-season return to South Main, he found it to be highly productive for the future.
"I think it was so advantageous to come in in March versus June just to really get a feel of the players we had, their capabilities and their talents. That helped us coming into the fall to coordinate the returning players with the newcomers. The combination of the 20 who returned with the 25 newcomers has created a lot of competition this fall and it's been very productive."
The new faces on the field are matched by several new faces on the coaching staff, including Associate Head Coach Clay Van Hook, Assistant Coach J.J. Altobelli, and Coordinator of Pitching Development Conrad Ramquist and the staff has been singularly focused on the future and not the recent past.
"We know there were a lot of struggles in the last few years and so we're moving forward. I won't even let them (the team) talk about last year. I want people to understand we were very selective with our coaching staff and how we work together, really utilizing their strengths. We have a really good rapport right now with coach to player, player to coach, player to player, and then coach to coach.
It's the kind of systemic overhaul that was impossible in the middle of a season.
"We didn't have the opportunity to have that coordination and collaboration (last year) and so I've been really excited about the structure and the buy-in from our players.
"I feel like we're truly on the same page and we truly have the same kind of mission."
Bixby Family Head Baseball Coach David Pierce, who took over guiding the Owls 21 games into the 2025 season, Saturday's action will be the next step in his reshaping the fortunes of the program.
While the first three weeks have given Pierce and his coaching staff plenty of time to evaluate the Owls, the chance to compete against another team offers clarity that intrasquad action cannot always replicate.
"From a coach's perspective when you pitch well in an intraquad, you think, 'well, not sure we can hit' and when you hit the ball around the park, you're not really sure if you can pitch. When you go against a new team with a different colored jersey, there's a little more adrenaline, and a little more butterflies, Some guys respond really well and that's what we're looking for."
Pierce said the trip to Lafayette on Saturday morning is an extension of the mission of the fall, which is to challenge the players.
"One of the things that we try to do in the fall is get them uncomfortable and see how they react. We're going to leave early in the morning, play 14 innings, come back late, but we're still gonna practice on Sunday and play another in squad game. How they respond to that, is part of the process.
Saturday's 14 innings will be played consecutively, but in essence will be pair of seven inning games.
Tennessee transfer Braden Sharpe will start the first game and Anthony Diaz the second, with a group of relievers assigned for each game, with the events in each game determining their order of appearance.
"We'll be looking at situations where you want to bring a guy in the middle of an inning, so it's not scripted and they won't know far in advance that they are going in."
Any pitchers who do not pitch on Saturday will throw during Sunday's intrasquad.
"The Fall is all about getting ready to be at our best when we start and then continue throughout the spring season. Saturday is another opportunity to gather information about how these guys respond to every situation."
While much was made of the unusual circumstances—at least in the world of college baseball—surrounding Pierce's in-season return to South Main, he found it to be highly productive for the future.
"I think it was so advantageous to come in in March versus June just to really get a feel of the players we had, their capabilities and their talents. That helped us coming into the fall to coordinate the returning players with the newcomers. The combination of the 20 who returned with the 25 newcomers has created a lot of competition this fall and it's been very productive."
The new faces on the field are matched by several new faces on the coaching staff, including Associate Head Coach Clay Van Hook, Assistant Coach J.J. Altobelli, and Coordinator of Pitching Development Conrad Ramquist and the staff has been singularly focused on the future and not the recent past.
"We know there were a lot of struggles in the last few years and so we're moving forward. I won't even let them (the team) talk about last year. I want people to understand we were very selective with our coaching staff and how we work together, really utilizing their strengths. We have a really good rapport right now with coach to player, player to coach, player to player, and then coach to coach.
It's the kind of systemic overhaul that was impossible in the middle of a season.
"We didn't have the opportunity to have that coordination and collaboration (last year) and so I've been really excited about the structure and the buy-in from our players.
"I feel like we're truly on the same page and we truly have the same kind of mission."
Players Mentioned
LHP
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