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Rice Baseball 2025 Season Review: Lineup

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The offense started slow but grew more consistent as the season progressed, helping Rice baseball stay competitive down the stretch.

It took the Rice baseball offense some time to get going, but by the time head coach David Pierce had taken over and solidified the lineup, the team began to hit its stride at the plate. A delicate mix of talented freshmen and the right veteran pieces made the Owl competitive hitters and provided support the pitching staff needed.

More: Rice Baseball embarks on crucial offseason

Compared to a season ago, this year’s squad had twice as many players hit .270 or better (six), a testament to a deeper lineup with a host of players capable of delivering clutch hits rather than putting all the pressure on any one individual.

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** Photo credit: Maria Lysaker **

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Rice Baseball falters late against Arizona

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Rice baseball was able to trade blows with Arizona early but ran out of steam late, dropping the midweek bout to the Wildcats by an 11-8 final score.

A smattering of loud extra-base hits against Rice baseball starter Maddox Keo saw the Owls fall into a 3-0 hole against the visiting Arizona Wildcats on Wednesday evening. Keo would be lifted in the third for Tucker Alch, who allowed a run of his own in the third before the Rice bats got going in earnest.

Gunnett Carlson got the Owls on the board with an RBI single in the second before Barrett Eldridge deposited his first home run of the season over the left field wall, leveling the score at four runs apiece.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball splits wire-to-wire series with USC

The back and forth would continue, with only one scoreless inning registered between the teams, a quiet fifth inning, before Arizona broke the game open in the seventh. Jackson Blank put two men on for Matt Zatopek, who allowed a bases-clearing double. He’d be lifted for Reed Gallant who allowed another multi-RBI double shortly afterward.

At that point, the damage had been done. Arizona tacked on another insurance run in the eighth to take an commanding 11-7 lead. Rice would pick up one final run on a wild pitch, but didn’t have enough juice to mount a large comeback, falling at home.

What it means | Thin-pen

The back end of the bullpen had already been identified as eyebrow-raising issue for Rice baseball this season, so it’s not entirely surprising to see what felt like a winnable game derailed by that aspect of the team, but the degree to which this contest imploded was shocking.

After lifting Alch in the sixth, it took five relievers for Rice to cobble together the next 2.1 innings. Garrett Stratton faced one batter and escaped a jam, so he gets a pass here, but the parade of relievers who combined to walk six while allowing just four hits were responsible for six of the Wildcats’ 11 runs.

More: 2025 Rice Baseball Season Preview

As is always the case with baseball, it’s a team effort. More offensive production and better fielding — Rice committed three errors — certainly would have helped, but the evidence is starting to stack up. If the pen can’t throw strikes, it’s going to be a long year for that unit regardless how talented it might be on paper.

ON DECK | Astros Foundation Classic (vs Mississippi State (Fri), Tennessee (Sat), Texas A&M(Sun))

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Rice Baseball splits wire-to-wire series with USC

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Rice Baseball and USC played a pair of games that went down to the final innings, splitting a pair of games in dramatic fashion at Reckling Park.

FRIDAY | USC 7 – Rice 4 (11)

Davion Hickson worked through plenty of traffic on the bases in his five innings of action in the series opener but limited the USC offense to one run, notching seven strikeouts. His replacement, Von Baker, allowed two runs to score, putting Rice in a 3-2 hole, with both Owls’ runs driven in by Treyton Rank in the second and sixth innings, respectively.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball tops Sam Houston in Home Opener

The action started to pick up in earnest again in the ninth. Still trailing by one, pinch hitter Colin Robson drew a walk, moved up a single from Blaine Brown and scored on a sac fly from Landon West to tie the game. USC tacked on one in the top of the tenth before Gunnett Carlson leveled the score with a solo shot to right field.

The moment was electric, but was not long lasting. USC scored three runs in the top of the 11th off Reed Gallant before Rice went quietly in the bottom of the frame, dropping the opening game 7-4.

SATURDAY | Cancelled, Weather

SUNDAY | Rice 4 – USC 3

Rice struck first on Sunday, pushing across two in the first inning on an RBI single from Gunnett Carlson and an error allowing Brown to score from third. Robert Fernandez held the 2-0 advantage until USC scratched one run across in the third, eventually leveling the score via a sac fly charged to JD McCracken in relief.

More: 2025 Rice Baseball Season Preview

Tobias Motley made sure the Owls’ time without the lead was short lived, walloping a pinch-hit home run over the right field wall to open the seventh inning. Blaine Brown and Garrett Stratton got Rice through the eighth before USC tied the game on sac fly off of Stratton in the ninth, putting the burden back on the bats to finish the game.

Michael Zito would be the hero, delivering a walk off home run — his first collegiate hit and the Owls’ first walk off home run since 2021 — to send the Owls’ off with a crowd-raising home win.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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Rice Baseball goes winless in Puerto Rico Challenge

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Rice Baseball might have enjoyed the cultural experience, but the results on the field were lacking: an 0-3 start to the season at the Puerto Rico Challenge.

FRIDAY | Villanova 10 – Rice 6

Davion Hickson worked through four scoreless innings on Friday evening, seeing his outing cut short with command issues that yielded five walks and 20 batters faced despite no runs across. Von Baker took the baton and worked a scoreless fifth before Villanova got to him for four runs in the sixth, putting the Owls in comeback mode.

Down 5-1, the Rice bats would respond in earnest the following inning Luke Smith and Treyton Rank each tallied RBI hits to level the game before freshman Blaine Brown put Rice in front, 6-5, with a screaming single to center field in the eighth. Villanova would ambush closer Garrett Stratton in the ninth, scoring five runs, rendering the Owls’ comeback moot and handing them a crushing Opening Day defeat.

SATURDAY | Michigan 5 – Rice 2

Rice baseball got a career day from Robert Fernandez in his start against Michigan, where he hurled six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four. He left the game in line for the win courtesy of a go-ahead RBI single from Brown in the first inning. The Owls would tack on an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI ground out from Hiram Bocachica.

Leading 2-0, the bullpen faltered again. Blank allowed the first three batters to reach in the eighth, leaving the game with two on and a 2-1 Rice lead. Tom Vincent was saddled with the loss, throwing a wild pitch to advance both runners and allowing a single on the only batter he faced. Brown took over and allowed four runs, primarily from inherited runners, as the Owls fell 5-2.

SUNDAY | Virginia 7 – Rice 0

A steady trickle of Virginia runs made for a long finale to the Puerto Rico Challenge. The Hoos scored three in the second charged to JD McCracken, three more across the fifth and sixth innings charged to Austin Eppley and one final run on a sac fly against Matt Zatopek, tallying seven scores in eight trips to the plate.

More: 2025 Rice Baseball Season Preview

That ninth trip wasn’t necessary for Virginia because Rice would be shut out. Virginia pitching held Rice bats to three total hits and six base runners, making any hopes of a comeback against the No. 2 team in the nation short-lived.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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2025 Rice Baseball Season Preview

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Rice Baseball is set to enter Year 4 under Jose Cruz Jr with what he believes to be the Owls’ most talented team of his tenure. Can Owls take flight this season?

Head coach Jose Cruz Jr. was quick to not promise the moon when he arrived on campus in the summer of 2021. He spoke then about building things the right way, acquiring talent and developing that talent within the Rice baseball culture. From there, the next step was winning games. It was always a long term plan, at least, that’s how the message was conveyed.

Three seasons in, Cruz and the Rice faithful are hoping enough of a foundation has been laid to turn those aspirational ideals into tangible wins. “We’re getting better every year, we’re getting better. The mentality is better. The athletes are better. The physiques are better,” Cruz said. “Every year we’re just going to keep getting better.”

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