Here is my week eleven installment of College Spotlight for 2012. This week I am looking at Raph Rhymes of LSU and Matthew Reckling of Rice.
Junior outfielder Raph Rhymes of Louisiana State is the hottest bat in Division I. Last week I paid homage to the two leaders of the lower divisions so its only fair I give Rhymes his due as he makes a run at breaking the single season batting average record. The Division I record is .551 by Keith Hagman of New Mexico in 1980. Rhymes missed three games with a mild concussion after a pitch to the head against Florida. Since his return he is on an 11 game hitting streak in which he has tallied one 1-3, one 1-2, four 2-4, one 2-5, three 3-4 and one 4-4 performances. At that pace the immediate goal of passing .500 looks doable but several more 3-4 games are needed to get the record. For the season Rhymes is hitting .500/.534/.628 with 3 HR, 46 RBI, 32 R and 2 SB in 41 games. As a Sophomore he hit .360/.424/.486 with 3 HR, 42 RBI, 43 R and 8 SB in 56 games.
Senior RHP Matthew Reckling of Rice has been a stingy pitcher this season who has allowed opposing batters an average of only five hits per game while they bat a paltry .151 against him. In his last outing against East Carolina Reckling pitched a one hit shut out and had a line of 9.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K. For the season he is 7-0 with a 1.44 ERA, 80 K, 0.88 WHIP in 68.2 IP over 7 games. As a Junior he was 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA, 96 K, 1.42 WHIP in 78.1 IP over 17 games. Reckling has certainly developed into an effective pitcher this year.
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