NEWS
4/10/08 7:00pm
By Jessica Cannon
Although they have witnessed stretches of poor pitching and lethargic offense, fans seem to be only a little worried about the baseball team's ups and downs this year. True, in the last two weeks Rice (24-10, 7-2 Conference USA) has dropped two games against the University of Southern Mississippi and one to Dallas Baptist University (20-9). But the Owls also swept Memphis University, thumped Lamar University (20-11) and walked away with more wins in the season series than the 13th-ranked University of Texas for the first time since 2003. But through all the streakiness, the Owls have still landed on soft ground, with the most wins in Conference USA and a No. 6 national ranking to their name.The Owls continue their current homestand this weekend against the University of Alabama-Birmingham, which is currently dead last in C-USA. But records do not always tell the whole story - the underdog Blazers (13-17, 1-5 C-USA) have beaten Tulane University and the University of Alabama this season, and are led offensively by Ryan Keedy's .429 batting average and 29 RBIs. UAB will also be counting on pitchers Mitch Kloskowski, who has 35 strikeouts in 42.1 innings, and Kyle Roberson, who has 25 strikeouts in 26.1 innings, to silence the prominent Rice bats. The three-game series begins tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Reckling Park.