Rice University
19-7, 5-2
Tulane
17-12, 1-3
Owls Top Tulane 11-3 Friday Night
4/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 3, 2009
HOUSTON -- The first baseman Jimmy Comerota went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI to lead a 15-hit attack, while junior pitcher Jared Rogers worked a career-best 7.1 innings for his second win of the season as the Rice Owls baseball team topped Tulane 11-3 in the opening game of a three-game Conference USA series Friday night at Reckling Park in Houston.
The Owls opportunistically turned a Green Wave fielding error into a big three-run inning to start the game. Leadoff batter Brock Holt reached on the miscue and Chad Mozingo singled to right-center to put runners on the corners. Holt scored on a sacrifice fly by Diego Seastrunk. Mozingo then scored from first base on a two-out double to left by Rick Hague. Hague came home on an RBI single up the middle by Daniel Gonzales-Luna for a quick 3-0 advantage.
Tulane got a run back in the third. Nick Boullosa singled and stole second to move into scoring position. He came home on a hit up the middle to make it 3-1. The Green Wave were looking for more after a pair of walks loaded the bases, but the Owls worked out of the jam with a round-the-horn 5-4-3 double play.
The double-play on defense sparked the Owl offense. Mozingo led off the frame with a home run to right field for his second hit of the game and his fourth longball of the season. Seastrunk then doubled to right and scored on an RBI single by Anthony Rendon. Rendon stole second and scored on a base hit through the left side by Comerota that made it 6-1.
That was all the offensive support Rogers would need. The 6-foot-6 right-hander from Duncanville held the Green Wave in check with Rice career-bests for innings pitched (7.1) and strikeouts (4). Rogers scattered six singles and three walks to improve his season record to 2-1.
The Green Wave rallied for a run in the fourth by stringing together three-consecutive hits, all with two outs in the inning. Steve Moritz scored on Drew Allain's RBI single to make it a 6-2 game.
In the fifth Hague singled with one away, stole second and came home on Comerota's third base hit of the night to stretch the margin back up to five, 7-2. The Owls pushed across three more runs in the bottom of the seventh on three hits, three walks and a sacrifice fly. Gonzales-Luna knocked his first career home run as the Owls batted around.
Tulane scored its final run of the night in the eighth on a two-out single by Jeremy Schaffer and double by Seth Henry. The Blue & Gray however came right back in its final at bat with solo home run to left by Rendon. The shot was his team-leading eighth homer of the year. The Owls finished the contest with 15 hits. It was the ninth time in the last 11 games for Rice to get at least 13 hits in a game. Comerota led five Owls with two or more hits on the night.
Rice improved to 19-7 overall and 5-2 in conference. The Green Wave is now 17-12 on the season and 1-3 in C-USA play. The league series continues at Reckling Park through Sunday (April 5). Remaining game times are set for 2 pm on Saturday and 1 pm on Sunday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Rogers, Jared (2-1)
L: Conrad Flynn (3-3)
Batting:
2B: Seth Henry 1
RBI: Seth Henry 1 ; Drew Allain 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Jeremy Schaffer 1 ; Steve Moritz 1 ; Nick Boullosa 1
SB: Josh Prince 1 ; Nick Boullosa 1
Batting:
2B: Seastrunk, Diego 1 ; Hague, Rick 1 ; Comerota, Jimmy 1
HR: Mozingo, Chad 1 ; Rendon, Anthony 1 ; Gonzales-Luna, Daniel 1
RBI: Mozingo, Chad 1 ; Seastrunk, Diego 1 ; Rendon, Anthony 2 ; Hague, Rick 2 ; Gonzales-Luna, Daniel 2 ; Comerota, Jimmy 2
SF: Seastrunk, Diego 1 ; Hague, Rick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Holt, Brock 1 ; Mozingo, Chad 2 ; Seastrunk, Diego 1 ; Rendon, Anthony 3 ; Hague, Rick 2 ; Gonzales-Luna, Daniel 1 ; Comerota, Jimmy 1
SB: Rendon, Anthony 2 ; Hague, Rick 2 ; Comerota, Jimmy 2 ; Fuda, Michael 1
