Friday, April 14
Houston, Texas
6:30 PM
Rice University
16-19, 0
0
vs
1
Charlotte
17-15, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
CLT
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
3
0
RICE
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
49ers Edge Owls in Classic Pitchers' Duel
4/14/2023 9:56:00 PM | Baseball
Smith fans a career-high 14
Houston: Charlotte broke up a tense pitching duel between Parker Smith and Wyatt Hudepol with a run in the top of the ninth to take a 1-0 win at Reckling Park on Friday night.
The Details: If not for Jack Dragum's soft liner just over Pierce Gallo's glove with two outs in the first, Smith was unhittable through eight innings. He retired 13 straight after the single before walking Spencer Nolan with one out in the sixth. Nolan stole second and reached third on a ground out, but Smith fanned Jake Cunningham, the 12th of his career-high 14 strikeouts. He hit Will Butcher with two outs in the seventh, but got Kaden Hopson to fly out to end the inning. Meanwhile, Hudepol was holding the Owls in check, scattering four hits and two walks in the eight scoreless while fanning 13. Pitching in the ninth for the second time in his career, Smith allowed a leadoff double to Brandon Stahlman and he came home when Cunningham stroked a single on the next pitch. Cristian Cienfuegos relieved Smith and held the game a 1-0. In the bottom of the ninth, Drew Holderbach drew a one out walk, and Charlotte brought in reliever Evan Michelson to face Guy Garibay Jr. Garibay fell behind 0-2 before working the count full and lofting a fly ball into the left field corner against the defensive shift. But Holderbach could not get back to third in time and was thrown out. Michelson then retired Connor Walsh on a fly ball to end the game.
Notes
The Details: If not for Jack Dragum's soft liner just over Pierce Gallo's glove with two outs in the first, Smith was unhittable through eight innings. He retired 13 straight after the single before walking Spencer Nolan with one out in the sixth. Nolan stole second and reached third on a ground out, but Smith fanned Jake Cunningham, the 12th of his career-high 14 strikeouts. He hit Will Butcher with two outs in the seventh, but got Kaden Hopson to fly out to end the inning. Meanwhile, Hudepol was holding the Owls in check, scattering four hits and two walks in the eight scoreless while fanning 13. Pitching in the ninth for the second time in his career, Smith allowed a leadoff double to Brandon Stahlman and he came home when Cunningham stroked a single on the next pitch. Cristian Cienfuegos relieved Smith and held the game a 1-0. In the bottom of the ninth, Drew Holderbach drew a one out walk, and Charlotte brought in reliever Evan Michelson to face Guy Garibay Jr. Garibay fell behind 0-2 before working the count full and lofting a fly ball into the left field corner against the defensive shift. But Holderbach could not get back to third in time and was thrown out. Michelson then retired Connor Walsh on a fly ball to end the game.
Notes
- Rice is now 4-5 on Friday nights and 3-5 in weekend series openers.
- The loss was the fourth straight for the Owls against the 49ers.
- It was the first time in 10 games this season when the Owls held an opponent to two runs or less and lost.
- Smith's 14 strikeouts were the most by an Owl since Jon Duplantier fanned 14 against UCF at Reckling on 3/4/16.
- Smith lowered his ERA to 1.79 and his opponents' batting average to .221.
- Garibay was 1x4 with a double and is 7x22 (.318) in his career vs. Charlotte.
- Manny Garza was 2x3 with a double and has hit in six of his last seven games (.444, 8x18)
- Jacob Devenny has hit in his last five games and has a hit in each of his five career starts.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wyatt Hudepohl (3-1)
L: Smith, Parker (2-2)
S: Evan Michelson (3)
Batting:
2B: Brandon Stahlman 1
RBI: Jake Cunningham 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brandon Stahlman 1
SB: Spencer Nolan 1
HBP: Will Butcher 1
Batting:
2B: Garibay Jr., Guy 1 ; Garza, Manny 1
Base Running:
SB: Devenny, Jacob 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballInf./OF
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