Wednesday, February 19
2:30 PM
Rice University
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Sam Houston
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SAM HOUSTON
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Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
West Powers Owls Past Bearkats
2/19/2025 7:24:00 PM | Baseball
Rice hosts USC this weekend
Houston: Landon West was 3x4 with a homer and scored three runs while Tucker Alch threw seven shutout innings of relief to lead Rice to a 6-1 win over Sam Houston on Wednesday afternoon, posting the Owls' first win in a home opener since 2018.
How it Happened: After Blaine Brown opened the game by striking out four in the first, Rice took advantage of an early Bearkat error to score three in the bottom of the first. West drove home the first run with a double to right for his first career hit, scoring Luke Smith. One out later, Treyton Rank singled in Austin Eppley, who had walked, and Trey Duffield followed with a double to plate West. Alch came on in the second and ran the count to 3-2 to Ryan Franden before getting him to ground out to Smith. He retired 20 of the next 23 hitters, never again reaching three balls in any at-bat and retiring seven Bearkats on the first pitch. West increased the lead to 4-0 with his first career homer to right-center in the third inning, and he scored the fifth run two innings later thanks to a double by Brown, who had remained in the game as the DH after his opening inning of pitching. Freshman Cole Green drove in the Owl's final run with a pinch-hit double in the eighth for his first career hit and RBI.
Up Next: Rice will welcome USC to Reckling this weekend in the second series ever between the two schools. Rice swept the Trojans in a three-game set at Reckling in 2011 and also won the initial meeting between the schools in 2005 at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
Notes
How it Happened: After Blaine Brown opened the game by striking out four in the first, Rice took advantage of an early Bearkat error to score three in the bottom of the first. West drove home the first run with a double to right for his first career hit, scoring Luke Smith. One out later, Treyton Rank singled in Austin Eppley, who had walked, and Trey Duffield followed with a double to plate West. Alch came on in the second and ran the count to 3-2 to Ryan Franden before getting him to ground out to Smith. He retired 20 of the next 23 hitters, never again reaching three balls in any at-bat and retiring seven Bearkats on the first pitch. West increased the lead to 4-0 with his first career homer to right-center in the third inning, and he scored the fifth run two innings later thanks to a double by Brown, who had remained in the game as the DH after his opening inning of pitching. Freshman Cole Green drove in the Owl's final run with a pinch-hit double in the eighth for his first career hit and RBI.
Up Next: Rice will welcome USC to Reckling this weekend in the second series ever between the two schools. Rice swept the Trojans in a three-game set at Reckling in 2011 and also won the initial meeting between the schools in 2005 at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
Notes
- Rice won a home opener for the first time since 2018 when the Owls rallied for an 8-6 win over Texas State.
- Jose Cruz Jr. improved to 6-1 in his career vs. Sam Houston.
- The Owls were two outs from recording their first shutout in a home opener since they blanked SE Missouri 5-0 to open the 2007 season.
- Hiram Bocachica Jr. doubled in the second inning to join West and Green in collecting their first career hits.
- Brown has collected a hit and RBI in all three games he has played this season.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Alch, Tucker (1-0)
L: Kendrick, N. (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Autrey, H. 1 ; Smith, A. 1
RBI: Franden, R. 1
SF: Franden, R. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Christensen 1
SB: Autrey, H. 1
Batting:
2B: West, Landon 1 ; Brown , Blaine 1 ; Duffield, Trey 1 ; Green, Cole 1 ; Bocachica Jr., Hiram 1
HR: West, Landon 1
RBI: West, Landon 2 ; Brown , Blaine 1 ; Rank, Treyton 1 ; Duffield, Trey 1 ; Green, Cole 1
SH: Robson, Colin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Luke 1 ; Eppley, Austin 1 ; West, Landon 3 ; Rank, Treyton 1
SB: Duffield, Trey 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
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4
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3
RBI
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AB
4
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RBI
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p/dh
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RBI
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H
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RBI
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Players Mentioned
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