The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, February 3, 2006 Page: 11 of 24
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THE RICE THRESHER BASEBALL 2006 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3,2006
B3
Savery, Degerman anchor rotation
After losing one of the best three-man
rotations in college baseball his-
tory to the 2004 draft, the baseball
team rebounded nicely in 2005, relying on a
journeyman-reliever-turned-weekend-starter
and a heralded but untested young gun. Both
senior right-hander Eddie Degerman and
sophomore left-hander Joe Savery return this
year to lead the Rice starting corps' return to
prominence.
Degerman is one of the most unique pitch-
ers in college baseball with his unorthodox,
over-the-top delivery. But he led the Western
Athletic Conference in opponents batting aver-
age last season, with other teams hitting just
.206 against him.
"He presents problems [for hitters] not only
because he has good stuff, but because he has
different stuff," head coach Wayne Graham
said."[HeJ throws so over the top that [he's] ev-
ery bit as effective against left-handers, because
[his] curveball is going straight down."
Degerman, who struck out 117 batters in
98.2 innings last year, earned his spot in the
rotation last season with a stellar five-inning
start at the University of Texas March 9,
when he gave up just one hit. Degerman can
be dominating when his 12-to-6 curveball is
effective, as in his performance at Louisiana
Tech University last April when he struck out
16 in 7.1 innings of work.
"The breaking ball a lot of times works well
when 1 throw it in the dirt and they chase it,"
Degerman said. "But I also need to throw it for
strikes sometimes to keep them honest. What
sets it up is the fastball, and if I can spot that
and have good command of that, that really
[sets] up my other pitches and makes them
look better."
Savery, who has gained national recognition
for his abilities as both a pitcher and a hitter,
led the WAC last year in strikeouts with 129,
while walking just 37 batters. Savery is most
effective when he works under hitters' hands
with his fastball and breaking ball. Savery
also mixes in a changeup — usually about
eight miles per hour slower than his fastball,
which is typically in the 92-94 range. His abil-
ity to overpower hitters up in the strike zone
translated into the second-lowest earned run
average in the WAC, 2.43.
A key for Savery will be holding runners
when they get on base. Last season, runners
stole 19 bases in 26 attempts because of Saver y's
lengthy delivery. As a lefty, he must develop a
more consistent pickoff move in orderto prevent
runners from advancing into scoring position.
The loss of right-hander Josh (ieer, who
was selected in the third round of the Major
League Baseball First Year Player Draft, leaves
an opening in the rotation for a third weekend
starter. 'ITie spot will probably be filled either
by sophomore right-hander Bobby Bell or by
sophomore left-hander Cole St.Clair. Bell was
effective as a mid-week starter last year, notch-
ing wins against Houston, Baylor and Purdue
and amassing a 2.77 ERA overall. Bell also had
clutch relief performances in the postseason
against LSU and Tulane.
St.Clair, who was the Owls' most effective
and oft-used reliever last year, brings a more
dominant presence to the mound. St.Clair
proved his ability to start in his longest relief
appearance of the year. In a 6. l-inning display of
command against La. Tech April 22, he allowed
just one hit and struck out 12 batters in relief
of Degerman. St.Clair also held runners well,
allowing just four runners to steal while picking
off five, the highest total in the WAC.
"If [we] had to start tomorrow, the third
weekend starter would be Bell or StClair,"
Graham said. "I'm leaning toward Bell because
he's more of a three-pitch pitcher, and St.Clair,
when he's right, is more of an overpowering
guy in relief."
The mid-week starting role is probably
more of a sure thing than the third weekend
starter spot. Senior right-hander Ryne Tacker
enters the season as the leading candidate to
start on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Tacker
showed great poise in his starts last season,
but his statistics were hampered by his relief
appearances, which often came late in blowout
games. Tacker's most impressive performance
was in Rice's 10-0 shutout of I.amar March 1 in
Beaumont, where he threwa career-high seven
innings and had seven strikeouts.
Freshman right-hander Brian Price and
sophomore right-hander Hank Williamson will
also vie for the mid-week spot. Williamson, a
transfer from St. Edward's University in Austin,
towers over hitters at 6-foot-5 and relies on his
fastball to challenge hitters. Price is a three-pitch
pitcher with a less overpowering fastball that
he controls well.
Cox leads young, maturing Owl bullpen
The last time the Owls
advanced to the College
World Series, they had
the best starting rotation in the
country. Perhaps more impor-
tantly, though, that team had one
of the most dominant relievers
in Rice history: right-handed
flame-thrower David Aardsma,
who is now in the Chicago
Cubs organization. Many recent
national champions have had a
great bullpen and a dominant
closer — in 2005, the University
of Texas had J. Brent Cox, in 2003
Rice had Aardsma and in 2002
UT had Huston Street, now the
Oakland Athletics closer.
"Relief pitching is key for any-
body to make a run at Omaha and
a national championship," head
coach Wayne Graham said.
With a year of experience
under the belts of many Owl
relievers, the bullpen should
be a strength of the 2006 team.
The most pivotal member of the
relief pitching corps is senior
right-hander Bryce Cox, who has
always had a dominant fastball
that approaches 95 miles per
hour, but has recently developed
the second pitch necessary to be
a solid closer, a slider.
"When you come up against
top hitters, it's hard to have a lot
of confidence when you that you're
going to have to throw the fastball
and they know it," Graham said.
Cox's effectiveness will key the
Owls' ability to win close games.
"Bryce Cox is going to be
one of our main factors, and if
he throws what he is capable
of and what our team knows he
is capable of, we're going to be
good," sophomore catcher/first
baseman Danny I^ehmann said.
Cox, who was drafted in the
13th round of the 2005 Major
league Baseball First Year Player
Draft but elected to return to
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MARSHALL ROBINSON/IHKth
Senior right-hander Bryce Cox enters the 2006 season as the Owls'
closer after leading the team in saves last year with three. Cox is coming
off a successful summer season In the Texas Collegiate League, where he
had a 2-0 record with seven saves and a 0.44 ERA.
Rice this year, began 2005 with
great promise, recording saves
against Central Missouri State,
Texas A&M and Mississippi.
However, Cox lost confidence in
late February when, after a long
glare delay at Reckling Park, he
gave up a three-run home run to
2005 Haseball America College
Player of the Year Alex Gordon of
Nebraska. Cox took his first loss
as an Owl in that game, and his
control was never the same the
rest of the season. But this year.
Cox is coming of f a solid summer
campaign in the Texas Collegiate
League, where he had a 2-0 record
with a stunning 0.44 earned run
average and seven saves.
' Relief pitching is
key for anybody to
make a run at Omaha
and a national
championship.'
— Wayne Graham
Head coach
"Cox, so far, has been every-
thing we could hope for," Graham
said. "Of all the pitchers last year,
he had had the least experience
pitching in his life. He's a good
athlete, he's got a great arm and
he's come up with a good break-
ing ball, which he didn't have last
year."
Outside of Cox, bullpen roles
have not yet been assigned,
but Graham has many options.
If sophomore left-hander Cole
St.Clair does not earn the third
spot in the weekend rotation, he
will probably be the eighth-inning
setup man. St.Clair was the most ef-
fective reliever for the Owls in 2(X)5,
performing well in both long and
short relief. StClair mowed down
opponents in his 32 appearances,
averaging 1.32 strikeouts per in-
ning in 47 innings of work. The
only blemishes on St.Clair's season
were in the postseason, when he
pitched with two broken ribs.
Outside of St.Clair and sopho-
more right-hander Bobby Bell,
who also could be the third mem-
ber of the rotation, the majority of
the relievers are untested. Junior
right-hander Craig Crow, who is
returning from injury, should see
significant time in the bullpen,
along with sophomore right-hand-
er Kurt Pessa. He has developed
into a three-pitch reliever, so he
will be suited for long relief. Pessa
worked just 5.1 innings last year,
highlighted by 1.1 innings of hit-
less relief against LSU April 6.
"Pessa has been outstanding,"
Graham said. "He's thrown a
good changeup to go with his
[fastball and breaking ball]."
Freshman right-hander Bryan
Price, another three-pitch pitch-
er, could join Pessa in long relief.
Price can locate his fastball at
88-92 mph and mixes in a decent
breaking ball and changeup.
Sophomore left-hander Bobby
Bramhall and sophomore right-
hander Will McDaniel also
should be in the mix for relief in-
nings. Neither pitched much last
year — they have just 3.1 innings
of college pitching experience
between them — but they have
improved since last season and
had solid performances in the
summer collegiate leagues.
The wild card of the bullpen
could be freshman right-hander
Trey Sperring. Sperring was re-
cruited as a third baseman, and
he has significant power at the
plate. His brother Jayme was a
pitcher and infielder for Rice in
2000. Sperring has an electric
arm and just began pitching late
in the fall. He could see time on
the mound as early as the end of
the non-conference season.
The Starters
Right-hander Eddie Degerman
Left-hander Joe Savery
Right-hander Bobby Bell
Right-hander Ryne Tacker
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Obermeyer, Amber. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, February 3, 2006, newspaper, February 3, 2006; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443127/m1/11/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.