Owls Defeat UAB Friday In Series-Opener 8-2

Friday, April 27

Birmingham, Ala.

7:00 PM

Rice University

35-11, 14-2

UAB

18-26, 5-8

Rice Owls

UAB

<b>Matt Langwell was sound and solid for his first Rice win.</b>

Owls Defeat UAB Friday In Series-Opener 8-2

4/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 27, 2007

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Junior Jared Gayhart went 4-for-4 with a double and two RBI and sophomore pitcher Matt Langwell was sharp in working 7.0 innings as the third-ranked Rice baseball team coasted to an 8-2 road win against UAB in the opening game of a three-game Conference USA series Friday night at Young Memorial Field in Birmingham, Ala.

Rice took the lead early with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. Sophomore Aaron Luna drew a leadoff walk, Diego Seastrunk singled to right-center and Danny Lehmann walked to load the bases. Luna was able to score on a sacrifice fly by Brian Friday and Seastrunk dug for third to put men on the corners. Seastrunk's hustle led to a run because Jared Gayhart followed with base hit. The freshman scored easily from third and the Owls were ahead 2-0.

In the fourth Tyler Henley, Gayhart and Joe Savery strung together consecutive two-out singles to score another run. The Owls sprayed the ball around to left field, center and right, respectively, to stretch the margin to 3-0 with Savery's 37th RBI of the season.

The Blue & Gray opportunistically pushed across another run in the sixth. Friday singled with one out for his second hit of the night. He stole second to move into scoring position and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Gayhart singled him home with a base hit to center for a 4-0 advantage.

In the seventh Luna led off with a walk. He stole second and a UAB error allowed him to advance to third. Jordan Dodson drove him in with a base hit to make the score 5-0. The team then erupted for three runs in the top of the eighth on five-consecutive hits. Gayhart, Henley and Jess Buenger, had doubles. Luna blasted a triple as the Owls finished with 16 hits on the night.

That was more than enough room for Langwell. The sophomore right-hander made his first start in three weeks a memorable one by holding the Blazers scoreless for the first seven innings. He allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth. He scattered nine hits and a walk and struck out one while improving to 4-1 on the season. Senior Scott Lonergan worked the last two innings. He allowed one hit and struck out two.

Rice improved to 35-11 on the season and 14-2 in C-USA action. The Owls won their eighth in a row and for the 16th time in the last 17 games. UAB moved to 18-26 overall and 5-8 against the league.

The series continues through Sunday in Birmingham, Ala. Saturday's contest is slated for 2 pm. Sunday's series finale begins at noon.