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Rice Baseball defeated by Lamar

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Rice baseball overcame an early deficit but couldn’t keep up with the Lamar bats, falling to the Cardinals on Tuesday night at Reckling Park.

The situation looked dire on Tuesday night when Rice baseball found itself in a 4-0 hole against the visiting Lamar Cardinals as starter Tucker Alch labored through the early innings. The bats would come to his rescue, getting all four runs back in the bottom of the second and putting Rice in front with a two-spot in the fourth.

By the time Alch left the contest, he was in line for the win. Expectations had to be measured, though, as Alch handed the ball off to Garrett Stratton in the top of the fifth with two on and none out, clinging to a one-run advantage.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball winless at Astros College Classic

Not only did that advantage go up in smoke, but the Owls’ lead would never materialize again. After jumping in front by two, Lamar would score the last seven runs of the game, battering a beleaguered Rice bullpen and sending the Owls to a fifth consecutive loss

What it means | Youth Movement

The lineup has continued to skew younger and younger as the Owls’ season has progressed and that youth movement doesn’t seem to be going away. In just his second game in the leadoff spot, Hiram Bocachica went 3-for-6 with 2 RBI. Fellow freshman Michael Zito and Cole Green each scored two runs with Zito adding a three-hit game, too.

Although he’s not a freshman, Tobias Motley became the only Rice player this season to leave the yard multiple times, getting the Owls on the board with a solo shot in the second inning. Fellow sophomore Landon West walked twice. Blaine Brown got into the action later on, picking up a pair of hits, one of them a double.

More: 2025 Rice Baseball Season Preview

In a season full of more bad news than Rice baseball fans would have hoped, the younger players have been the bright spot. Watching them develop and progress has the potential to be one of the defining throughlines of the season.

ON DECK | vs Houston (Wed), vs Yale (Fri-Sun)

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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 splits wire-to-wire series with USC

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Rice Baseball and USC played a pair of games that went down to the final innings, splitting a pair of games in dramatic fashion at Reckling Park.

FRIDAY | USC 7 – Rice 4 (11)

Davion Hickson worked through plenty of traffic on the bases in his five innings of action in the series opener but limited the USC offense to one run, notching seven strikeouts. His replacement, Von Baker, allowed two runs to score, putting Rice in a 3-2 hole, with both Owls’ runs driven in by Treyton Rank in the second and sixth innings, respectively.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball tops Sam Houston in Home Opener

The action started to pick up in earnest again in the ninth. Still trailing by one, pinch hitter Colin Robson drew a walk, moved up a single from Blaine Brown and scored on a sac fly from Landon West to tie the game. USC tacked on one in the top of the tenth before Gunnett Carlson leveled the score with a solo shot to right field.

The moment was electric, but was not long lasting. USC scored three runs in the top of the 11th off Reed Gallant before Rice went quietly in the bottom of the frame, dropping the opening game 7-4.

SATURDAY | Cancelled, Weather

SUNDAY | Rice 4 – USC 3

Rice struck first on Sunday, pushing across two in the first inning on an RBI single from Gunnett Carlson and an error allowing Brown to score from third. Robert Fernandez held the 2-0 advantage until USC scratched one run across in the third, eventually leveling the score via a sac fly charged to JD McCracken in relief.

More: 2025 Rice Baseball Season Preview

Tobias Motley made sure the Owls’ time without the lead was short lived, walloping a pinch-hit home run over the right field wall to open the seventh inning. Blaine Brown and Garrett Stratton got Rice through the eighth before USC tied the game on sac fly off of Stratton in the ninth, putting the burden back on the bats to finish the game.

Michael Zito would be the hero, delivering a walk off home run — his first collegiate hit and the Owls’ first walk off home run since 2021 — to send the Owls’ off with a crowd-raising home win.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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Rice Baseball 2025: MLB Owls Spring Training Update

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The 2025 MLB season is fast approaching and Rice baseball alums are busy on the mound and at the plate in Spring Training. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls.

In Camp

Dane Myers – Miami Marlins

A member of the Marlins’ 40-Man roster, Myers is in Spring Training with the Marlins, his third season with the club.

Tristan Gray – Chicago White Sox

Gray spent time with the Marlins and Athletics last season before singing a minor-league contract with the White Sox in February. He is a non-roster invite to Spring Training.

Matt Canterino – Minnesota Twins

A member of the Twins’ 40-Man roster, Canterino participated in Spring Training with the club a year ago before a rotator cuff injury cost him the entire 2024 season. He’s full-go for Spring Training this year as he hopes to make the big league club as a reliever.

J.T. Chargois – Texas Rangers

Chargois signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers this offseason. He is a non-roster invite to Spring Training. 

Glenn Otto – Houston Astros

Otto signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros this offseason. He is a non-roster invite to Spring Training and hopes to make the big league club as a reliever.

Injury News

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

The Angels announced this week Anthony Rendon would have hip surgery that is expected to keep him out for an extended time, potentially the entire 2025 season. The injury is another tough blow for the Halos’ slugger who has battled several different maladies throughout his time in Los Angeles.

Around The World

Jon Duplantier – Japan

Duplantier initial signed a minor league contract with the Brewers this winter, but was granted his release so that he could sign with the Hanshin Tigers of the Nippon Professional Baseball League (Japan).

Knocking on the Door (Potential AAA Call-Ups)

Evan Kravetz – Cincinnati Reds

Kravetz made his big league debut a season ago and looks to begin the 2025 season in AAA

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