Rice University
Creighton
Rice Clips Creighton Sunday At Reckling Park, 7-6
3/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 9, 2008
HOUSTON -- If you like to see versatility on the baseball diamond then Rice's Reckling Park, where the Owls rallied for a 7-6 win over visiting Creighton on the final day of competition at the Rice Invitational presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, was the place to be Sunday. Not only did Creighton's Pat Venditte, the only ambidextrous pitcher in college baseball work 3.1 innings in relief, Rice's Jared Gayhart delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the eighth inning and then struck out the side as a relief pitcher in the top of the ninth.
The Owls won their second game in a row to finish the home round-robin tournament with a 2-1 record. Michigan State posted an identical 2-1 tournament record while Western Carolina and Creighton were both 1-2. Rice collected seven runs on 11 hits, but had to battle its way back three different times to clinch Sunday's victory.
The Owls struck first for a run in the bottom of the first inning. Leadoff batter Derek Myers reached on an error and moved into scoring position on a ground out. Aaron Luna drove him home with a two-out single for 1-0 lead.
Creighton's middle of the lineup used the longball to take the lead in the second. Steve Winkleman led off with a homerun to left field and the next batter, Nick Nordgren, connected for a homer to almost the same spot on the very next pitch.
Rice came right back two more in the bottom of the frame. Chad Mozingo and Jess Buenger led off with back-to-back base hits and both runners moved up on a textbook sacrifice bunt by Jimmy Comerta. Gayhart, who had started the day as the right fielder, then slapped a two-out double off the wall in center and Blue & Gray was back on top 3-2.
The Bluejays took advantage of some Rice fielding miscues to regain the lead in the fifth. Joe Servais led off with a single and a fielding error on a sacrifice attempt put runners on first and second. A throwing error on a bunt scored an unearned run and a ground out plated one more for a Creighton 4-3 lead.
The Owls moved back in front with two runs in the fifth. Diego Seastrunk led off with a base hit and Luna followed with a double to right. Both scored on a single by Adam Zornes to flip the score once again, 5-4 Rice.
Creighton flipped the lead back in its favor, 6-5, without a hit in the sixth. The Bluejays scored two unearned runs on two walks, a Rice fielding error, a passed ball and a wild pitch for the sixth lead change of the day. Creighton was threatening for more runs with the bases-loaded and just one away in the top of the eighth, but Gayhart moved out of right field and on to the mound in relief of Jordan Dodson. The versatile Gayhart promptly induced a line-out to Buenger at second base, who quickly doubled-off the Bluejay runner at first to end the inning
Rice rallied for the final two runs in the eighth. Buenger stroked a leadoff single up the middle and was lifted for pinch-runner Rick Hague. The moved worked to a tee as Hague was able to score from first base on a Comerota double into the leftfield corner. A sacrifice bunt by Myers successfully advanced Comerota to third base, but proved to be unnecessary based on the next play. Gayhart blasted an RBI double into right field that made the 7-6 score.
Gayhart made the top of the ninth inning perhaps the easiest the Owls had seen all tournament long. He struck out each of three men he faced to end the game and improve his record on the mound to 2-0. Offensively the junior from Katy, Tex., finished the day with three RBI on a pair of hits to raise his season batting average to .348.
Rice improved to 8-5 overall while Creighton fell to 7-4. On the day Venditti, the Bluejay's right and left-handed pitcher, faced 19 batters in 3.1 innings of relief. He pitched to 13 of the Owls as a right-hander and six as a left-hander using a specially-made glove with two thumb slots on either end. Venditti scattered six hits and walk while striking out three.
The Owls next host longtime rival Texas at Reckling Park on Tuesday, March 11. First pitch with the Longorns is set for 6:30 pm.
