Rice University
10-9
Southern
6-12
Southern Tops Rice Sunday, 6-4
3/21/2021 5:59:00 PM | Baseball
Owls Next Play At Texas A&M Tuesday Night
HOUSTON — The Rice Baseball team had the potential tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth inning, but visiting Southern hung on for a 6-4 win over the Owls in the finale of the three-game weekend series Sunday afternoon at Reckling Park.
Runs Scored
Rice was quick to jump on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff single by Justin Dunlap and RBI double down the left field line by Braden Comeaux. Southern came alive for four runs on four hits and a pair of walks in the top of the third. The Owls were able to get two quick outs in the inning, but the Jaguars proceeded to get the next four batters on base. The big blow was a double to right-center by O'Neill Burgos to drive home two.
Southern added runs in the fourth and six innings to stretch the margin to 6-1. Rice fought back in the bottom of the frame with four consecutive base hits, highlighted by Antonio Cruz' RBI double to make it 6-3. Connor Walsh followed with a sac fly to bring Rice back to within two.
The Owls were able to get two runners on base in the ninth, but Southern worked out of the jam before facing the heart of the Rice order for the 6-4 final score.
For The Record
Rice is now 10-9 overall. Southern is 6-12 on the season. The Owls won the first two games of the series, 14-2 on Friday and 13-4 on Saturday.
Head Coach Matt Bragga Said
"Like I told the team, we cannot lose focus and think we can coast simply because we won the other games," Coach Bragga said. "I tip my cap to Southern, they played a great baseball game. We did not have enough quality at bats today. We have to be able to produce more runs. I believe in this team. We can bounce back, starting with a big week coming up."
Notes & Stats
• Four different Owls finished with two hits on the day, including Braden Comeaux who notched his team best ninth multi-hit game.
• The Owls reached double-digit hits for the seventh time this season.
• After Rice drew a combined 19 walks over the first two games of the series, Southern did not issue any walks on Sunday. Rice's lone free pass was a hit batsman in the ninth inning.
• The Owls were 3-for-8 (.375) when batting with runners in scoring position.
• There was only one inning where the Blue & Gray got its leadoff batter on base (first inning), and the team was 2-for-11 (.182) when batting with two outs in the frame.
• Rice used three pitchers, Brandon Deskins, Reed Gallant and Dalton Wood, who all worked 3.0 innings in the contest.
Next Up
Rice is on the road for its next game on March 23. The Owls play at longtime foe Texas A&M Tuesday night. Start time at Blue Bell Park is set for 6:32 pm.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Battaglia, J (2-1)
L: Deskins, Brandon (1-2)
S: Ozoa, E. (2)
Batting:
2B: Burgos, O 1 ; Moore, Z. 1 ; Green, B. 1 ; Smith, Q 1
RBI: Spears, T. 1 ; Burgos, O 2 ; Moore, Z. 1 ; Armstrong, J 2
SH: Smith, Q 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilbur, J. 1 ; Spears, T. 1 ; Burgos, O 1 ; Green, B. 2 ; Armstrong, J 1
SB: Armstrong, J 2
CS: Smith, Q 1
HBP: Wilbur, J. 1
Batting:
2B: Comeaux, Braden 1 ; Cruz, Antonio 1
RBI: Comeaux, Braden 1 ; Long, Justin 1 ; Cruz, Antonio 1 ; Walsh, Connor 1
SF: Walsh, Connor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dunlap, Justin 1 ; Comeaux, Braden 1 ; Garibay Jr., Guy 1 ; Long, Justin 1
SB: Karp, Will 1
HBP: Dunlap, Justin 1
