
Walsh Powers Owls Past Blazers
3/17/2023 11:39:00 PM | Baseball
Rice opens C-USA season with 8-1 win
Birmingham, AL: Connor Walsh drove in four runs while falling a single shy of hitting for the cycle and Rice broke open a tight game with five runs in its final two innings to down UAB 8-1 in the conference opener for both teams on Friday night.
The Details: Walsh staked Rice starter Parker Smith to a 3-0 lead with his career-best fifth home run to left in the third and Smith worked his way out of multiple jams in his first four innings before the Blazers knocked him out in the fifth. Smith allowed seven Blazers to reach in the first four innings but bailed himself out of trouble with a pair of inning-ending double plays. Matthew Linskey (2-0) took over after the first two reached off Smith in the fifth. He allowed one runner to score in the inning, but followed with three shutout innings, setting the stage for the Owls' late explosion to create some breathing room. Drew Holderbach opened the eighth with a walk and one out later Walsh walked, Manny Garza's sharp grounder eluded UAB's second baseman for an error, scoring Holderbach. Benjamin Rosengard smacked a single to left to score Walsh. Graiden West singled to right to load the bases, but Garza advanced home when the throw in from right field was bobbled by the second baseman to extend Rice's lead to 6-1. Linskey set aside the Blazers' final threat of the night in the bottom of the eighth, working around a pair of walks while striking out the side. Holderbach singled with one out in the ninth and scored on Walsh's slicing triple to right and Garza followed with his third hit of the night to close out the scoring for Rice. Cristian Cienfuegos closed out the game, setting UAB down in order for only the second inning of the night.
Notes
The Details: Walsh staked Rice starter Parker Smith to a 3-0 lead with his career-best fifth home run to left in the third and Smith worked his way out of multiple jams in his first four innings before the Blazers knocked him out in the fifth. Smith allowed seven Blazers to reach in the first four innings but bailed himself out of trouble with a pair of inning-ending double plays. Matthew Linskey (2-0) took over after the first two reached off Smith in the fifth. He allowed one runner to score in the inning, but followed with three shutout innings, setting the stage for the Owls' late explosion to create some breathing room. Drew Holderbach opened the eighth with a walk and one out later Walsh walked, Manny Garza's sharp grounder eluded UAB's second baseman for an error, scoring Holderbach. Benjamin Rosengard smacked a single to left to score Walsh. Graiden West singled to right to load the bases, but Garza advanced home when the throw in from right field was bobbled by the second baseman to extend Rice's lead to 6-1. Linskey set aside the Blazers' final threat of the night in the bottom of the eighth, working around a pair of walks while striking out the side. Holderbach singled with one out in the ninth and scored on Walsh's slicing triple to right and Garza followed with his third hit of the night to close out the scoring for Rice. Cristian Cienfuegos closed out the game, setting UAB down in order for only the second inning of the night.
Notes
- Rice is now 3-2 on Fridays. 2-2 in series openers and 8-9 in C-USA season openers.
- Rice improved to 35-17 all-time vs. UAB (14-9 in Birmingham) and has won the last three between the two played at Young Memorial Field.
- The Owls who have won five of their last seven, won their last fourth consecutive C-USA road game dating back to a sweep of FIU in the final series of 2022.
- Linskey matched his career-high of four innings on his way to his second win… After allowing seven runs in 7.2 innings (four appearances) to open the season, he has tossed 9.2 scoreless innings over his last three games and has struck out 13.
- Parker Smith struck out four to give him 26 for the year, surpassing his total of 23 as a freshman.
- Walsh's homer was his fifth of the year to set a career-high… He hit four in both 2021 and 2022… He also set a career-high with his sixth double and tied his career-high with his second triple… His nine total bases were one shy of his career-high of 10 set last year at Charlotte.
- Manny Garza's second-inning single broke an 0-12 streak and he went on to record his third career three-hit game.
- Graiden West's eighth-inning single was his first career hit… He had opened his career 0x18 in eight career games (six in 2022, two this year).
- Guy Garibay Jr. was 2x4 and has hit in four of five games since returning to the lineup after missing seven games with an injury sustained in the first game of the doubleheader at Stanford.
Players Mentioned
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