Rice baseball posted another winning weekend, taking both games against Grand Canyon and splitting with Saint Mary’s in Phoenix, AZ.
FRIDAY AM | Rice 6, Saint Mary’s 5
Tanner Wiggins battled for 6.1 innings in the Owls’ Friday opener, surrendering 11 hits, but just two runs in his first start of the season. He was able to keep the Saint Mary’s lineup just far enough off balance and give the Rice bats enough time to wake up.
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The Owls picked up their first hit in the fifth inning and got on the board for the first time in the sixth, when Mason Ashlock leveled the score at two runs apiece. Grand Canyon jumped back in front with a three-run eighth, but Rice equalized again with a three-spot in the bottom of the frame.
After Jax Traeger delivered a 1-2-3 ninth, Rice put on a small-ball clinic. Landon West walked and was bunted into scoring position by Cole Green. Then Garet Boehm singled through the left side, scoring pinch runner Zachary Daigre to give Rice the win.
FRIDAY PM | Rice 16, Grand Canyon 5
Once the Rice bats got going, they didn’t slow down. Paul Smith put the Owls up 3-0 in their second game on Friday with a three-run blast in the first inning. Then Rice added four more runs in the second, spotting starter Anthony Diaz a commanding 7-1 advantage.
A couple of additional big hits from Boehm, an RBI double in the fourth and a 2 RBI single in the fifth, put Rice ahead 12-1 midway through the fifth. Grand Canyon was able to do just enough against Diaz in the fifth and six innings to avoid an early run-rule decision, but Rice still won by double-digits thanks to a three-spot in the ninth with RBI from Kutter-Gage Webb and Daigre.
SATURDAY | Rice 12, Grand Canyon 2
The Owls’ second game against Grand Canyon eventually produced a similarly one-sided result, albeit after a quieter start. Starter Ryland Urbanczyk allowed one run in the first and another in the third before the offense picked him up in a big way in the middle innings.
A three-run fourth was the appetizer for an eight-run sixth inning, featuring three RBI-producing hits, defensive errors from Grand Canyon and a pair of run-scoring walks to put the Owls ahead 11-2. A sacrifice fly from JC Davis in the next frame pushed the margin over the line, giving Rice a run-rule win. It was the first win for Urbanczyk as a pitcher since March 2024.
SUNDAY | Saint Mary’s 11, Rice 8
Rice baseball looked to be cruising on getaway day, staked to a 6-0 lead midway through the sixth inning with Ethan Sanders on the mound. Both Boehm and Webb had compiled multi-RBI performances to set Rice up for a potential four-game weekend sweep. Then the wheels came off the wagon.
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Six of the first seven Saint Mary’s hitters reached in the sixth including three extra-base hits to drive Sanders from the game. Marco Fuentes came in and allowed the game-tying double. Rice inched back ahead with a run in the seventh and eighth innings.
Staked to a two run lead, the bullpen could not hold on. Jackson Blank allowed the first two batters to reach. Then Ethan Atchley and Brayden Sharp ceded the tying and eventual go-ahead runs before the game was called for curfew, taking away any chance for Rice to tie the game in a potential ninth frame.
THREE FOR THE ROAD
