Rice Baseball got back in the win column on Tuesday night, taking care of business against Prairie View A&M at Reckling Park, 6-1.
Prairie View struck first on Tuesday night, launching a second inning pitch from Rice baseball starter Robert Fernandez over the right field wall to take the lead. The Owls were able to respond immediately, softening any lingering concerns about the offensive woes showcased in their weekend series loss to Stanford with a trio of multi-run frames.
Last Time Out: Rice Baseball swept by Stanford
Ben Royo collected the first RBI in the bottom of the second, moving the line with a single to left center. Max Johnson followed with a sacrifice fly to put Rice in front, 2-1. Staked to a modest lead, Fernandez and the bullpen, patrolled this time by Jackson Mayo and Mauricio Rodriguez, keep the Panthers’ bats quiet.
PVAMU had two hits and two walks, never posing any meaningful threats outside of that isolated home run ball early on. Rice would add two more runs of their own in the fifth, courtesy of a double from Nathan Becker. The final two would cross in the sixth on a sac fly from Pierce Gallo and a wild pitch.
For the night, Rice outhit PVAMU 11-2 and the Rice pitching staff worked nine innings of one-run ball, striking out eight while allowing six total base runners, including one hit batter and one who reached via an error.
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With the outcome essentially decided, the injury bug snuck up and bit Rice baseball again in the ninth inning. Max Johnson went down in a heap, stretching for a ball thrown off the bag before collapsing to the turf in pain. He had to be helped off the field by trainers and didn’t look to be able to put much weight on his leg.
Johnson had yet to register his first hit of the season but had earned the trust of the coaching staff for his improved competitiveness at the plate as well as his defense. His 10-pitch at bat against Stanford on Sunday that kept the Owls in it late drew positive reviews from head coach Jose Cruz Jr afterward.
“I thought Max had really good at bats,” Cruz said, singling out that crucial at bat. “I’m happy for that progress.”
If Johnson does indeed miss time, Rice will have to reshuffle the lineup again after settling in on Johnson as the first baseman for the time being. That would likely put Treyton Rank back on the infield and keep Ben Royo at shortstop. At some point, it’s a numbers game, and Rice is running out of options with the season just a few weeks old.
ON DECK | vs Hawaii (Fri-Mon)
