Rice University
42-11, 21-3
Tulane
36-18-1, 13-9-1
Big! But Not Easy
5/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 16, 2008
Box Score Game 1
Box Score Game 2
NEW ORLEANS, La. -- With an early lead to support him, Rice sophomore right-hander Mike Ojala struck out a career high 10 batters in a career-long 6.2 innings in a 6-2 win over 24th-ranked Tulane in the late game of a Friday double-header at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans. The third-ranked Owls also won the twinbill's early game by a score of 8-4 for a three-game sweep of the Green Wave in Conference USA road series that began on Thursday and took just a little more than 27 hours to complete.
Rice won its tenth win in a row and 22nd victory in the last 23 games. The team wrapped-up the regular season with a 42-11 record and 21-3 mark in C-USA action. The Owls next play UAB in the 2008 Entergy Conference USA Championship starting on Wednesday (May 21) as the event's No. 1 seed.
The Blue & Gray had already clinched the series with a win in the middle game (played earlier in the afternoon) and came out blazing for four big runs in the top of the first inning in an attempt to complete the sweep in the nightcap. Jared Gayhart led off the game with a single, J.P. Padron walked and Rick Hague bunted for a hit to load the bases. Aaron Luna stroked a double to double to left to score twoquick runs. Hague came home on a ground ball that allowed Luna to go to third. Luna then scored easily on a sacrifice fly by Chad Mozingo and a key 4-0 lead that helped calm the rowdy 3,554 Green Wave fans.
The early lead helped Ojala coast to one of his best outings an Owl. The sophomore from Kingwood proceeded to strike out a career-high 10 batters in working a career-long 6.2 innings. He scattered just five hits and a walk on the way to remaining undefeated at 5-0. Tulane rallied for runs in the sixth and the seventh, but Bobby Bell entered the contest in the seventh and held Tulane in check with no runs on no hits with four strikeouts. Bell picked up his first save of the season in the process.
Tulane did manage to cut the margin to 4-2, but Rice got the runs right back in the eighth. Adam Zornes walked and Mozingo clubbed a triple that went all the way to the wall for an RBI. Derek Myers singled to left to drive Mozingo in from third to make it 6-2.
Rice had the quick start by building from the momentum of its 8-4 win in Friday's first game. That contest had no shortage of drama with a come from victory. Trailing by two runs with two out in the top of the eighth inning, the Owls rallied for six unanswered runs.
After Rice was able to keep Tulane off the scoreboard for the first three frames, the Green Wave put three runs on the board in bottom of the fourth. The Owls had retired nine men in a row but the second trip through the lineup was a different story. Seth Henry walked with one away and two batters later Jared Dyer started a parade of four-straight hits. The Blue & Gray finally worked out of the jam but were down 3-0.
The Owls came right battled back for two runs on three doubles in the top of the fifth. Jimmy Comerota led off with a double down the left-field line and Myers drove a double to the gap in right-center for the team's first run of the game. Padron knocked a double into left for an RBI that cut the lead to one, 3-2.
Tulane added another score in the fifth. Seth Henry doubled-in a run after a leadoff walk to extend the lead to 4-2. The Green Wave proceeded to hold the lead all the way to two outs in the top of the ninth inning. With two-away and a man on base, Hagie blasted his eighth home run of the season to tie the game, 4-4. The Owls then exploded for four more runs on two hits and two walks in the top of the ninth. The big blow was a three-run homer by Diego Seastrunk for his fifth round-tripper of the year.
Cole St.Clair struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to earn his eighth win. Myers tied a career-high with three hits in the game and Padron tallied three safties as well.
Rice is finished with the three-game series, but the Owls are not finished with their stay in New Orleans. The team will remain in town for the upcoming 2008 Entergy Conference USA Championship from May 21-25. The Blue & Gray will play as the No. 1 seed and the team could have a full 10-day stay in the Big Easy if it advances all the way to the championship finale on May 25.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ojala, Mike (5-0)
L: Matt Petiton (6-1)
S: Bell, Bobby (1)
Batting:
2B: Luna, Aaron 1
3B: Mozingo, Chad 1
RBI: Luna, Aaron 2 ; Zornes, Adam 1 ; Mozingo, Chad 2 ; Myers, Derek 1
SH: Hague, Rick 1
SF: Mozingo, Chad 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gayhart, Jared 1 ; Padron, J.P. 1 ; Hague, Rick 1 ; Luna, Aaron 1 ; Seastrunk, Diego 1 ; Mozingo, Chad 1
SB: Myers, Derek 1
HBP: Gayhart, Jared 1 ; Luna, Aaron 1 ; Mozingo, Chad 1
Batting:
2B: Seth Henry 1 ; Jared Dyer 1
RBI: Jared Dyer 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Drew Allain 1 ; Josh Prince 1
