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Sports

Owls are still searching for that elusive spark

Rice struggling to live up to its high expectations

by RONNIE TURNER
The Daily Cougar

With a 22-10 overall record and 5-1 mark in Conference USA, Rice's 2007 season is off to a decent start. For the most part, Rice skipper Wayne Graham has an above-average team on his hands.

But there's just one problem. Rice, the defending C-USA regular season and tournament champion, hasn't been a great team to this point, and that's not what many expected when the Owls began the season ranked No. 1 in four national preseason polls.

The Owls have had moments this season where they looked like a great team, but those moments usually came in victories over cupcakes and average squads. Rice, however, has struggled against some of the nation's best teams, like Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Cal State Fullerton and Texas, which are all ranked in the top 20 of this week's Baseball America poll. The eighth-ranked Owls are a combined 1-6 against the aforementioned teams.

There are some who would argue that Rice has been an underachiever so far this season, and they would be mostly right. But on the other hand, there are some who would argue that it's a wonder the Owls have managed to stay afloat this long without the services of All-American closer Cole St. Clair and standout pitcher Bobby Bell, who have been out with injuries the entire season. Some have even argued that the pressure of having to live up to such high standards has stymied the Owls.

Whatever the reason, the fact remains that the Owls have yet to show signs of being a squad with the ability to dominate any team on any given day. Because of this, many have begun to wonder whether Rice will make a return trip to the College World Series as "experts" predicted at the season's outset.

Finally, something to cheer about

Up to this point, the season has been so-so for Alabama-Birmingham. The Blazers have had their good stretches (a four-game winning streak in early March) and their not-so good stretches (starting the season off by losing six of their first eight games).

But the Blazers were all smiles after sweeping Central Florida in a three-game home series. With the perfect weekend, UAB improved to 15-15 and 3-0 in Conference USA play.

UCF (16-16, 0-6 C-USA) is no powerhouse by any means, but the sweep gives the Blazers something positive to lean on after scuffling through the first half of the season.

"I'm thrilled for these guys," UAB head coach Brian Shoop told uabsports.com. "After (our) third consecutive loss on Wednesday I told them to hang in there, that something was going to turn and was going to happen and maybe Friday's the day. This particular weekend it was, but wins aren't going to come easy. 

"I'm thrilled for the guys because they deserve to have something good happen. We won't get too enthralled with it -- it's just one weekend -- but I'm happy for them to have a really good weekend, and we'll get back to work on Monday.

Morgan makes it look easy

Tulane right-hander Sean Morgan hardly resembled an ace Friday against East Carolina in the opener of its three-game series. He struggled mightily with his command, issuing a season-high -- tying six walks that forced him into some difficult situations.

One such situation arose when Morgan found himself in a bases-loaded, no-out muddle in the fifth inning with the Green Wave clinging to a slim 2-1 lead. Not one to be rattled easily, Morgan struck out the side and ended the threat.

Tulane would hold on to win by the aforementioned margin and Morgan (6-1, 1.84 ERA) would pick up the victory after going 6.2 innings and allowing only one run on four hits while striking out 10 batters.

Afterwards, Tulane head coach Rick Jones heaped loads of praise on Morgan's ability to maintain his composure despite not being at the top of his game.

"I think the mark of a real competitor and a real pitcher is when they can keep you in a ballgame and give you a chance to win without their best stuff, and then, when it's crunch time, they can make pitches," Jones told tulanegreenwave.com. "Sean has done that a lot. And certainly tonight, that's what he did."

Quote to note

Southern Miss assistant coach and hitting instructor Lane Burroughs is at his wit's end. He just can't seem to figure out a way to spark some life into the Golden Eagles' lackluster offense, which is hitting only .276, good for seventh out of nine C-USA teams.

"I've pretty much tried everything this year," Burroughs told the Hattiesburg American before the Golden Eagles' three-game series at Memphis. "We've been real tough on them. We've been soft on them, pulled back the reins and let them try to figure it out. Been positive and encouraging. Me berating them ain't going to get them to hit. But hitting .278 (before the Memphis series) is just unacceptable."

The offense didn't do much to prevent Southern Miss from suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of the Tigers this weekend. That setback sent the Golden Eagles (17-12, 1-5 C-USA) sprawling to their sixth straight loss.

By the numbers

Memphis' three-game sweep of Southern Miss last weekend marked the first time since the 1999 season that the Tigers have swept the Golden Eagles...Rice outfielder Jordan Dodson batted in four runs Sunday against Marshall to raise his conference-leading RBI total to 33...Tulane right-hander Sean Morgan has recorded double-digit strikeout totals in three of his last four starts...Alabama-Birmingham outfielder J.R. Bond currently leads the conference in batting average (.385) and is second in slugging percentage (.606) and on-base percentage (.468)...Houston infielder Dustin Kingsbury's streak of 147 consecutive starts is the third-longest games played streak in school history…Tulane pitcher Shooter Hunt has registered a league-leading 1.53 ERA...Dating back to April 2001, Rice has won 35 consecutive home series at Reckling Park, a streak which includes regular season and NCAA super regionals.

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