Rice University
21-35, 0
FIU
21-34, 0
FIU Downs Owls on Senior Day
5/20/2023 6:43:00 PM | Baseball
Take final game of regular season 10-7
Reckling Park: FIU broke open a 7-7 tie with a three-run homer in the eighth inning to take a 10-7 win on Senior Day in the final regular-season Conference USA competition for Rice in any sport.
The Details: Rice opened the scoring in the bottom of the first as Ben Dukes led off with the first of a career-best two doubles on the day and advanced to third when the ball was mishandled in the outfield. Max Johnson brought him in on a second Panther error in the inning, but the Owls could not do any further damage. After FIU took a 4-1 lead, the Owls stormed back in front with a five-run outburst in the fifth. Cullen Hannigan, making the start at catcher on Senior Day, beat out a single to short with one out and advanced to second on a stolen base. Dukes drove him in with his second double of the day. Johnson and Jack Riedel followed with walks and Ben Royo drove in Dukes and Johnson with a single. Nathan Becker reloaded the bases with a single and Guy Garibay Jr. drove in Riedel and Royo with a single. FIU tied the game in the sixth and moved back in front in the seventh before Becker tied it again with a long home run to right.
Notes
- Rice fell to 25-9 all-time against FIU (10-6 at Reckling Park).
- Rice closed its final regular season in Conference USA with an all-time record of 281-176-3.
- Becker's home run gave the Owls 57 this year, their highest total since the NCAA changed the bat standards after the 2010 season.
- Rice pitchers fanned 12 in the game to finish the regular season with 463, the highest total since 2019.
- Becker tied his career high with three hits and his home run was his first since 4/24/22 at Southern Miss.
- Dukes hit .333 on the homestand (5x15) and scored four runs.
Up Next: Rice opens play in the 2023 Conference USA Baseball Tournament on Wednesday at 4 p.m. when the Owls take on top-seed DBU.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: KNOX, Cameron (3-4)
L: Raj, Krishna (3-3)
S: LAMPTON, Zac (1)
Batting:
2B: SANCHEZ, Alec 1 ; PEREZ, Noel 1
3B: PITELLI, Nick 1
HR: FIGUEROA, Adrian 1
RBI: GIRARDI, Dante 2 ; SANCHEZ, Alec 1 ; FIGUEROA, Adrian 3 ; PEREZ, Noel 2 ; PITELLI, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: GIRARDI, Dante 1 ; SANCHEZ, Alec 1 ; GUIDA, Ryne 3 ; FIGUEROA, Adrian 2 ; FRANCO, Cesar 1 ; QUEVEDO, Roylan 1 ; PEREZ, Noel 1
SB: GIRARDI, Dante 1
HBP: GIRARDI, Dante 1 ; GUIDA, Ryne 2
Batting:
2B: Dukes, Ben 2
HR: Becker, Nathan 1
RBI: Dukes, Ben 1 ; Johnson , Max 1 ; Royo, Ben 2 ; Becker, Nathan 1 ; Garibay Jr., Guy 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Dukes, Ben 2 ; Johnson , Max 1 ; Riedel, Jack 1 ; Royo, Ben 1 ; Becker, Nathan 1 ; Hannigan, Cullen 1
SB: Hannigan, Cullen 1
