Friday, March 14
6:30 PM
Rice University
2-15
3
vs
4
HCU
11-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
R
H
E
HCU
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
4
9
2
RICE
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
3
7
1
Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Huskies Edge Owls in 11
3/14/2025 11:10:00 PM | Baseball
Rice ties school record with eight stolen bases
Reckling Park: HCU scored a pair of runs in the top of the 11th and then held off one last threat from Rice to take a 4-3 win in the opening game of the four-game series on Friday night.
How it Happened: The teams combined for 16 singles and no extra-base hits in the game, and each team scored twice in regulation on plays in the infield. Neither team could break through on the scoreboard in the first three innings before the Huskies took the lead in the fourth with a pair of runs. Rice's Garrett Stratton, making his first start since the end of his freshman season, worked out of a jam in the third when HCU put two runners on with two outs, but the Huskies finally reached him for two runs thanks to an infield single and a sacrifice bunt. Rice tied it in the sixth when Blaine Brown opened with a walk and Michael Zito followed with a single to center. Both runners advanced on a balk. One out later, Trey Duffield brought in Brown on an infield single to the pitcher and Zito scored the Owls' second run on a bunt by Tobias Motley. Owls' reliever Marco Fuentes turned in his second consecutive stellar effort in long relief, blanking HCU over the final five innings of regulation on two singles while striking out a career-high eight. Rice had chances to take the lead in the eighth with runners at second and third with two outs and then with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, but could not push across the go-ahead run. HCU re-took the lead on a two-run single in the top of the 11th and then Rice scored once on a throwing error on a double steal that brought home Hiram Bocachica Jr. with two outs, but a fly out to left ended the game on the next pitch.
Up Next: The schools will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at HCU's Husky Field at 2 p.m. for a pair of seven-inning games before wrapping the series at Reckling Park on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Notes
How it Happened: The teams combined for 16 singles and no extra-base hits in the game, and each team scored twice in regulation on plays in the infield. Neither team could break through on the scoreboard in the first three innings before the Huskies took the lead in the fourth with a pair of runs. Rice's Garrett Stratton, making his first start since the end of his freshman season, worked out of a jam in the third when HCU put two runners on with two outs, but the Huskies finally reached him for two runs thanks to an infield single and a sacrifice bunt. Rice tied it in the sixth when Blaine Brown opened with a walk and Michael Zito followed with a single to center. Both runners advanced on a balk. One out later, Trey Duffield brought in Brown on an infield single to the pitcher and Zito scored the Owls' second run on a bunt by Tobias Motley. Owls' reliever Marco Fuentes turned in his second consecutive stellar effort in long relief, blanking HCU over the final five innings of regulation on two singles while striking out a career-high eight. Rice had chances to take the lead in the eighth with runners at second and third with two outs and then with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, but could not push across the go-ahead run. HCU re-took the lead on a two-run single in the top of the 11th and then Rice scored once on a throwing error on a double steal that brought home Hiram Bocachica Jr. with two outs, but a fly out to left ended the game on the next pitch.
Up Next: The schools will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at HCU's Husky Field at 2 p.m. for a pair of seven-inning games before wrapping the series at Reckling Park on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Notes
- The 11-inning game matched the longest game between the schools in the 36 games, an 8-7 win by the Huskies at Reckling Park on March 3, 2018.
- Rice fell to 31-5 in the series and four of HCU's five wins have been in extra innings.
- Rice tied its school record with eight steals in the game, matching the eight the Owls swiped vs. Texas Tech on May 12, 1994.
- The two runs Stratton allowed in the fourth broke a streak of seven scoreless innings for him.
- Fuentes has not allowed a run in his last 11.1 innings over four appearances and lowered his ERA to 0.73.
- His eight strikeouts matched the season high for the Owls (Davion Hickson had 8 strikeouts in his start vs. Villanova in Ponce, Puerto Rico on 2/18.
- Jacob Devenny singled as a pinch hitter in the ninth… He is 2x6 as a pinch hitter this season and 6x13 in his career.
- Catcher Landon West threw out his fourth base runner in the last five attempts.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Norton, Ben (1-1)
L: Ben-Shoshan, Jack (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Hendricks, Rhett 3 ; Roper, Trevor 1
SH: Leiterman, Matthew 1 ; Bard, Luke 1 ; Oropeza, Robert 2 ; Roper, Trevor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Halligan, Katcher 1 ; Bazile, Walker 1 ; Bard, Luke 2
CS: Dutka, Kenneth 1 ; Walker, Jack 1
HBP: Walker, Jack 1 ; Roper, Trevor 1
Batting:
RBI: Duffield, Trey 1 ; Motley, Tobias 1
SH: Johnson , Max 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bocachica Jr., Hiram 1 ; Brown , Blaine 1 ; Zito, Michael 1
SB: Bocachica Jr., Hiram 2 ; Brown , Blaine 1 ; Green, Cole 2 ; Duffield, Trey 1 ; Motley, Tobias 2
HBP: Brown , Blaine 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
6
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
LHP/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02