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Rice Baseball edges UAB for first-ever AAC series win

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Rice Baseball narrowly missed a series sweep, settling for two wins over the weekend against UAB, their first-ever AAC series victory.

FRIDAY | Rice 4 – UAB 2

The Rice bats wasted no time on Friday night, staking staff ace Parker Smith to an early lead. RBI singles from Treyton Rank and Pierce Gallo put the Owls in front 2-0 in the first. Rank drove in another run when he was hit by a pitch in the second inning.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball tops TAMU-CC in midweek action

Leading 3-0, Smith cruised through six innings. He briefly ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing the Blazers to score twice, but was otherwise unscathed. Jacob Devenney added an insurance run on an RBI double in the sixth. Tom Vincent took over in the seventh and bridged 1.1 innings to closer Davion Hickson, who earned the save.

SATURDAY | Rice 4 – UAB 3 (15 inn.)

JD McCracken delivered a quality start in Game 2, his lone blemish coming via an unearned run when a defensive error allowed the Blazers to get on the board in the third inning. McCracken avoided having a loss tacked on his ledger when Devenny delivered a sac fly in the eighth inning to tie the game. That would be the last run for quite a while as the game entered extra innings and stayed deadlocked at 1-1 until the twelfth.

UAB went in front with two runs in the top of the inning and it might have been more had the potential third run not been tagged out at the plate. That proved to be significant soon after as Rice tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a single and a sac fly. Level at 3-3, Eric Correa provided the final dramatics, delivering a walk-off double to right field to clinch the series.

SUNDAY | UAB 4 – Rice 3

The two sides traded runs in the early innings, completing the third inning tied at one and the fourth inning tied at three before UAB went out in front in the fifth, 4-2. Rice starter Tucker Alch was lifted for the tandem of Garrett Stratton and Mauricio Rodriguez, who combined to throw five scoreless innings, giving the offense a chance to claw back.

Rice got one run in the eight on a two-out, RBI single from Ben Dukes. They then had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the ninth, but squandered a leadoff triple from Jack Riedel, failing to get him home. With the running run 90-feet away, the Owls fell by one run.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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1. It’s Time for a Devenny/Dukes Dialogue

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Rice Baseball drops Tulane series but notches first-ever AAC win

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Although they dropped the series to Tulane two games to one, Rice baseball was able to salvage the finale and earn its first-ever AAC win.

FRIDAY | Tulane 14 – Rice 7 (11 innings)

Treyton Rank got Rice baseball off to the right foot on Friday night. His first big hit came in the third inning, a double to left center which put the Owls in front 2-0. Just two innings later, a triple gave the home team a 4-0 advantage. A big lead with Parker Smith on the mound had Rice feeling good, but trouble loomed as soon as Smith left the game.

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Tulane forced Smith to exit in the sixth, scoring two runs credited to his ledger in the frame. The Green Wave tied it up in the seventh then took a 6-4 lead in the eighth. Jacob Devenny leveled the score with a clutch, two-out single in the eighth. The score stayed there for a while until the 11th inning. Garrett Stratton lost command and loaded the bases before ceding the mound to Jack Ben-Shoshan, who was battered and left with a large deficit and no outs recorded.

SATURDAY | Tulane 10 – Rice 1

JD McCracken labored through 5.2 innings on Saturday, working through base runners to give Rice a chance, allowing just three runs (all unearned) on six hits and four walks. The offense gave him one run of support while he was on the mound, a solo home run in the fifth from Jack Riedel.

McCracken gave way to Mauricio Rodriguez who got out of the sixth inning without further damage then allowed one run in the seventh before things went south in the eighth. Tulane struck for five in the inning, expanding their lead to 9-1 against the Owls who didn’t manage any additional runs for the afternoon, falling 10-1.

SUNDAY | Rice 4 – Tulane 2

Little by little, Rice built a lead in the series finale. An RBI groundout from Nathan Becker put Rice in front in the first, then a fielder’s choice and a single from Kyte McDonald added two more to the Owls’ total in second inning before Becker pushed the Rice lead to 4-0 with a single in the fifth.

As the bats methodically tacked on runs, the pitching trio of Tucker Alch, Ryland Urbanczyk and Tyler Hamilton were able to limit the Tulane bats, which had vexed the Owls’ relievers throughout much of the weekend. Hickson entered in the ninth inning to slam the door, notching the first-ever American Conference win for Rice baseball.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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1. Fridays have to be for the Owls

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ON DECK | at Sam Houston (Tues), at Wichita State (Thr-Sat)

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Bats go cold as Rice Baseball drops series at Hawaii

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Rice baseball got things started with a Friday night win, but couldn’t hang on, dropping the four-game series 3-1 at Hawaii.

FRIDAY | Rice 5 – Hawaii 2

Treyton Rank and Brendan Cumming picked up RBI hits in the second inning to stake Parker Smith to an early lead on Friday night. The Owls’ ace would allow one run on three hits, working five innings before giving way to the bullpen. The pitching staff would be given a bit more cushion as the offense tacked on an additional run in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings, getting to the bottom of the ninth with a 5-2 lead.

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It was at that point that Davion Hickson, in his second inning of work, ran into a bit of trouble. With the potential tying run at the plate and one out, he was lifted in favor of Garrett Stratton. After walking a batter to load the bases, Stratton induced a game-ending double-play, the Owls’ fourth of the game.

SATURDAY | Hawaii 4 – Rice 3

Rice starter JD McCracken battled through five innings and pitched rather well on Saturday, with one tough inning that would prove problematic for the Owls. Hawaii tagged McCracken for three runs in the fourth, collecting four hits, only one of which left the infield.

Trailing by three, Rice chipped away. Jack Riedel doubled in one run in the sixth before Kyte McDonald’s third home run in the eighth, his third of the season, tied the game. The deadlock wouldn’t last long. Tyler Hamilton allowed a solo shot in the bottom of the inning, which proved to be the difference in the one-run game.

SUNDAY | Hawaii 12 – Rice 1

Following a pair of tight games, the third rendition was anything but close. Hawaii struck for seven runs in the first inning, knocking starter Ryland Urbaczyk from the game quickly and taking out the rest of their fury against reliever Mauricio Rodriguez. Rice would never recover.

The rest of the bullpen struggled with free passes, walking a combined 11 batters on the afternoon and surrendering additional crooked numbers in the fifth and eighth innings. Rice scored their only run of the day in the second on a home run from Trey Duffield.

MONDAY | Hawaii 7 – Rice 5

Things looked dire early on in the series finale when Rice starter Robert Fernandez was ambushed for three runs in the first inning via a bases-clearing double. Fernandez settled in and got through another inning and change, giving way to Tom Vincent who got the Owls through five innings without further damage.

The fifth was when Rice offense started to wake up. Kyte McDonald and Treyton Rank each delivered RBI doubles, one in the fifth and another in the sixth, give Rice a 4-3 lead. Hawaii would answer with a three-spot of their own in the bottom of the sixth, taking a 6-4 advantage. Rice would not lead again, dropping the game and the series.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball leaves another weekend with a series loss, turning in several competitive outings with only one win to show for it. Here are three takeaways from the series:

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1. Doubled-up

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Rice Baseball swept by Stanford

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Rice baseball left Reckling Park without a win this weekend, falling in three straight games to Stanford.

FRIDAY | Stanford 6 – Rice 2

The home crowd exploded with cheers when Jack Riedel launched a seventh-inning pitch over the left field berm for a no-doubt, leadoff home run. While the blast was impressive, it also represented the Owls’ first hit of the night in a game they trailed 5-0 before that ball crossed over the fence.

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Stanford starting pitcher Matt Scott had allowed just two base runners to that point, both on walks. Smith outdueled Rice ace Parker Smith who had labored through six innings, earning the loss. A late-inning rally would prove too little, too late.

SATURDAY | Stanford 8 – Rice 2

Following a spectacular complete game the weekend prior, Rice pitcher JD McCracken was not as fortunate this time out. He labored through 5.2 innings, leaving in a precarious spot in the sixth before two more runs were added to his ledger on a double surrendered by Jack Ben-Shoshan.

Trailing 8-0 with one hit of their own, Rice couldn’t mount a meaningful comeback. Jack Riedel gave the Owls their only offensive spark of the day, lifting a two-out home run over the wall to prevent a shutout. That salvaged some pride but had no impact on the Owls’ chances at a comeback.

SUNDAY | Stanford 4 – Rice 3

Although Stanford did strike first once again, things were much closer on Sunday in the series finale. After the Cardinal put up a two-spot in the first, Rice rallied to tie the game in the second inning. Treyton Rank delivered a key RBI double to even the score at 2-2.

The game would remain deadlocked there until the fifth inning when Stanford chased Rice start Ryland Urbanczyk from the game and moved ahead on a two-run homer off his successor, Tom Vincent. Rice got one back in the bottom half of the inning but wouldn’t score again.

Rice had a chance to break through in the eighth but stranded the bases loaded. Davion Hickson was a bright spot in the late innings, striking out five in 3.1 scoreless.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball wrapped up a rough week on the diamond with a weekend sweep at the hands of Stanford. Here are three takeaways from the series:

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1. Missing my Guy

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Rice Baseball 2024: Names to Know — Lineup

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Entering Year 3 under head coach Jose Cruz Jr the Rice baseball roster is starting to take shape. Here are a few names to know at the plate.

The primary lineup for the 2024 Rice baseball season should feature a solid mix of old and new. Veteran players, incoming transfers, up-and-coming home-grown players and everything in between will see action on the diamond at Reckling this season. Here are the key pieces the Owls will have to work with at the plate and in the field this season.

Moving On

Losing Connor Walsh stands to be the biggest hurdle to overcome at the plate for this team. Walsh led all regulars in average, slugging and on-base percentage last season. Drew Holderbach and Aaron Smigelski re the other two notable contributors at the plate who won’t be with the Owls this coming season.

Coming Back

Fortunately, the list of returning players is longer than those headed out. Jack Riedel flirted with a 300 average last year and showcased a decent amount of power. The plan had been for him to hold down third base, instead, he’ll be moving across the diamond to play first base. That transition is necessary because Guy Garibary suffered an ACL injury in practice and announced this week he will miss the entirety of the 2024 season.

More: Potential the word for Rice Baseball in Year 3 under Cruz

Going around the horn, Pierce Gallo will handle second with Ben Royo, fresh off a fantastic freshman season, holding down shortstop. Max Johnson is a utility guy who could potentially backfill at third in place of Riedel. Manny Garza will be the primary catcher.

Nathan Becker and Ben Dukes are potential reserve bats and designated hitter options, Becker especially, after seeing a more limited role a year ago. As things stand, designated hitter and third base appear to have the greatest amount of uncertainty.

Added to the Mix

The outfield should be flush with new faces. Wichita State transfer Kyte McDonald has the potential to be a middle-off-the-lineup guy in center field. He’ll be sandwiched by Florida State transfer Treyton Rank and Princeton transfer Brendan Cumming. On paper, that trio looks to be one of the most potent outfields the Owls have fielded in quite some time.

Like Royo did last year, someone will undoubtedly emerge and force their way onto the lineup card. Freshman Landon West might be the best bet right now. He’s impressed during his limited sample size and could see some at bats in the near future.

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