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Rice Baseball blows past PVAMU at home

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Rice Baseball blew past Prairie View A&M on Wednesday night, burying the Panthers with a cavalcade of early runs.

Colin Robson was retired twice in the first inning, but just about everyone else reached base in some form or fashion as Rice baseball batted around in the opening frame, putting up a seven-spot that put Prairie View A&M in a seemingly insurmountable hole from the start. As Rice rolled through several bullpen arms, the offense just kept coming.

Rice scored four more in the second, putting the game above the margin for a run-rule decision before they’d recorded their sixth out. A single run in the third served as insurance toward that goal.

Last Weekend: Hickson’s gem propels Rice baseball past Charlotte

Paul Sith, Treyton Rank, Hiram Bocachica and Cole Green each recorded multiple hits and multiple RBI with Rank and Bocachica notching home runs. At a minimum, every player in the starting line up reached base. The lone Prairie View run scored on a wild pitch just before the game was called via run rule.

What it means | Not your average Wednesday

The last time Rice baseball played on a Wednesday it was head coach David Pierce’s post-game meeting drew more interest than the game, a 20-5 beatdown at the hands of UT-Rio Grande Valley. The Vaqueros are a vastly superior team than the Prairie View A&M squad Rice faced this time around, but opponent quality aside, the focus the Owls put on display against the Panthers was noticeably different.

No play made that more evident than when Cole Green’s walloped a ball to the gap in left center field. An errant throw home allowed Hiram Bocachica and Aric Anderson to score without a tag. But instead of coasting into third base as the ball skittered toward the backstop, Green turned on the jets and exploded toward the plate, catching the Prairie View battery off guard. The relay throw back to the plate was late and Green scored.

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

Green’s willingness to pressure the Panthers and the Owls’ ability to deliver the dagger in the first inning of the game spoke volumes about this club’s shifting mentality. They’ve got a ways to go, but this version of Rice baseball will cause fits for their opponents in Clearwater in a few weeks, provided they can get there.

Up Next: vs Wichita State x3 (Fri-Sun)

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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 2025: MLB Owls Update – April 30

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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 made an emphatic statement this week with a thrilling pinch-hit grand slam, eliminating a four-run deficit to the Los Angeles Dodgers with one swing of the bat. In four games this week, Myers went 6-for-8 with five RBI and an absurd 1.903 OPS, further boosting his numbers in an already impressive start to the season.

Through Apr. 30, Myers is hitting .351 with four extra-base hits, two walks and 15 strikeouts. His OPS is .864 and he’s collected 10 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.

Update: Canterino was released from his contract this week and promptly resigned to a two-year minor league contract days later.

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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Rice Baseball avoids sweep, but drops series to UAB

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Rice Baseball salvaged the series finale against UAB after dropping the first two games behind a largely quiet offense that went off for 12 runs on Sunday.

FRIDAY | UAB 3, Rice 0

Back in the Friday night role after several weeks in the bullpen, Davion Hickson delivered what was unquestionably his best performance of the season. Hickson went 7.2 innings, striking out a career-high 10 while limiting the Blazers to three hits.

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

UAB snuck the first run across in the opening inning with a single, a stolen base and a groundout. Hickson put things in cruise control after that, getting through the first two outs of the eighth before allowing two runners to reach and exiting the game. The last two runs charged to his ledger were allowed by Jack Ben-Shoshan in relief. The Rice bats did little to help the cause, tallying three hits, no runs and 13 strikeouts.

SATURDAY | UAB 8, Rice 6

Rice baseball did not get its typically sharp start from JD McCracken in Game 2, a reality that proved fateful as the bats struggled to produce. UAB scored three in the first, two in the second and on in the third before McCracken was lifted in favor of Von Baker and eventually Mark Perkins. By the time the fourth inning came to a close, Rice was trailing 8-0.

Last Weekend: Rice Baseball takes two of three from Memphis

The Owls most encouraging offensive inning of the weekend would soon follow. The Owls loaded the bases off Braxton Shelton with one out, then proceeded to rattle off five consecutive hits, scoring six runs before a double-play ended the inning. Back within two runs, Rice would manage just two base runners for the remainder of the game, dropping the series.

SUNDAY | Rice 12, UAB 10

The Rice bats woke up for the series finale, scoring three times in the first off UAB starter Isaac Warrick, who would then be the victim of two Rice home runs in the second, putting the Blazers in a 6-0 hole after two frames. UAB gave Rice a scare with a five-run third, with Ben-Shoshan getting a strikeout to strand the would-be tying run in scoring position.

A three-run home run from Blaine Brown, his second long ball of the afternoon, gave Rice some breathing room before the Owls added another insurance run in the sixth and the seventh before UAB began a comeback of their own. UAB scored five straight to get back within one.

Rice pushed one run across in the ninth, turning the ball over to Jackson Blank in the bottom of the inning. Blank got two outs, but loaded the bases. Marco Fuentes entered and coaxed a fly out to right field to extinguish the threat and end the game.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: G Nick Anderson commits to Owls

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Another Transfer Portal addition to the Rice basketball recruiting class has been announced. Prairie View A&M guard Nick Anderson committed to the Owls.

Days after the Transfer Portal has opened the 2025 Rice Basketball recruiting class has grown by two. Following the commitment of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi center Stephen Giwa on Thursday, the Owls have picked up another pledge. Prairie View A&M guard Nick Anderson has committed to the Owls.

“They made me feel the most wanted, and made sure I knew they would have my back whether things are good or bad,” Anderson told The Roost in regards to his early impressions of Rice and the Owls’ staff. “It just felt like family as soon as I walked through the doors.”

To get to South Main, Anderson has worked his way up from the DIII level, beginning his collegiate basketball career at St. Thomas in 2022, scoring 8 points with four rebounds against Rice in 2023 on his way to averaging 16.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game during that sophomore season. From there, Anderson made the leap to D1 and did not miss a beat.

In his lone season at Prairie View, Anderson averaged 18.9 points per game before suffering an injury that ended his season. At the time his season ended in late December, following an 18-point, 10-rebound performance against Rice, Anderson was the leading scorer in the WAC who already had big games against DePaul, Mississippi State and UCLA on his resume.

Anderson is the type of explosive scorer the Owls needed desperately last season and in terms of how transfers are graded, he’s one of the more proven commodities that have headed to South Main in recent years.

More: Rice Basketball 2025 Roster Tracker

“I feel like I score the ball at a high level without having to force it and ruin the flow of the offense,” Anderson said.

The highlights are enticing and seem to back up Anderson’s assertions. He isn’t afraid to put the ball down and go, moving with an aggressive intensity in the paint. He’s also a capable three-point threat, making him a versatile scorer from all three levels and a big get for Rice basketball from the portal.

“I like to have fun on the court, so I may have some goofy reactions,” he joked. “lol “But winning is the most important thing so I’m here to help Rice win some games.”

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