Rice University
1-4
USC
6-0
Trojans Outlast Owls on Friday
2/21/2025 11:46:00 PM | Baseball
Rice falls 7-4 in 11 innings
How it Happened: What began as a pitcher's duel between Rice's Davion Hickson and USC's Caden Hunter became a back-and-forth affair over the last four innings of regulation and two extra frames. Hickson worked out of a bases loaded jam in the with one out in the top of the first by striking out the Trojans fourth and fifth hitters and after a clean second inning, his Owls' teammates gave him the lead in the bottom of the second. Barrett Eldridge and Trey Duffield opened the frame with singles and Eldridge advance to third on a fielder's choice by Gunnett Carlson that retired Duffield at second. Treyton Rank followed with a single to bring home Eldridge. Both Carlson and Rank moved to second and third on a wild pitch and Carlson appeared to add a second run on a ground out by Cole Green, but Green was awarded first due to catcher's interference and USC escaped further damage by retiring the next two hitters to end the inning. That lost run would loom large as the game wound down to the final innings. Hickson held USC scoreless until the fifth when the Trojans tied it on a pair of infield hits. USC scored a pair of runs in the sixth, with both runs scoring on balls that did not leave the infield (an infield single and a ground out), but the Owls cut the margin to 3-2 in their half of the sixth when Rank drove in Duffield on a sacrifice fly. Von Baker and Matt Zatopek combined to hold USC scoreless from the seventh through the ninth inning, and Rice tied it in the bottom of the ninth when Landon West brought home Colin Robson with a sacrifice fly. USC re-took the lead with a single run in the top of the 10th after a balk by Zatopek put a runner in scoring position with two outs. But Carlson pulled the Owls even once again, crushing a 3-2 pitch deep over the right field wall for his first career home run. But Rice could not offer a response to USC's three-run outburst in the 11th and the Trojans posted their first win over Rice in five tries to improve to 6-0 while Rice fell to 1-4.
Up Next: The two schools are scheduled to meet in the middle game of the series at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Reckling Park.
Notes
- Rice is now 4-1 all-time against USC, including a 3-1 mark at Reckling Park.
- Hickson allowed one run in five innings and Rice starting pitchers have a combined 2.12 ERA over the first five games of the season (4 ER in 17 innings) along with 24 strikeouts.
- Hickson struck out seven in five innings and has fanned 15 in 9 innings in his first two career starts.
- Eldridge was 2x4 for his first career multi-hit game.
- Duffield's single gave him hits in his last three games.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Rizzo, Garren (3-0)
L: Gallant, Reed (0-1)
S: Osborne, Dylan (1)
Batting:
2B: Takeuchi, Kevin 1 ; Carpentier, Dean 1
3B: Hedges, Ethan 1
RBI: Takeuchi, Kevin 1 ; Grudzielanek, Bryce 1 ; Basseer, Jack 2 ; Carpentier, Dean 1 ; Covarrubias, Abbrie 2
SH: Elliott, John 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Grudzielanek, Bryce 1 ; Hedges, Ethan 1 ; Higgins, Kade 1 ; Carpentier, Dean 2 ; Covarrubias, Abbrie 2
SB: Carpentier, Dean 1 ; Covarrubias, Abbrie 1
HBP: Hedges, Ethan 1 ; Carpentier, Dean 1
Batting:
HR: Carlson, Gunnett 1
RBI: West, Landon 1 ; Carlson, Gunnett 1 ; Rank, Treyton 2
SH: Smith, Luke 1
SF: West, Landon 1 ; Rank, Treyton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Robson, Colin 1 ; Eldridge, Barrett 1 ; Duffield, Trey 1 ; Carlson, Gunnett 1
CS: Rank, Treyton 1
HBP: Duffield, Trey 1
