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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 inches closer to postseason with series win over Wichita State

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Rice Baseball won their fourth conference series in their last five weekends, taking two of three from Wichita State, drastically improving the Owls’ postseason chances.

FRIDAY | Rice 4, Wichita State 3

Rice baseball found itself in another Friday night pitcher’s duel between Owls’ ace Davion Hickson and Wichita State hurler Grant Adler. It was Adler who allowed the first blemish in the form of a leadoff home run from Colin Robson, the first of his Rice career. Hickson was charged with his only two runs of the night when a ball down the line — which resulted in an injury to left fielder Jacob Devenny — allowed one run to score with the second Shocker run coming on an infield single by the next batter.

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

Cole Green leveled the score for the Owls with a single in the fourth to plate Hiram Bocachica, who would reach third base in the bottom of the ninth, but fail to score as the game went into extra innings. Neither side got much going in the next two frames before Wichita State took advantage of a Rice error to score the go-ahead run in the 12th. Green equalized with a home run in the bottom of the frame.

The Owls got a double play ball to make quick work in the top of the 13th inning before Treyton Rank came to the plate in the bottom of the frame. He took a 2-1 pitch deep to right field, the first walk-off home run of his career.

SATURDAY | Rice 9, Wichita State 3

Runs were much easier to come by in the second game of the series with Rice scoring early and often against a Wichita State pitching staff that had burned top arms on Friday night. Paul Smith got the scoring started with an RBI single in the second. Rice added two more in the third before Michael Zito blasted a three-run homer in the fourth to put Rice in front 6-0.

Last Weekend: Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte

Wichita State would get three back in the next two innings, all charged to Rice starter JD McCracken, who still turned in a strong performance, going seven innings with four strikeouts and just those three runs allowed. Garrett Stratton got the final six outs, aided by a trio of insurance runs scored in the bottom of the seventh, the last two coming on a double from Aric Anderson.

SUNDAY | Wichita State 18, Rice 7

Rice baseball struck first with a two-run first, kicking off what would become a high-scoring series finale despite neither team scoring in the next two frames. It was then that the Wichita State bats woke up in earnest, scoring four runs in the fourth to drive Tucker Alch from the game.

With Alch gone, WSU teed off on the remainder of the Owls’ bullpen. Maddox Keo was charged with five runs, and Micah Davis was charged with three. In total the Owls would use 10 pitchers and surrender 18 runs, 15 of which were earned. The bats managed seven runs, nearly half of the last two of which came in on a home run from Blaine Brown, but the deficit proved too large as Rice dropped the series finale in run-rule fashion.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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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 2023 Season Review: Lineup

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The offense was underwhelming for Rice baseball in 2023, posting the second-lowest OPS in Conference USA with over 500 strikeouts.

It wasn’t a good year at the plate for Rice baseball. The 2023 season saw the Owls finish in the bottom three in the league in batting average, runs, RBI, total bases and OPS, among other offensive measures. There were individual highlights — described in more detail below — but for the most part, the offense struggled.

More: Rice Baseball Season Review – Bullpen
More: Rice Baseball Season Review – Starting Pitching
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Rice Baseball falters late, drops series to MTSU

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Rice Baseball and MTSU went down to the final inning with the fate of the series in the balance before an MTSU walk-off spoiled the Owls’ weekend.

FRIDAY | MTSU 6 – Rice 0

It didn’t matter which portion of the weather-split game it was for Rice baseball, the bats just weren’t syncing up. Rice was held scoreless in their series opener against Middle Tennessee, which was paused in the sixth inning with Rice trailing 3-0 before being restarted on Saturday afternoon.

Prior to the delay, Tyler Hamilton and Cristian Cienfuegos kept the Blue Raiders to one unearned run through four innings.  Blake Brogdon was tagged for two runs in the fifth, but the Owls were very much still in the game until MTSU tagged Ryland Urbanczyk with three runs in the eighth inning on Saturday to put the game away.

SATURDAY | Rice 9 – MTSU 2

Rice baseball and MTSU traded single runs in the early innings then did so again in the top of the sixth and bottom of the seventh. The game was neck-and-neck, even when Paul Smith singled in Jack Riedel in the top of the eighth to put the Owls in front. Leading 3-2 entering the ninth, the Rice bats exploded.

MORE: Roost Pod – Rice Football Spring Ball Recap and Basketball Recruiting

Three consecutive RBI hits put Rice up 7-2 and prompted an MTSU pitching change. The new reliever didn’t fair much better, getting charged with two additional runs on sacrifice flies as the Owls smacked the Blue Raiders around, scoring six in the ninth to win 9-2.

SUNDAY | MTSU 5 – Rice 4 (11 innings)

MTSU took a 2-0 lead on a first-inning home run against JD McCracken in the series finale, forcing Rice to play from behind. The Owls chipped away with a run in the fourth on an RBI single from Trey Duffield and another in the eighth, this time via a Ben Royo home run. Finally tied again, that’s when the drama would begin.

Both teams traded solo runs in the next two half innings, forcing extra with the score deadlocked at 3-3. Royo came through again in the tenth with an RBI single, but MTSU leveled the score on a wild pitch charged Rice reliever Krishna Raj. After Rice went quietly in the top half of the next inning, Raj gave up the walk-off long ball on the very next pitch, handing the game and the series to MTSU.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball had their chances to win a series for the first time in a month and couldn’t close the deal. Here are a few takeaways from a wet, frustrating weekend in Murfreesboro.

1. RIP RISP

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ON DECK | vs Dallas Baptist (Fri-Sun)



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