Rice Baseball held on to win a one-run game on Saturday, but otherwise was unable to keep a lid on the Wichita State offense, dropping a second straight conference series.
FRIDAY | Wichita State 5, Rice 1
Rice starter Tanner Wiggins gave up a solo home run in the first inning, followed immediately by a double to left center, harbingers of a start that would not be easy. Trailing by one after that inning, the Owls fell behind by three in the next thanks to four consecutive singles to open the inning, part of 11 hits allowed by Wiggins across 6.2 innings of work.
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Wiggins was lifted in the seventh, not long after a two-run blast to left field made it 5-0 in favor of the hosting Shockers. Case Kuhn collected the Owls’ last four outs. Paul Smith collected a two-out RBI in the eighth, but Rice wouldn’t be able to do any more damage, falling 5-1 in the opening game.
SATURDAY | Rice 3, Wichita State 2
Following a scoreless first, Rice notched back-to-back singles to set up a golden opportunity in the second inning. Masa Chilcutt grounded out to score one run, then Zachary Daige singled to score another, providing a two-run cushion for Owls’ starter Ethan Sanders, who was on cruise control in the early goings.
Smith added one more run on a fifth-inning single before Wichita State finally broke through against Sanders, getting two runs on four hits in the bottom of the frame. Ty Thames entered in the sixth, tasked with protecting a one-run advantage. He did just that, evening the series with four scoreless innings to earn an extended save, his fifth of the season.
SUNDAY | Wichita State 13, Rice 3
Wichita State jumped in front in the series finale, scoring three runs off starter Ryland Urbanczyk in the second inning. He would be lifted after a leadoff single in the third, handing the bulk of the innings to the Owls’ bullpen, who were largely unable to hold the line.
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Rice got runs of their own in the fifth and sixth innings, but less-than-stellar outings from Ethan Atchley in the fifth and Brayden Sharp in the sixth put the Owls in a 9-2 hole entering the seventh. Rice scored one on a fielder’s choice in that frame, but wouldn’t get any closer. The Shockers ended the game and the series in the bottom half of the inning with a three-run homer to left field to secure the run-rule win.
THREE FOR THE ROAD
