Rice Baseball fell behind early and was unable to overcome a rough first inning, falling to Houston for the third time this season.
In the blink of an eye, Rice baseball saw its chances to take a game from Houston disappear. Zachary Daigre stroked a leadoff single but was thrown out stealing second, rendering a single from JC Davis right afterward largely moot. Then Houston had their turn in the batter’s box and the bottom dropped out.
The Cougars’ first three batters loaded the bases before an infield fly recorded the first out. By the time the next out was claimed, Houston had scored four times. The first three runs came with Jeremiah Arnett on the mound. He handed the ball to DC Brown, who saw five more added to Houston’s ledger.
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Rice trailed 9-0 after the first inning came to a close and found themselves behind by 12 before they scored runs of their own. Cole Green and Landis Davila got the Owls three back, but it would prove to be too little, too late. Houston would hold on to win by a final score of 14-3 in seven innings, their second run-rule victory in the Silver Glove Series, which the Cougars took three games to none.
What it means | Sliver of Success
For so many reasons, it’s been a remarkable Rice Baseball season. The Owls have already won 31 games, the most victories in a single season for the program since 2017 when they won 33 games, six of which came in the postseason after a below .500 regular season record. Other than a three-game sweep at the hands of Houston, it’s hard to imagine things going much better before the season began.
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No matter how the next several games go, the Owls will finish better than .500 for the first time in nearly a decade. Things are pointing up for a program that has languished in relative obscurity for far too long. No, they didn’t win the Silver Glove this year, but for the first time in a while, making a run at reclaiming the trophy next year doesn’t seem too farfetched at all.