Rice University
2-2
Houston
2-3
Owls Thump Houston 9-2 Wednesday Night At Reckling Park
2/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 25, 2009
HOUSTON -- Rice freshman Anthony Rendon capped a 4-for-4 night with a three-run homer to pace the ninth-ranked Rice baseball team to a 9-2 non-conference win over visiting crosstown rival Houston Wednesday night at the Owls' Reckling Park.
It was Houston that struck first for a run in the top of the first inning. Zak Presley singled with one away and moved into scoring position on a double to right-center by Chase Dempsay. Despite each of the first three UH batters hitting base safely to start the inning, the Rice outfielders kept the scoring to a single run by throwing runners out twice at third base. The Owls were able to get out of the inning and quickly turned the game around.
In the bottom of the second, Rendon, Jess Buenger and Jeremy Rathjen all singled with one away to tie the game 1-1. A wild pitch and a ground out pushed two more across home and the Owls were in the lead for good at 3-1.
The Blue & Gray was in front, but not finished scoring. Sophomore Rick Hague knocked a two-out home run to left field in the third to make it 4-1. Houston came right back with an unearned run in the top of the fourth after a walk to Matt Murphy and RBI single by Tom Wertz to cut the lead to 4-2.
The Owls exploded for five runs in the bottom of the frame. There were just two hits in the rally, highlighted by Rendon's first collegiate home run. A walk to Jimmy Comerota and two UH fielding errors first opened the door for one run. An RBI double by Diego Seastrunk stretched the margin to 6-2. With two men on base, two outs and facing two strikes, Rendon connected for his first round-tripper as an Owl. So far in four college games, the rookie standout from nearby Lamar High School is batting .600 (9-for-16) with a .933 slugging percentage.
The Rice pitchers were also sharp in handcuffing their crosstown rivals to just one earned run for the game and six singles for the final eight innings. Freshman Andew Benak worked 3.2 innings in his first career start. Freshman Taylor Wall scattered two hits over the next three innings with no walks and two strikeouts. Jared Rogers, Abe Gonzales and Jordan Rogers chipped in to keep the Cougars off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
Rice improved to 2-2 on the season. The Cougars fell to 2-3. The Owls next face a host of talented teams at the annual College Classic Tournament downtown at Minute Maid Park Friday through Sunday (Feb. 27- Mar. 1). Rice plays Pac-10 power UCLA on Friday night at 7 pm, followed by state rivals Texas A&M and Baylor at 7 pm Saturday and 2:30 pm on Sunday, respectively.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wall, Taylor (1-1)
L: Touchton (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Kelso 1 ; Dempsay 1
RBI: Dempsay 1 ; Wertz 1
SH: White 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Presley 1 ; Murphy, M. 1
CS: Kelso 1
HBP: Dempsay 1
Batting:
2B: Seastrunk, Diego 1
HR: Hague, Rick 1 ; Rendon, Anthony 1
RBI: Seastrunk, Diego 1 ; Hague, Rick 1 ; Rendon, Anthony 3 ; Rathjen, Jeremy 1 ; Comerota, Jimmy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Holt, Brock 1 ; Sultzbaugh, Steven 1 ; Seastrunk, Diego 1 ; Hague, Rick 1 ; Rendon, Anthony 2 ; Buenger, Jess 1 ; Rathjen, Jeremy 1 ; Comerota, Jimmy 1
SB: Holt, Brock 1 ; Rendon, Anthony 1 ; Rathjen, Jeremy 1
CS: Comerota, Jimmy 1
