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Rice Baseball blows past PVAMU at home

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Rice Baseball blew past Prairie View A&M on Wednesday night, burying the Panthers with a cavalcade of early runs.

Colin Robson was retired twice in the first inning, but just about everyone else reached base in some form or fashion as Rice baseball batted around in the opening frame, putting up a seven-spot that put Prairie View A&M in a seemingly insurmountable hole from the start. As Rice rolled through several bullpen arms, the offense just kept coming.

Rice scored four more in the second, putting the game above the margin for a run-rule decision before they’d recorded their sixth out. A single run in the third served as insurance toward that goal.

Last Weekend: Hickson’s gem propels Rice baseball past Charlotte

Paul Sith, Treyton Rank, Hiram Bocachica and Cole Green each recorded multiple hits and multiple RBI with Rank and Bocachica notching home runs. At a minimum, every player in the starting line up reached base. The lone Prairie View run scored on a wild pitch just before the game was called via run rule.

What it means | Not your average Wednesday

The last time Rice baseball played on a Wednesday it was head coach David Pierce’s post-game meeting drew more interest than the game, a 20-5 beatdown at the hands of UT-Rio Grande Valley. The Vaqueros are a vastly superior team than the Prairie View A&M squad Rice faced this time around, but opponent quality aside, the focus the Owls put on display against the Panthers was noticeably different.

No play made that more evident than when Cole Green’s walloped a ball to the gap in left center field. An errant throw home allowed Hiram Bocachica and Aric Anderson to score without a tag. But instead of coasting into third base as the ball skittered toward the backstop, Green turned on the jets and exploded toward the plate, catching the Prairie View battery off guard. The relay throw back to the plate was late and Green scored.

More: 59 Minutes — David Pierce Challenges Rice baseball to grow

Green’s willingness to pressure the Panthers and the Owls’ ability to deliver the dagger in the first inning of the game spoke volumes about this club’s shifting mentality. They’ve got a ways to go, but this version of Rice baseball will cause fits for their opponents in Clearwater in a few weeks, provided they can get there.

Up Next: vs Wichita State x3 (Fri-Sun)

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Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte

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Davion Hickson persevered through the elements on Friday, tossing a complete-game one-hitter that set the tone for a Rice Baseball series win over Charlotte.

FRIDAY | Rice 2, Charlotte 0

In a rare occurrence during the 2025 Rice baseball season, a pitcher’s duel broke out at Reckling Park on Friday night. Despite a mid-game weather delay and the ominous threat of further impending storms, Davion Hickson spun a marvelous complete game one hitter against the 49ers in the series opener. Charlotte manage just a single in the third inning as Hickson racked up nine strikeouts.

More: 59 Minutes — David Pierce Challenges Rice baseball to grow

With Hickson dealing on the mound, the Rice bats were only required to do a little to push the team over the top in game one of the series. Blaine Brown broke the 0-0 deadlock with a double to right center in the sixth, scoring one. Then Paul Smith homered to right in the eighth to provide a bit of insurance before Hickson returned for the ninth to slam the door.

The one-hit shutout by Hickson was the first by a Rice baseball pitcher since Matthew Reckling defeated East Carolina 2-0 at Reckling Park in 2012, striking out 10 in the process.

SATURDAY | Rice 7, Charlotte 6

Scoring was much more prevalent in game two. Charlotte wasted no time, jumping in front with a two-run homer in the first inning off Rice starter JD McCracken. Rice rallied with three of their own in the second inning on a groundout and home run from Cole Green before Charlotte knocked McCracken out of the game with another pair of runs in the third.

Last Weekend: Rice Baseball drops series at UAB

Garrett Stratton relieved McCracken and combined with Jack Ben-Shoshan to limit the 49ers to two more earned runs in the final six innings, rendering a smattering of Charlotte hits fruitless. As they grinded on the mound, the Rice bats delivered a two-run sac fly in the fourth from Green to tie the game and a go-ahead two-run home run from Landon West in the eighth. Ben-Shoshan closed things out and earned his third win of the season.

SUNDAY | Charlotte 12, Rice 2

Multiple days of frustration were taken out against Jackson Blank and the remainder of the Rice bullpen in the series finale. After the Owls went in front on a solo home run from Michael Zito in the first inning, Charlotte took control of things with a five-run fourth inning, which knocked Blank from the ballgame.

Austin Eppley, Marco Fuentes and Tucker Alch each gave up at least one run in relief as the 49ers scored 12 unanswered runs to take a commanding lead in the finale. By that point the damage had been done and the 49ers won the finale by run-rule.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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Rice Baseball avoids sweep, but drops series to UAB

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Rice Baseball salvaged the series finale against UAB after dropping the first two games behind a largely quiet offense that went off for 12 runs on Sunday.

FRIDAY | UAB 3, Rice 0

Back in the Friday night role after several weeks in the bullpen, Davion Hickson delivered what was unquestionably his best performance of the season. Hickson went 7.2 innings, striking out a career-high 10 while limiting the Blazers to three hits.

More: 59 Minutes — David Pierce Challenges Rice baseball to grow

UAB snuck the first run across in the opening inning with a single, a stolen base and a groundout. Hickson put things in cruise control after that, getting through the first two outs of the eighth before allowing two runners to reach and exiting the game. The last two runs charged to his ledger were allowed by Jack Ben-Shoshan in relief. The Rice bats did little to help the cause, tallying three hits, no runs and 13 strikeouts.

SATURDAY | UAB 8, Rice 6

Rice baseball did not get its typically sharp start from JD McCracken in Game 2, a reality that proved fateful as the bats struggled to produce. UAB scored three in the first, two in the second and on in the third before McCracken was lifted in favor of Von Baker and eventually Mark Perkins. By the time the fourth inning came to a close, Rice was trailing 8-0.

Last Weekend: Rice Baseball takes two of three from Memphis

The Owls most encouraging offensive inning of the weekend would soon follow. The Owls loaded the bases off Braxton Shelton with one out, then proceeded to rattle off five consecutive hits, scoring six runs before a double-play ended the inning. Back within two runs, Rice would manage just two base runners for the remainder of the game, dropping the series.

SUNDAY | Rice 12, UAB 10

The Rice bats woke up for the series finale, scoring three times in the first off UAB starter Isaac Warrick, who would then be the victim of two Rice home runs in the second, putting the Blazers in a 6-0 hole after two frames. UAB gave Rice a scare with a five-run third, with Ben-Shoshan getting a strikeout to strand the would-be tying run in scoring position.

A three-run home run from Blaine Brown, his second long ball of the afternoon, gave Rice some breathing room before the Owls added another insurance run in the sixth and the seventh before UAB began a comeback of their own. UAB scored five straight to get back within one.

Rice pushed one run across in the ninth, turning the ball over to Jackson Blank in the bottom of the inning. Blank got two outs, but loaded the bases. Marco Fuentes entered and coaxed a fly out to right field to extinguish the threat and end the game.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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Rice Baseball takes two of three at Memphis

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Rice Baseball took two of three against Memphis, wining a second-straight AAC series and improving their overall record to 11-4 in games at Memphis all-time

THURSDAY | Rice 10, Memphis 5

Rice baseball struck first with a two-run first, setting up Tucker Alch with breathing room in the series opener. He’d allow Memphis to level the score in the first inning and make his way through several uneventful innings after that as the Rice bats continued to produce. Leading 6-2 in the fifth, Alch ran into trouble and was replaced by Davion Hickson, making a second consecutive relief appearance.

More: 59 Minutes — David Pierce Challenges Rice baseball to grow

Hickson got out of the jam with just one run allowed and made quick work of Memphis until the Tigers loaded the bases in the eighth with no outs. Austin Eppley would come on in relief, notching a strikeout and double-play to get extinguish the threat. The Owls added three insurance runs in the ninth to put the game out of reach.

FRIDAY | Rice 9, Memphis 5

Memphis made JD McCracken battle through 5.2 grueling innings on the road. The Owls’ starter surrendered eight hits and five runs, but got through 26 batters with only two extra base hits against him and giving his own hitters a chance to keep pace. The Rice batters did one better, matching Memphis score for score and eventually taking the lead outright in the fifth.

The first two runs for Memphis came via a single and an error in the second. An error allowed Rice to even the score in the next half inning. Memphis scored one in the third. Rice got it back on a sac fly from Blaine Brown in the next frame. Memphis got another in the fourth. Then Rice broke through with two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth, spotting McCracken a 6-5 lead when he left the mound.

Last Weekend: Rice Baseball posts emphatic series win over USF

Jack Ben-Shoshan came on in relief and retired the next seven batters he faced, allowing the first hit against him in the ninth, but Rice had scored three more insurance runs at that point, giving plenty of cushion as Ben-Shoshan worked through traffic to post another scoreless frame, earning the save.

SATURDAY | Memphis 13, Rice 2

For the second consecutive series, Rice baseball turned to Jackson Blank in the final game. This time around, Blank ran into some trouble early in his outing. Leading 1-0 by way of a Landon West sac fly, Blank allowed two hits, a walk and a run in the second before being forced from the game with a home run and two more singles in the third.

Garett Stratton held the line for a while, but ran into trouble in the fifth, forcing David Pierce to reach deeper into his bullpen. Then the dam broke. Rice pitchers allowed nine runs in the next three innings as the offense watched quietly. The game was ended by run rule in the seventh with Memphis leading 13-2.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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Rice Baseball drops Silver Glove finale to Houston

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Rice Baseball dropped the final game of the Silver Glove series against Houston without much protest in their penultimate midweek game of the season.

Any aspirations of stealing the final game of the Silver Glove series from Houston were quickly cast aside on Tuesday night when Rice baseball head coach David Pierce was forced to pull starting pitcher Marco Fuentes before he recorded an out in the first inning. Neither Austin Eppley, who followed him, nor Mark Perkins, who came next, were able to keep the Cougars in check, and not entirely by fault of their own.

The Cougars recorded just five hits in the first three innings against that trio, but three errors and three hit batters proved too much to overcome. Houston scored eight in the first three frames, thrusting Rice into catch-up mode early in the game.

Last Weekend: Rice baseball posts emphatic series win over USF

Rice did scrape together a few runs, getting one run back on a single from Hiram Bocachica in the second. Bocachica scored on a wild pitch in the fourth and Treyton Rank lifted a home run to left field in the fifth. Each accounted for a single run, not nearly enough to spur a serious comeback.

The Cougars scored four in the seventh, three on a home run off Matt Zatopek, putting the game out of reach. They went on to win 15-3. Houston swept the Silver Glove series with the win, but Rice still leads the all-time series 62-40

What it means | Playing the long game

Rice baseball pulled out all the stops to secure a conference win against South Florida this weekend, masterfully piecing together a somewhat unconventional combination of pitchers to secure the necessary outs. Rather than taxing those same arms against a non-conference opponent, the coaching staff opted to trot out some lesser-used hurlers. The results went about as well as one might expect.

Podcast: Unpacking the Pierce hire and midseason start

After Fuentes failed to record an out, Eppley and Perkins were the next to be summoned to the mound, neither of whom ranks highly on the Owls’ leverage inning circle of trust. By the time Von Baker arrived with one out in the third, the damage had been done and Rice found itself in an 8-1 hole. Rice would go on to use a season-high 10 pitchers in the contest, most of which won’t be featured on weekends.

For better or worse, each arm can only wear so many innings and throw so many pitches. Tuesday’s utilization was reflective of that and made it quite clear the staff is putting all of its eggs in the conference wins basket rather than selling out to win a midweek game in a season series that had already been decided.

Up Next: at Memphis x3 (Thr-Sat)

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