Rice University
0-1
Villanova
1-0
Wildcats Spoil Owls Late Rally
2/15/2025 12:56:00 AM | Baseball
Face Michigan at Noon on Saturday
The Details: After the Owls had fallen behind 5-1 on a solo homer in the top of the seventh, Rice, which had been held to three hits and a run in the first six innings found its footing with two outs in the seventh as catcher Landon West worked a walk. Colin Robson moved West to third with a single where he then scored on a wild pitch while Robson moved to second. Freshman Hiram Bocachica Jr. walked with Robson stealing third on the same pitch. Smith then singled both runners home to cut the Wildcats' lead to 5-4 and then came home with the tying run courtesy of a double to right by Treyton Rank. Villanova put on a pair of runners with one out in the eighth, but Tucker Alch retired the next two to keep the game tied and in the bottom of the eighth, Rice took its only lead of the night. Austin Eppley opened with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice by Barrett Eldridge, Freshman Blaine Brown then drove him home with a single up the middle. But Villanova answered immediately with five runs in the ninth to close out the win.
Up Next: The Owls will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when they meet Michigan, who won an extra-inning thriller over No. 2 Virginia on Friday afternoon. First pitch is set for noon (central) with Robert Fernandez set to start for Rice.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: SACHAIS, Alec (1-0)
L: Stratton, Garrett (0-1)
S: FRANCIS, Jake (1)
Batting:
HR: LEONARD, Brayden 1
RBI: NEFF, Jason 1 ; BARRY, Aidan 2 ; QUINTANO, Collin 1 ; FREITAG, John 2 ; LEONARD, Brayden 1 ; SHAW, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LEMON, Austin 2 ; WHOOLEY, Michael 2 ; NEFF, Jason 2 ; TOOLE, Trent 1 ; HALE, Connor 1 ; LEONARD, Brayden 1 ; SHAW, Tyler 1
SB: NEFF, Jason 1 ; BARRY, Aidan 2 ; SHAW, Tyler 2
HBP: WHOOLEY, Michael 1 ; MCELROY, Jake 1 ; SHAW, Tyler 1
Batting:
2B: Smith, Luke 1 ; Rank, Treyton 1
RBI: Smith, Luke 2 ; Rank, Treyton 1 ; Carlson, Gunnett 1 ; Brown , Blaine 1
SH: Eldridge, Barrett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Luke 2 ; Eppley, Austin 1 ; West, Landon 1 ; Robson, Colin 1 ; Bocachica Jr., Hiram 1
SB: Robson, Colin 1 ; Bocachica Jr., Hiram 1
CS: Brown , Blaine 1
