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Rice Baseball season ends with AAC Tournament loss to FAU

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Rice Baseball started fast but couldn’t hang on to an early 4-0 lead, falling 8-6 to Florida Atlantic and seeing their 2025 season come to an end.

With their season on the line, Rice baseball came out on the offensive, loading the bases in the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead. Rice added another run in the second and two more in the third and looked to be in command with a 4-0 lead in their elimination game against FAU as JD McCracken returned to the mound for his third inning of work.

McCracken recorded two quick outs before issuing back-to-back walks. A long fly to center field should have ended the threat, but the ball glanced off the webbing of Colin Robson’s glove, allowing two runs to score. A home run by John Schroeder in the next at-bat leveled the score turning one pivotal miscue into a game-changing inning.

“You’re in such a groove, everything’s going right and you’re feeling your pitches, then things don’t go your way,” Rice baseball head coach David Pierce said of McCracken’s fateful inning. “He did a really nice job of regrouping and continuing to pitch for us.”

After escaping the remainder of the third without further damage, McCracken would retire seven FAU batters in a row until Schroeder returned to the plate. He opened the sixth inning with a solo home run, putting FAU in front for the first time on the afternoon. Another solo home run in the seventh drove McCracken from the game and put Rice in a two-run hole.

More: Jack Ben-Shoshan’s circuitous path to the top of the Rice Baseball bullpen

For a few moments, Max Johnson looked to be the Owls’ unlikely hero. The senior delivered a bases-loaded bloop single with two outs in the the top of the eighth, driving in the two runs Rice needed to even things up. FAU would answer with haste with another home run in the bottom half of the inning, this one a two-run blast from Brando Leroux to retake the lead.

Rice would threaten in the ninth — bringing the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs — but could not complete the rally. The Owls season ends with a 17-40 overall record and a long road ahead for Pierce in his first offseason as the helm of the program.

“At the end of the day, I feel like this program’s gotten better,” Pierce said. “Our guys are bought in. The culture is going to continue to get better.”

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Rice Baseball falls to UTSA in AAC Tournament Opener

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Rice Baseball faces elimination after taking an eighth inning lead against UTSA but failing to hold on, falling to the Roadrunners for the fourth time in the past six days

For Rice baseball, things looked rather dire rather quickly in the opening game of the AAC Tournament against UTSA. After the Owls failed to score in the opening half inning, staff ace Davion Hickson gave up a solo home run and allowed two runners into scoring position, an inauspicious start against a team that had scored 33 runs in three games against the Owls this past weekend.

Hickson would rebound, though, recording a strikeout to escape the jam. From there, Hickson was locked in, retiring 14 batters in a row before UTSA got their next hit of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. By that time, the Rice bats had done enough to give the team a chance.

More: Jack Ben-Shoshan’s circuitous path to the top of the Rice Baseball bullpen

A perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Colin Robson tied the game in the fifth. An inning later, Paul Smith roped a two-out single just past a diving second baseman to give Rice their first lead of the afternoon.

Staked to a one-run lead, Hickson worked through traffic but kept compiling outs. Hickson navigated between a pair of singles in the sixth and a one-out double in the seventh. A strikeout started the eighth, but a hit batter and a double put runners on the corners with one out in a pivotal moment.

Head coach Davide Pierce called a meeting on the mound to the set the defense and talk strategy. There was no intention of pulling Hickson from that game at the time with the skipper opting to trust his best arm. This time, Hickson couldn’t escape. A double to the gap in right center plated two, giving UTSA the lead and knocking Hickson from the game.

“I thought he pitched outstanding,” Pierce said of Hickson after the game. “Really did a great job staying ahead in counts. He didn’t walk anyone. He hit one guy.”

That guy would come around to score, souring what will likely be Hickson’s final collegiate outing. After he was lifted, Garrett Stratton allowed another run to score, sending Rice to the ninth inning facing a two-run deficit from which they would not recover. UTSA held on to win the opening game 4-2.

Even when accounting for that final at-bat, Hickson was rock solid, striking out seven through 7.1 innings of work and giving his team a chance. It was always going to be a tough ask to expect two runs on two hits to be enough against the conference’s top team.

With the loss, Rice heads to an elimination game against Florida Atlantic tomorrow. Pierce will take some time with his staff this afternoon to gameplan his pitching approach, but he knows the level of urgency they’ll have to operate with the next time they take the diamond.

“You can’t afford to extend a guy if we’re living on the edge. I’d like to see someone go out there and really pitch like Davion did today,” he said. “No matter what, we just gotta have everybody ready.”

Up Next: Wed, May 21 at 1:00 pm CT vs Florida Atlantic (Elimination Game)

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2025 AAC Baseball Tournament: Preview, schedule, how to watch

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The 2025 AAC Baseball Tournament is set to begin in Clearwater, FL on Tuesday. Here’s how to watch and what to look for this week.

The field wasn’t finalized until the final weekend of the regular season, but now eight teams have secured their spots in the 2025 AAC Baseball Tournament. An automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and hopes of playing for a trip to the College World Series are at stake. The bottom two teams in the standings: Memphis and UAB, will be watching from home.

All games will be streamed on ESPN+ with the exception of the tournament championship, available on ESPN News. The tournament runs from Tuesday, May 20 to Sunday, May 25. The full schedule and updated bracket are available on the American Conference Baseball Tournament website.

Assessing the field

The favorite | UTSA has lost four conference games this season. To think of them picking up a pair of defeats in a few short days in Clearwater seems unlikely, which makes them the easy chalk pick to win it all. If there’s any blemish on their resume, it’s their record outside of San Antonio (17-9) which is merely very good as opposed to their sterling 25-2 mark at home.

The contender | Charlotte was in a gaggle of teams a few games back of UTSA with a month left in the regular season and while the 49ers couldn’t catch the Roadrunners, they enter the tournament on a nine-game winning streak. Ace Blake Gillespie has the best ERA in the conference (2.53).

The dark horse | South Florida is one of two teams (UTSA being the other) that ranks inside the top three teams in the conference in batting average and pitching ERA. The Bulls have won four of their last five conference series and are among the most consistent teams in the conference, capable of grinding out wins.

The wild card | Florida Atlantic is going to live and die by the long ball. The Owls lead the league with 42 home runs in conference play and have allowed the fewest long balls as a pitching staff on the mound against league opponents (21). One swing of the bat can be extremely consequential in elimination-style tournaments making this team a dangerous out.

The bracket

The opening day of games will take place on Tuesday, May 20:

Game 1 – 9:00 AM | (5) Tulane vs (4) Florida Atlantic

Game 2 – approx. 12:30 PM | (1) UTSA vs (8) Rice

Game 3 – 4:00 PM | (7) Wichita State vs (2) Charlotte

Game 4 – approx. 7:30 PM | (6) East Carolina vs (3) South Florida

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Rice Baseball clinches AAC Tournament spot despite sweep by UTSA

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Rice Baseball was swept by UTSA in its final regular season series, but still managed to punch its ticket to the AAC Tournament.

THURSDAY | UTSA 15, Rice 7

Rice baseball couldn’t have asked for a better start in the series opener. Even without Davion Hickson on the mound, the Owls ambushed UTSA starter Zach Royse, battering him for seven runs in the first four innings on three home runs, one apiece from Landon West, Paul Smith and Cole Green.

More: Jack Ben-Shoshan’s circuitous path to the top of the Rice Baseball bullpen

Despite being spotted a 7-0 lead, the Rice pitching staff couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain. UTSA tied the game with a seven-run fifth despite registering just two hits in the inning. Five free passes buoyed their cause. With the score tied, UTSA went on the offensive. The Roadrunners scored eight in the next two frames, crushing the Owls’ bullpen, which nearly allowed the team to be run-ruled despite the strong start.

FRIDAY | UTSA 11, Rice 4

The Roadrunners’ offensive outburst continued into the second game of the series with a five-run first against Owls’ pitcher JD McCracken, who did himself no favors with three walks and a hit batter in the inning. Rice punched back with three runs in the second, including a homer from Landon West, but the two-run deficit was as close as they would be for the remainder of the contest.

Last Weekend: Owls flash late-inning magic in series win over WSU

UTSA added two more in the third, two in the fifth and single insurance runs in the sixth and eighth, tallying 11 total runs in the eight innings they came to the plate. Rice would manage just one other score in their final seven innings, an RBI single from Michael Zito in the fifth.

SATURDAY | USTA 7, Rice 0

A bullpen game for the Owls ended most predictably. Caleb Williams made his first start of the season, giving up two runs in 1.2 innings of work. He ceded the mound to Ethan Atchley and then the carousel of relivers was off to the races. UTSA scored a single run in each of the first four innings, then put up two in the sixth and one more in the seventh. Seven runs proved more than enough against a dormant Rice offense.

The Owls wouldn’t get their first hit until the fifth inning, a double from Landon West, and while he moved to third on the ensuing groundout, did not score. Rice would accrue just four hits on the day, getting shut out in their final game of the regular season.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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Rice Baseball 2025: MLB Owls Update – May 14

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The 2025 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are making the most of their time in The Show. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls.

Dane Myers – Miami Marlins

Myers’s electric start to the season was slowed, at least briefly, by an oblique injury that landed him on the 10-day injured list on Monday. In his final appearance before his forced time off, Myers went 1-for-3 against the White Sox with a run scored and a stolen base, his seventh of the season thus far, and potentially the play which caused the injury.

Through May 14, Myers is hitting .337 with six extra-base hits, five walks and 21 strikeouts. His OPS is .857 and he’s collected 14 RBI.

Injured List

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon is slated to miss a significant amount of time following him surgery this spring. The bad news is another bump in an injury-plagued stint with the Angels; Rendon missed a chunk of last season with an oblique strain.

Matt Canterino – Twins AAA

Canterino was thought to have a real chance to crack the big league roster at some point this season, converting himself to a reliver this offseason in hopes of limiting the stress on his arm and preserving his health. Unfortunately, he’s set to miss a third consecutive season, undergoing shoulder surgery in early March. The Twins since released him and signed him to a minor league contract while he rehabs.

Knocking on the Door

The following Owls began the season in AAA:

  • Tristan Gray – Charlotte Knights (White Sox)
  • Evan Kravetz – Louisville Bats (Reds)
  • Glenn Otto – Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Astros)
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