Sunday, April 23
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
12 PM
Rice University
17-23, 7-11
4
at
5
Middle Tennessee
20-19, 10-8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
R
H
E
Rice
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
4
13
0
Middle Tennessee
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
5
8
0
Rice Drops Series Finale to Middle Tennessee, 5-4, in Extra Innings
4/23/2023 3:18:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Luke Vinson hit the first pitch of the 11th inning over the right center field fence as Rice dropped the series finale to Middle Tennessee, 5-4.
Rice threatened early in the first, as Pierce Gallo and Guy Garibay, Jr., started the game with singles, putting runners at the corners with one out. But Drew Holderbach and Aaron Smigelski both struck out, stranding the runners.
Middle Tennessee jumped on top in the bottom of the inning. Eston Snider drew a leadoff walk. Three batters later, Jeremiah Boyd hit his second home run of the series, to right field as the Blue Raiders grabbed a 2-0 lead.
The Owls threatened again in the second inning. Ben Royo drew a leadoff walk, but was forced out on Jack Riedel's sacrifice bunt attempt. Trey Duffield then singled to left field for his first career hit. But Paul Smith lined out to third baseman Gabe Jennings, who threw to second to double up Riedel and end the inning.
Rice got on the board in the fourth. Holderbach led off with a single. Two batters later, Royo was hit by a pitch. Duffield then took an 0-2 pitch up the middle, scoring Holderbach to cut the deficit in half.
The game stayed that way until the eighth. With two outs, Ben Royo hit a long home run to left field, his team-leading ninth of the year, tying the game at two. However, Boyd led off the bottom half with his second home run of the game.
But once again, the Owls rallied. Duffield led off the ninth with a double, his third hit of the game, and moved to third on a fly ball. Pierce Gallo then hit the first pitch he saw down the right field line for a double, scoring Duffield and tying the game at three to send it to extra innings.
With one out in the 10th, Holderbach walked and Smigelski singled to put runners at the corners. Royo then placed a perfect bunt down the first base line for a single, scoring Holderbach to give Rice its first lead of the game.
Krishna Raj got the first two batters in the bottom of the inning. However, after a walk, Briggs Rutter dropped in a single between Walsh and Garibay. He then walked DJ Wright, but ball four was wild, bringing in Jackson Galloway to tie the game and send it to the 11th.
After Rice went down in order, Luke Vinson hit the first pitch he saw for a home run, giving the Blue Raiders the series victory.
Up Next
Rice returns to the field next Friday, Apr. 28, when it hosts Dallas Baptist at 6:30 p.m.
Notes
*Rice fell to 3-5 on Sunday's and 4-5 in the final game of a weekend series.
*Rice dropped to 0-2 in extra innings this year.
*Rice had 13 hits on the day, the 13th time this year it had at least 10 hits.
*Trey Duffield picked up his first career hit with a single in the second inning.
*Duffield finished the game 3x5, including his first career double.
*Ben Royo hit his team-leading ninth home run of the year.
*Jack Riedel went 1x4 to increase his hitting streak to five games.
Rice threatened early in the first, as Pierce Gallo and Guy Garibay, Jr., started the game with singles, putting runners at the corners with one out. But Drew Holderbach and Aaron Smigelski both struck out, stranding the runners.
Middle Tennessee jumped on top in the bottom of the inning. Eston Snider drew a leadoff walk. Three batters later, Jeremiah Boyd hit his second home run of the series, to right field as the Blue Raiders grabbed a 2-0 lead.
The Owls threatened again in the second inning. Ben Royo drew a leadoff walk, but was forced out on Jack Riedel's sacrifice bunt attempt. Trey Duffield then singled to left field for his first career hit. But Paul Smith lined out to third baseman Gabe Jennings, who threw to second to double up Riedel and end the inning.
Rice got on the board in the fourth. Holderbach led off with a single. Two batters later, Royo was hit by a pitch. Duffield then took an 0-2 pitch up the middle, scoring Holderbach to cut the deficit in half.
The game stayed that way until the eighth. With two outs, Ben Royo hit a long home run to left field, his team-leading ninth of the year, tying the game at two. However, Boyd led off the bottom half with his second home run of the game.
But once again, the Owls rallied. Duffield led off the ninth with a double, his third hit of the game, and moved to third on a fly ball. Pierce Gallo then hit the first pitch he saw down the right field line for a double, scoring Duffield and tying the game at three to send it to extra innings.
With one out in the 10th, Holderbach walked and Smigelski singled to put runners at the corners. Royo then placed a perfect bunt down the first base line for a single, scoring Holderbach to give Rice its first lead of the game.
Krishna Raj got the first two batters in the bottom of the inning. However, after a walk, Briggs Rutter dropped in a single between Walsh and Garibay. He then walked DJ Wright, but ball four was wild, bringing in Jackson Galloway to tie the game and send it to the 11th.
After Rice went down in order, Luke Vinson hit the first pitch he saw for a home run, giving the Blue Raiders the series victory.
Up Next
Rice returns to the field next Friday, Apr. 28, when it hosts Dallas Baptist at 6:30 p.m.
Notes
*Rice fell to 3-5 on Sunday's and 4-5 in the final game of a weekend series.
*Rice dropped to 0-2 in extra innings this year.
*Rice had 13 hits on the day, the 13th time this year it had at least 10 hits.
*Trey Duffield picked up his first career hit with a single in the second inning.
*Duffield finished the game 3x5, including his first career double.
*Ben Royo hit his team-leading ninth home run of the year.
*Jack Riedel went 1x4 to increase his hitting streak to five games.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: SELLS, James (2-3)
L: Raj, Krishna (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Gallo, Pierce 1 ; Duffield, Trey 1
HR: Royo, Ben 1
RBI: Gallo, Pierce 1 ; Royo, Ben 2 ; Duffield, Trey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Holderbach, Drew 2 ; Royo, Ben 1 ; Duffield, Trey 1
SB: Walsh, Connor 1
CS: Walsh, Connor 1
HBP: Royo, Ben 1
Batting:
2B: RUTTER, Briggs 1
HR: BOYD, Jeremiah 2 ; VINSON, Luke 1
RBI: BOYD, Jeremiah 3 ; VINSON, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SNIDER, Eston 1 ; BOYD, Jeremiah 2 ; GALLOWAY, Jackson 1 ; VINSON, Luke 1
SB: SNIDER, Eston 1 ; SYMLAR, Bryce 1 ; WRIGHT, DJ 1
HBP: VINSON, Luke 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
6
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
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INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
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C
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