The source for Rice sports news

Rice Baseball falters late against Arizona

By

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))

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Baseball goes winless in Puerto Rico Challenge

By

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

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts