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Rice Baseball swept by Wichita State

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Easter weekend began with a gut-punch for Rice baseball, who dropped all three games at Wichita State to fall to 1-5 in league play.

THURSDAY | Wichita State 7 – Rice 5

In an effort to keep Parker Smith and JD McCracken on regular rest, Rice baseball turned to Tucker Alch in the series opener, hoping to use him as an opener to bridge a few innings to other members of the bullpen. He went three innings, allowing four runs, ceding work to Ryland Urbanczyk who gave up three runs in 3.1 innings before Tom Vincent finished the game.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball drops Silver Glove Series to Houston

The Rice bats were able to help the arms out in this instance, rallying from a 4-0 deficit in the first inning to take a 5-4 lead by the middle of the fourth inning. Eric Correa was instrumental in the comeback bid, knocking in the first run in the second and authoring his first collegiate home run in the fourth to put the Owls in front. Wichita State tied it in the bottom of the inning before going ahead for good in the seventh on a two-run single off Vincent.

FRIDAY  | Wichita State 10 – Rice 3

Parker Smith labored through six innings, including a damaging four-run third inning that put Rice in a 5-1 hole from which they would never recover. Smith was able to give the Owls length despite the down outing, but four more runs allowed by the bullpen and limited offensive production made the hopes of a comeback shortlived.

Rice got solo home runs from Ben Royo in the seventh and Jack Riedel in the ninth, but it wouldn’t make up for the pair of crooked numbers Wichita State put on the board, costing Rice the series.

SATURDAY | Wichita State 15 – Rice 3

Rice struck first, taking a brief lead in the finale with a two-run first inning. Wichita State responded with a three-run home run in the bottom of the inning, tacking on a fourth run against JD McCracken in the second.

While the bats stayed silent, McCracken ran into further trouble in the fifth, loading the bases before being lifted to Tyler Hamilton, who allowed all three inherited runners to score. Things would only get worse in the sixth. Wichita State sent 12 men to the plate, scoring seven runs, including two runs by bases-loaded hit batsman. Down by 12, the game would be called before reaching the originally scheduled nine innings.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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1. Self-inflicted wounds

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Rice Baseball drops Tulane series but notches first-ever AAC win

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Although they dropped the series to Tulane two games to one, Rice baseball was able to salvage the finale and earn its first-ever AAC win.

FRIDAY | Tulane 14 – Rice 7 (11 innings)

Treyton Rank got Rice baseball off to the right foot on Friday night. His first big hit came in the third inning, a double to left center which put the Owls in front 2-0. Just two innings later, a triple gave the home team a 4-0 advantage. A big lead with Parker Smith on the mound had Rice feeling good, but trouble loomed as soon as Smith left the game.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball drops Silver Glove Series to Houston

Tulane forced Smith to exit in the sixth, scoring two runs credited to his ledger in the frame. The Green Wave tied it up in the seventh then took a 6-4 lead in the eighth. Jacob Devenny leveled the score with a clutch, two-out single in the eighth. The score stayed there for a while until the 11th inning. Garrett Stratton lost command and loaded the bases before ceding the mound to Jack Ben-Shoshan, who was battered and left with a large deficit and no outs recorded.

SATURDAY | Tulane 10 – Rice 1

JD McCracken labored through 5.2 innings on Saturday, working through base runners to give Rice a chance, allowing just three runs (all unearned) on six hits and four walks. The offense gave him one run of support while he was on the mound, a solo home run in the fifth from Jack Riedel.

McCracken gave way to Mauricio Rodriguez who got out of the sixth inning without further damage then allowed one run in the seventh before things went south in the eighth. Tulane struck for five in the inning, expanding their lead to 9-1 against the Owls who didn’t manage any additional runs for the afternoon, falling 10-1.

SUNDAY | Rice 4 – Tulane 2

Little by little, Rice built a lead in the series finale. An RBI groundout from Nathan Becker put Rice in front in the first, then a fielder’s choice and a single from Kyte McDonald added two more to the Owls’ total in second inning before Becker pushed the Rice lead to 4-0 with a single in the fifth.

As the bats methodically tacked on runs, the pitching trio of Tucker Alch, Ryland Urbanczyk and Tyler Hamilton were able to limit the Tulane bats, which had vexed the Owls’ relievers throughout much of the weekend. Hickson entered in the ninth inning to slam the door, notching the first-ever American Conference win for Rice baseball.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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1. Fridays have to be for the Owls

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ON DECK | at Sam Houston (Tues), at Wichita State (Thr-Sat)

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Rice Baseball battles through rain to sweep Houston Christian

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Rice baseball picked up its first home series sweep of the season, battling through the rain to take all three games against Houston Christian at Reckling Park.

It was all smiles at Reckling Park following a weekend sweep of a team from across town. Rice baseball moved to 8-11 on the season with conference play looming ahead. “All in all, it was an excellent weekend for us. We were challenging the guy on the offensive side to be more than they have been, get on the plate and create some more issues on the offensive side and they really did,” head coach Jose Cruz Jr said.

“They took it personally and they were swinging the bat. They were confident. They battled with two strikes. They got hits with guys on base. They had more stolen base attempts, executed bunts. All that was really good. That’s the kind of attitude that we just need to have moving forward.”

FRIDAY | Rice 10 – HCU 7

It became evident this would not be a pitcher’s duel when Rice ace Parker Smith was lifted after three innings that required 62 pitches to get through. The Owls were in front 4-3 when Smith departed, but ceded that advantage in the fifth inning when Smith’s relief, Tom Vincent, surrendered a pair of two-out RBI hits.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball drops series to Hawaii

Trailing 7-6, Rice went quietly in the sixth before getting something going in the seventh. The first three batters reached, setting up a bases-loaded situation with no outs. Two strikeouts later, the burden fell to Trey Duffield who delivered in style, mashing the two-out delivery over the left field fence for a grand slam. Vincent followed with a scoreless eighth before Davion Hickson stepped in for the ninth, earning his second save of the season.

SATURDAY | Rice 7 – HCU3

Rice were visitors in their home park after weather forced the Saturday contest, previously scheduled to be played at Houston Christian, back to South Main. They found themselves trailing after the first inning, giving up a pair to HCU via a pair of errors in the infield, before rallying back in the top of the second.

The Owls hung three on HCU starter Parker Edwards, who they’d knock out of the game early in the fourth. JD McCracken settled in quickly, working through five allowing just two earned runs as the bats continued to tack on runs, steadily increasing their advantage. Treyton Rank’s two-RBI double in the eighth left plenty of cushion for Tyler Hamilton, who earned the last six outs and his first save of the season.

SUNDAY | Rice 10 – HCU 6

There was no Rice deficit to be seen in the series finale. The Owls struck for two in the first inning before hitting around in the second, sending 11 to the plate in a seven-run outburst that gave the home team a commanding 9-0 lead entering the third. At that point, all Ryland Urbancyzk had to do was hold the line. He worked 4.2 innings in relief, handing the ball to Mauricio Rodriguez who earned the win.

Kyte McDonald, Jack Riedel and Nathan Becker all had three-hit games as Rice baseball unloaded the bench and was able to get a host of position players into the game in the later innings. HCU was eventually able to get a bit closer, threatening with bases loaded in the ninth, but Davion Hickson came in and shut the threat down quickly, earning the save and clinching the sweep.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball needed a weekend to get right and did just that against Houston Christian. Three straight wins, regardless of opponent, are a boon for morale. Here are three takeaways from the series:

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1. Left on Board

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Bats go cold as Rice Baseball drops series at Hawaii

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Rice baseball got things started with a Friday night win, but couldn’t hang on, dropping the four-game series 3-1 at Hawaii.

FRIDAY | Rice 5 – Hawaii 2

Treyton Rank and Brendan Cumming picked up RBI hits in the second inning to stake Parker Smith to an early lead on Friday night. The Owls’ ace would allow one run on three hits, working five innings before giving way to the bullpen. The pitching staff would be given a bit more cushion as the offense tacked on an additional run in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings, getting to the bottom of the ninth with a 5-2 lead.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball  tops PVAMU in midweek battle

It was at that point that Davion Hickson, in his second inning of work, ran into a bit of trouble. With the potential tying run at the plate and one out, he was lifted in favor of Garrett Stratton. After walking a batter to load the bases, Stratton induced a game-ending double-play, the Owls’ fourth of the game.

SATURDAY | Hawaii 4 – Rice 3

Rice starter JD McCracken battled through five innings and pitched rather well on Saturday, with one tough inning that would prove problematic for the Owls. Hawaii tagged McCracken for three runs in the fourth, collecting four hits, only one of which left the infield.

Trailing by three, Rice chipped away. Jack Riedel doubled in one run in the sixth before Kyte McDonald’s third home run in the eighth, his third of the season, tied the game. The deadlock wouldn’t last long. Tyler Hamilton allowed a solo shot in the bottom of the inning, which proved to be the difference in the one-run game.

SUNDAY | Hawaii 12 – Rice 1

Following a pair of tight games, the third rendition was anything but close. Hawaii struck for seven runs in the first inning, knocking starter Ryland Urbaczyk from the game quickly and taking out the rest of their fury against reliever Mauricio Rodriguez. Rice would never recover.

The rest of the bullpen struggled with free passes, walking a combined 11 batters on the afternoon and surrendering additional crooked numbers in the fifth and eighth innings. Rice scored their only run of the day in the second on a home run from Trey Duffield.

MONDAY | Hawaii 7 – Rice 5

Things looked dire early on in the series finale when Rice starter Robert Fernandez was ambushed for three runs in the first inning via a bases-clearing double. Fernandez settled in and got through another inning and change, giving way to Tom Vincent who got the Owls through five innings without further damage.

The fifth was when Rice offense started to wake up. Kyte McDonald and Treyton Rank each delivered RBI doubles, one in the fifth and another in the sixth, give Rice a 4-3 lead. Hawaii would answer with a three-spot of their own in the bottom of the sixth, taking a 6-4 advantage. Rice would not lead again, dropping the game and the series.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball leaves another weekend with a series loss, turning in several competitive outings with only one win to show for it. Here are three takeaways from the series:

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1. Doubled-up

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Rice Baseball swept by Stanford

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Rice baseball left Reckling Park without a win this weekend, falling in three straight games to Stanford.

FRIDAY | Stanford 6 – Rice 2

The home crowd exploded with cheers when Jack Riedel launched a seventh-inning pitch over the left field berm for a no-doubt, leadoff home run. While the blast was impressive, it also represented the Owls’ first hit of the night in a game they trailed 5-0 before that ball crossed over the fence.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball drops midweek bout with LSU

Stanford starting pitcher Matt Scott had allowed just two base runners to that point, both on walks. Smith outdueled Rice ace Parker Smith who had labored through six innings, earning the loss. A late-inning rally would prove too little, too late.

SATURDAY | Stanford 8 – Rice 2

Following a spectacular complete game the weekend prior, Rice pitcher JD McCracken was not as fortunate this time out. He labored through 5.2 innings, leaving in a precarious spot in the sixth before two more runs were added to his ledger on a double surrendered by Jack Ben-Shoshan.

Trailing 8-0 with one hit of their own, Rice couldn’t mount a meaningful comeback. Jack Riedel gave the Owls their only offensive spark of the day, lifting a two-out home run over the wall to prevent a shutout. That salvaged some pride but had no impact on the Owls’ chances at a comeback.

SUNDAY | Stanford 4 – Rice 3

Although Stanford did strike first once again, things were much closer on Sunday in the series finale. After the Cardinal put up a two-spot in the first, Rice rallied to tie the game in the second inning. Treyton Rank delivered a key RBI double to even the score at 2-2.

The game would remain deadlocked there until the fifth inning when Stanford chased Rice start Ryland Urbanczyk from the game and moved ahead on a two-run homer off his successor, Tom Vincent. Rice got one back in the bottom half of the inning but wouldn’t score again.

Rice had a chance to break through in the eighth but stranded the bases loaded. Davion Hickson was a bright spot in the late innings, striking out five in 3.1 scoreless.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball wrapped up a rough week on the diamond with a weekend sweep at the hands of Stanford. Here are three takeaways from the series:

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1. Missing my Guy

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