Rice University Athletics
Rice University
1-2
Stanford
2-1
Stanford Tops Rice 6-2 Sunday At Reckling Park
2/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 20, 2011
HOUSTON -- The Stanford baseball team collected 13 hits, including three for extra bases, on the way to a 6-2 win over the Rice Owls in front of a Reckling Park crowd of 4,233 Sunday afternoon in Houston.
A three-game total of more than 12,000 fans attended college baseball's only season-opening weekend series that featured two nationally-ranked teams. The Cardinal claimed the series two games to one.
The Owls struck for the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman Tyler Cook led off with a double, moved to third on a base hit by Anthony Rendon and scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael Fuda.
Stanford came right back with a run in the top of the second. Stephen Piscotty singled and moved to scoring position on an error. Austin Wilson hit a two-out RBI single to left before the Owls worked out of the inning. The same duo helped the Cardinal take the lead in the fourth. Piscotty hit a single through the right-side and Brian Ragira knocked an RBI triple to right. Wilson followed with a single to center to give Stanford a 3-1 lead. The Cardinal made it 4-1 with Lonnie Kauppila's solo home run to lead off the seventh.
Rice answered with a score in the bottom of the frame. Veteran catcher Craig Manuel led off with a single and freshman Michael Aquino ran for him at first base. Aquino advanced two stations on a Stanford fielding error and scored on Cook's ground ball to the right side to make it 4-2. Stanford added two more runs in the top of the eighth on four hits to stretch the margin to 6-2.
The Owls had another sound and solid outing on the mound from a freshman starting pitcher. Newcomer Austin Kubitza worked 6.0 innings in his Division I debut, allowing just two earned runs on six hits while striking out five with no walks.
Rice closes-out the season-opening four-game homestand on Tuesday, Feb. 22. The Owls host longtime rival Lamar at 4 pm at Reckling Park. The Blue & Gray then play at Texas State on Wednesday evening before returning home to host another Pac-10 power next weekend. Rice hosts Southern California on Feb. 25-27 at Reckling Park.
Sunday's box score(s) appear at the above link(s).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McArdle, Dean (1-0)
L: Kubitza, Austin (0-1)
S: Sandbrink, Danny (1)
Batting:
3B: Ragira, Brian 1
HR: Kauppila, Lonnie 1
RBI: Ragira, Brian 1 ; Wilson, Austin 3 ; Kauppila, Lonnie 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Piscotty, Stephen 3 ; Ragira, Brian 2 ; Kauppila, Lonnie 1
HBP: Kauppila, Lonnie 1
Batting:
2B: Cook, Keenan 1
RBI: Cook, Keenan 1 ; Fuda, Michael 1
SF: Fuda, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cook, Keenan 1 ; Manuel, Craig 1
