Friday, February 17
Houston, Texas
6:30 PM
Rice University
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Photo by: Maria Lysaker - Rice Athletics
Louisiana Edges Owls in Opener
2/17/2023 11:05:00 PM | Baseball
Late HR foils Owls' bid
In Brief: Parker Smith tossed six strong innings in his first Opening Day assignment but a late two-run homer by Louisiana proved to be the difference as the Ragin' Cajuns took a 5-4 decision at Reckling Park on Friday night.
The Details: Rice presented Smith with an early lead, striking for a run in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-out single by Guy Garibay Jr. and an RBI double by Manny Garza. That held up until the third when Louisiana struck for three runs, but Smith steadied himself and did not allow another hit over his next three frames while his teammates rallied to take the lead. Aaron Smigelski opened the fourth with a single and advanced to third on a sac bunt and a wild pitch before scoring on a ground out by Nathan Becker. They took the lead with a pair of runs in the fifth. Smigelski opened the Owls' two-run sixth with a walk and advanced to second on an single by Drew Holderbach. Both runners advanced on a sac bunt. Smigelski scored on a sac fly by freshman Ben Royo and Holderbach would come home to allow Rice to re-take the lead after Jack Riedel coaxed the third consecutive walk by Louisiana pitchers.
Notable:
Up Next: Game two if the series is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday. Justin Long will make his first career pitching appearance with a start against RHP Blake McGehee. Sunday's finale at 1 p.m. will see JD McCracken make his Rice debut against Louisiana's Jackson Nezuh.
The Details: Rice presented Smith with an early lead, striking for a run in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-out single by Guy Garibay Jr. and an RBI double by Manny Garza. That held up until the third when Louisiana struck for three runs, but Smith steadied himself and did not allow another hit over his next three frames while his teammates rallied to take the lead. Aaron Smigelski opened the fourth with a single and advanced to third on a sac bunt and a wild pitch before scoring on a ground out by Nathan Becker. They took the lead with a pair of runs in the fifth. Smigelski opened the Owls' two-run sixth with a walk and advanced to second on an single by Drew Holderbach. Both runners advanced on a sac bunt. Smigelski scored on a sac fly by freshman Ben Royo and Holderbach would come home to allow Rice to re-take the lead after Jack Riedel coaxed the third consecutive walk by Louisiana pitchers.
Notable:
- Rice dropped its seventh consecutive season-opener at Reckling Field and fell to 13-11 in the first game of a season at their home stadium.
- Louisiana won its 10th consecutive game vs. Rice.
- Rice scored in the bottom of the first inning of the opener. One year ago, the Owls did not score until the ninth inning of their second game of the season at Texas.
- Smith matched his career-high with five strikeouts, three of them over his final three innings of work.
- Garza threw out a pair of base stealers and picked a third runner off second…He threw out 16 of 38 as a freshman last season.
- Royo made his collegiate debut with a start in the opener and was 0x3 with an RBI.
- Holderbach (Marietta), Krishna Raj (Charleston Southern) and Max Johnson (Indiana) made their Rice debuts after joining the team as transfers.
Up Next: Game two if the series is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday. Justin Long will make his first career pitching appearance with a start against RHP Blake McGehee. Sunday's finale at 1 p.m. will see JD McCracken make his Rice debut against Louisiana's Jackson Nezuh.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Dylan Theut (1-0)
L: Raj, Krishna (0-1)
S: Brendan Moody (1)
Batting:
HR: Heath Hood 1
RBI: Heath Hood 3 ; Carson Roccaforte 1 ; CJ Willis 1
SF: Carson Roccaforte 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kyle DeBarge 2 ; Heath Hood 1 ; John Taylor 1 ; CJ Willis 1
CS: Carson Roccaforte 1 ; Julian Brock 1
HBP: Carson Roccaforte 1 ; John Taylor 1
PO: Will Veillon 1
Batting:
2B: Garza, Manny 1
RBI: Riedel, Jack 1 ; Garza, Manny 1 ; Becker, Nathan 1 ; Royo, Ben 1
SH: Garibay Jr., Guy 1 ; Holderbach, Drew 1 ; Becker, Nathan 1
SF: Royo, Ben 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Garibay Jr., Guy 1 ; Smigelski, Aaron 2 ; Holderbach, Drew 1
SB: Walsh, Connor 1
HBP: Johnson , Max 1
Game Leaders
AB
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RBI
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AB
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RBI
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AB
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RBI
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AB
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R
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H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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