Rice Baseball gave Charlotte a battle on Friday night but offered little resistance for the rest of the weekend, getting swept at home in painful fashion.
FRIDAY | Charlotte 1 – Rice 0
Rice starter Parker Smith and Charlotte starter Wyatt Hudepohl blazed through their opposing lineups on Friday night, both pitching into the ninth inning and combined to allow just one run (charged to Smith). The time of game (2:17) was reflective of their utter dominance and very few base runners.
Through eight innings, the Owls and 49ers combined for five hits and two walks. Charlotte would eventually break through with a leadoff double in the ninth, eventually turning that into the winning run. Rice had the tying run thrown out at third base in the bottom of the frame, falling 1-0.
SATURDAY | Charlotte 4 – Rice 1
Rice struck first on Saturday, scoring one of their few runs of the weekend in the second inning when Jack Riedel doubled in Aaron Smigelski. The lead barely lasted 15 minutes in real time as Charlotte went ahead in the next half inning, capitalizing on an error by depositing a two-run blast over the left-center wall.
The Rice bullpen fought through some traffic and fared well through 4.2 innings of work, allowing just two hits and two runs. The arms kept Rice in the game, but the bats never got going. Rice would be held to four hits and did not score again for the remainder of the afternoon.
SUNDAY | Charlotte 16 – Rice 2
There was plenty of traffic on the bases in the early innings of getaway day, but no runs, at least through the fourth. That changed in a hurry in the fifth when Rice receiver Matthew Linskey was tagged with three straight doubles before giving way to Cristian Cienfuegos who allowed a walk and then a home run to put Rice in a 5-0 hole.
Following another Charlotte home run in the sixth, the Owls found some offense, tacking on two runs courtesy of a Guy Garibay RBI triple and an RBI single by Manny Garza. Charlotte quickly dampened any hopes for a rally, however, launching a three-run shot in the next frame to take a commanding 9-2 lead before dropping seven more runs on the Owls in the ninth.
THREE FOR THE ROAD
Rice baseball wasted another brilliant start from Parker Smith on Friday night, which proved to be an omen of tough tidings ahead as the Owls were swept in a conference series for the first time this season. Here are a few takeaways from the weekend.
1. It’s the little things
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ON DECK | at Middle Tennessee (Fri-Sun)
