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Rice Baseball winless at Astros Foundation College Classic

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Rice Baseball went winless at the Astros Foundation College Classic, dropping three one-sided affairs to some of the nation’s top teams.

FRIDAY | Mississippi State 14, Rice 3

Staff ace Davion Hickson opened the weekend with great stuff but inconsistent command. Walks and a balk set up a pair of two-out RBI singles in the second and third innings, respectively, which put Mississippi State in front 3-0.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball falters late against Arizona

Hiram Bocachica got Rice back in the game with a screaming two-run shot into the Crawford Boxes before Mississippi State got another run off Hickson, driving him from the game in the fifth inning, putting the pressure on the bullpen to go the rest of the way. Garrett Stratton worked out of that jam but was less fortunate in the sixth, giving up two runs on four hits.

The Bulldogs would take a 6-3 lead into the seventh, in front but not yet out of sight. That would change quickly with a pair of home runs of Maddox Keo and another off Jack Ben-Shoshan, the latter of which ended the game via run-rule.

SATURDAY | Tennessee 13, Rice 3

Rice baseball opted to use Blaine Brown as an opener in the Saturday game but the freshman struggled mightily against the Vols’ vaunted lineup. He recorded one out, walking four and leaving the Owls in a three-run deficit when he was lifted in favor of JD McCracken.

That Rice got one run back in the bottom of the inning by way of a wild pitch would prove to be little solace thanks to a four-run outburst from the Volunteers in the second inning.

Trailing 7-1 after two, the Owls managed just enough offensively down the stretch to avoid another run-rule decision, scoring two in the seventh on RBI from Austin Eppley and Graiden West to keep the margin within 10 until their final at bat in the ninth.

SUNDAY | Texas A&M 14, Rice 4

Things got off to an encouraging start for Rice baseball in the tournament finale. Barrett Eldridge put the Owls in front with a two-run double in the first inning before Cole Green tacked on a solo shot to the Crawford boxes in the second. Rice was up 3-0 and feeling good but the Aggies wouldn’t be put down that easily.

More: 2025 Rice Baseball Season Preview

Texas A&M tied the game in the fourth on the second of five home runs they’d go on to hit that evening. The onslaught commenced in earnest in the fifth. The Aggies scored three in the fifth and six in the sixth before pushing two more across in the seventh to enact the run-rule. After falling behind by three, Texas A&M scored 14 unanswered runs, going on to win by 10.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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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 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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