Fresh off a five-game winning streak, Rice baseball was humbled at Reckling this weekend, losing three straight to Memphis.
FRIDAY | Memphis 4, Rice 1
Things got off to a good start for Rice baseball in the opener. After a 1-2-3 inning from Tanner Wiggins on the bump, JC Davis drove in Colin Robson to open the scoring in the bottom half of the inning. Wiggins would deal five more scoreless innings before Memphis was able to even the score at one run apiece in the sixth.
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Rice would call upon Brayden Sharp in relief, but Sharp struggled with command, issuing two walks and hitting a batter as Memphis scored three while he was on the mound, including a two-run home run in the eighth. The Owls were held to four hits on the night and unable to answer the late Memphis run, falling 4-1 in the opener.
SATURDAY | Memphis 10, Rice 6
Memphis jumped in front in the second game, mashing a pair of home runs with a sac fly in between to take a 4-0 lead through five innings against Rice starter Ethan Sanders. Paul Smith got the Owls on the board with a solo shot in the sixth, only for Memphis to answer with three runs in the seventh against Jeremiah Arnett.
Rice regained some life with a grand slam from Cole Green in the seventh before weather forced the game to be suspended until Sunday. When play resumed, Memphis extended its lead with a three-run ninth. The Owls had their chances, getting multiple runners on board in each of the final two innings, but were limited to just one run, falling 10-6.
SUNDAY | Memphis 6, Rice 3
A two-out RBI double gave Memphis an early lead in the series finale, an advantage that doubled to 2-0 following a solo home run in the fourth. With those runs the only blemishes against a strong start from Ryland Urbanczyk, Rice finally got him some support in the fifth.
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Kutter-Gage Webb began the inning with a double, the first of five hits for the Owls in the inning. Following Webb, Landis Davila, Cole Green, Colin Robson and Paul Smith all recorded RBI, launching Rice past Memphis in the runs column, 4-2. Hiram Bocachica came around to score after a leadoff triple in the sixth, extending the lead to three runs.
Memphis evened the score with three runs against Ty Thames, one in the eighth and two more in the ninth. The Tigers went ahead for good with a sacrifice fly in the 10th before the Owls stranded the potential tying run on second base.
THREE FOR THE ROAD
