It was an eventful night for both pitching staffs, but Rice Baseball made the pitches when they needed to most, hanging on for their 10th one-run win of the season.
Ty Baker collected two outs for Rice baseball before exiting the game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning. Fortunately for the Owls, Anthony Diaz induced a pop up on his first pitch to get out of the jam, limiting the visiting Lamar Cardinals to just one run.
That missed opportunity for Lamar would prove quite consequential as Rice answered in kind, and then some. Lamar pitcher Blayne Fritcher walked two of the first three batters he faced and was pulled after recording just one out. His replacement didn’t fare much better and Rice closed the first inning with a 4-1 lead.
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Both pitching staffs seemed to settle in after that, with neither team scoring again until a Garet Boehm double in the fifth inning, followed by another RBI from Landis Davila. The Owls’ own pitching comfortability evaporated soon after, with Lamar scoring three in the seventh before a bases-loaded groundout killed the rally.
It was Brayden Sharp who rescued Rice from its biggest problem spot in the seventh, recovering from a bases-loaded walk to get a crucial third out. Sharp faced the minimum in the eighth, then worked around more trouble in the ninth to record his first career save.
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Six runs is a positive development for a team that’s struggled to score, but as Rice baseball head coach David Pierce is quick to quip, games are lost more often than they’re won and Lamar’s self-inflicted wounds represent a large portion of the Owls’ run production on Tuesday night, never mind the Owls nearly returning the favor.
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In the first inning alone, Lamar hit two batters, issued three walks and had one wild pitch. Rice singled twice, accounting for two of the four RBI collected in the inning. Still, without five free bases Rice could very easily have been looking at a much quieter frame.
The runs still count and Rice isn’t in the business of turning away any trip across the plate. However, there’s still ample room for the offense to carry more of the load itself. Until then, whenever the other team is going to spot you free bases, you have to cash in.