Rice University
9-7
California
9-4
Rice Erupts, Slugs Past California 26-11
3/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 13, 2010
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
The sixth inning on Saturday afternoon might not have represented true nirvana for the Rice batting order, but the frame did offer the Owls a wonderful opportunity to simultaneously focus and relax, states of being that had proven elusive through the opening weeks of the season.
Fittingly, senior first baseman Jimmy Comerota provided the spark the Owls needed for an offensive eruption long overdue, and with the fuse ignited the two most talented hitters in the lineup - junior shortstop Rick Hague and sophomore third baseman Anthony Rendon - made sure that the Owls would leave little doubt as to their offensive prowess.
Hague matched a program record by reaching base seven times while Rendon had eight RBIs as Rice rallied from a five-run deficit by scoring a dozen runs in the sixth while clubbing California 26-11 at Reckling Park.
No. 15 Rice (9-7) scored the sixth-most runs in a single game by pummeling the Bears' bullpen. California (9-4) trotted four pitchers to the mound in the sixth as the Owls sent 17 batters to the plate. Comerota started the uprising with a one-out triple to right-center field, and the carnage that followed relieved the Owls of pent-up frustrations, aggravation stemming from an experienced lineup that was scuffling.
"We hit a moment today where we just found a groove and we just rolled with it," Comerota said. "We stopped thinking about it, we stopped worrying about it, and we just played the game. Hopefully this turns into a turning point for us."
Eerily, Rice coach Wayne Graham spoke on the very subject of turning points following the Owls' listless 6-4 loss on Friday evening. He reinforced his belief in the abilities of his players and recalled moments where talented teams recovered from early-season slumps, built momentum, and realized their potential during the NCAA Tournament.
The Owls hit that switch against Chris Petrini, Daniel Wolford (0-1), Joe Kurrasch and Michael Lowden. Five consecutive Owls reached after Comerota tripled, with Rendon scoring the game-tying run on a Steven Sultzbaugh single to left. Owls catcher Craig Manuel, who opened the frame with a fly out to center, reached on a two-base error by Bears right fielder Danny Oh and scored along with Comerota when Michael Ratterree followed with a two-run double. Of the 17 batters that came to the plate, six reached twice, with Comerota adding a single to his triple.
"There's no doubt that at this moment there's a relief, and there's no doubt that as that inning was going on you felt all the tension relax," said Comerota, who went 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs over his final four plate appearances. "But at the same time there was a certain level of focus. Maybe there was some frustration getting released and we all just wanted to get in on it, or maybe it was something else. We just know that we found a groove and finally did what we know we're capable of doing."
Said Hague: "In an inning like that all our frustration was at the peak, and then that inning just let us breathe in the dugout. Everyone was uptight and we were going up and swinging at bad pitches; everyone could feel it and it was really contagious. But once we broke it open, it was like everyone took a big sigh of relief."
Hague, in particular, realized his vast potential. He began the day hitting just .228 with a pedestrian .695 OPS but was nonetheless elevated to the third spot in the order on the strength of a positive conversation with Graham about his approach at the plate, solid hitting sessions during batting practice, and a 2-for-4 effort on Friday night that included a run-scoring double in the second and an opposite-field homer in the ninth.
Hague singled and scored as part of the Owls' two-run first, was hit by a pitch in the second before stroking a single to center in the fifth, and then drove in the first two runs of the sixth with a bases-loaded double. Hague added two more walks and an RBI single, scoring after each of his final four plate appearances. By reaching base all seven times he stepped to the plate, Hague bumped his on-base percentage 74 points.
"The guys look at me like I should be putting up numbers and having good production for the team, and I hadn't been doing that thus far," said Hague, who was 4-for-4 with five runs. "To be able to do that and be able to feel like I helped the team win ... really makes me feel good."
Added Graham: "When you do things like that (elevate struggling hitters in the order) you do it because you think a person is swinging the bat well in batting practice. We talked some, too, and I listened to what he said, and it was like he's getting it."
Rendon kept the fire going with a three-run homer to center field in the Owls' six-run seventh and a grand slam to center in their six-run eighth. Tyler Duffey (2-0), whose scoreless innings of work in the fifth and sixth kept the Owls close, was lost in the offensive smorgasbord. Rice hit 15-for-26 with runners in scoring position and 7-for-15 with two outs.
Rice will attempt to square the series in the finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Duffey, Tyler (2-0)
L: Wolford, Daniel (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Guinn, Brian 1 ; Canha, Mark 1 ; Krist, Chadd 2 ; Bunting, Chad 1
HR: Renda, Tony 1 ; Delfino, Mitch 1 ; Semien, Marcus 1
RBI: Canha, Mark 2 ; Renda, Tony 3 ; Bunting, Chad 2 ; Delfino, Mitch 2 ; Semien, Marcus 2
SH: Oh, Danny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Guinn, Brian 1 ; Oh, Danny 1 ; Canha, Mark 2 ; Krist, Chadd 1 ; Renda, Tony 2 ; Bunting, Chad 1 ; Booker, Austin 1 ; Delfino, Mitch 1 ; Semien, Marcus 1
CS: Renda, Tony 1
HBP: Bunting, Chad 1 ; Booker, Austin 1
Batting:
2B: Ratterree, Michael 1 ; Hague, Rick 1
3B: Comerota, Jimmy 1
HR: Rendon, Anthony 2
RBI: Ratterree, Michael 3 ; Fuda, Michael 3 ; Hague, Rick 3 ; Rendon, Anthony 8 ; Mozingo, Chad 2 ; McDowell, Chase 2 ; Rathjen, Jeremy 1 ; Sultzbaugh, Steven 1 ; Comerota, Jimmy 1
SF: Comerota, Jimmy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ratterree, Michael 4 ; Fuda, Michael 5 ; Hague, Rick 5 ; Rendon, Anthony 3 ; Rathjen, Jeremy 1 ; Sultzbaugh, Steven 3 ; Manuel, Craig 1 ; Gonzales-Luna, Daniel 1 ; Comerota, Jimmy 3
HBP: Ratterree, Michael 2 ; Hague, Rick 1 ; Mozingo, Chad 1
