Wednesday, February 22
Houston, Texas
6:30 PM
Rice University
2-2
3
vs
1
Sam Houston
3-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
SHSU
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
9
0
RICE
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
X
3
12
2
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Cienfuegos Thwarts Bearkats Rally
2/22/2023 11:09:00 PM | Baseball
Owls win third straight over Sam Houston
Houston: Rice scored in the first and last innings and five pitchers combined to hold Sam Houston in check for most of the night before Cristian Cienfuegos came on to slam the door on a late Bearkat rally to give Rice a 3-1 win on Wednesday night at Reckling Park.
The Details: Rice staked starter Mauricio Rodriguez to a lead after one as Connor Walsh led off the bottom of the first with a triple to left center and came home on a single by Jack Riedel. Rodriguez worked 3.1 scoreless innings in his starting debut for Rice. Krishna Raj followed and combined with JD McCracken and Blake Brodgon to work out of numerous jams and strand nine Bearkats through eight innings. Guy Garibay Jr. launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to provide some crucial breathing room. Sam Houston staged one final rally, scoring an unearned run off Brogdon and then loading the bases before Cienfuegos came on to face Walker Janek with two outs and struck him out looking to earn his first career save.
Up Next: Rice heads west to open a three-game series at Stanford this weekend and will not return to Reckling until March 7 when the Owls host UTRGV. After returning from the road trip, they will play at Sam Houston next Tuesday and then at Minute Maid Park the weekend of March 3-5 at the Astros Shriners' Children's College Classic, facing Texas Tech, Texas A&M and TCU.
Notes
The Details: Rice staked starter Mauricio Rodriguez to a lead after one as Connor Walsh led off the bottom of the first with a triple to left center and came home on a single by Jack Riedel. Rodriguez worked 3.1 scoreless innings in his starting debut for Rice. Krishna Raj followed and combined with JD McCracken and Blake Brodgon to work out of numerous jams and strand nine Bearkats through eight innings. Guy Garibay Jr. launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to provide some crucial breathing room. Sam Houston staged one final rally, scoring an unearned run off Brogdon and then loading the bases before Cienfuegos came on to face Walker Janek with two outs and struck him out looking to earn his first career save.
Up Next: Rice heads west to open a three-game series at Stanford this weekend and will not return to Reckling until March 7 when the Owls host UTRGV. After returning from the road trip, they will play at Sam Houston next Tuesday and then at Minute Maid Park the weekend of March 3-5 at the Astros Shriners' Children's College Classic, facing Texas Tech, Texas A&M and TCU.
Notes
- The win was the third consecutive for Rice over Sam Houston, the Owls' longest winning streak in the series since they won four straight between the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
- Rice collected 12 hits on the night and has 25 in the last two games.
- Garibay's homer was the 13th of his career, 11 of them at Reckling Park.
- Garibay and Pierce Gallo, who was 1x4, have reached base in 13 straight games dating back to last season.
- Jack Riedel has at least one hit and one RBI in each of the first four games.
- Walsh has six hits in his last 11 at-bats, with three doubles and a triple.
- Paul Smith collected his first two hits as an Owl, finishing 2x4.
- Christian Salazar, who had appeared twice over the weekend as a defensive replacement, made his first career start.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Raj, Krishna (1-1)
L: Wales, Marshall (0-1)
S: Cienfuegos, Cristian (1)
Batting:
2B: Janek, Walker 2
RBI: Contreras, Carlos 1
SH: Redfield, Joe 1 ; Jefferson, Myles 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Redfield, Joe 1
HBP: Wishkoski, Justin 1
Batting:
3B: Walsh, Connor 1
HR: Garibay Jr., Guy 1
RBI: Riedel, Jack 1 ; Garibay Jr., Guy 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Walsh, Connor 1 ; Garza, Manny 1 ; Garibay Jr., Guy 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
dh
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
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