Rice University Athletics
Sunday, February 22
Los Angeles, CA
2:05 PM
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Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Owls Edged in Series Finale
2/22/2026 5:36:00 PM | Baseball
Sanders works seven in starting debut
Los Angeles- Ethan Sanders shook off some early struggles to pitch a season-best seven innings in his starting debut, but six USC pitchers combined to hold off Rice's repeated challenges as the Trojans gained a sweep of the weekend series with a 4-2 win on Sunday.
How it Happened: After struggling to reach base in the early innings in the first two games, the Owls created early traffic on the bases, putting a pair on in each of the first two frames. Hiram Bocachica took advantage of the opportunity in the second, lacing a single to drive in Michael Zito with the Owls' second run of the series and the first run off a USC starting pitcher this season. After USC increased its lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the third, Rice loaded the bases on a walk to Aric Anderson and infield singles by Zito and Landis Davila, but could not deliver the knockout blow to starter Andrew Johnson. After being tagged for his second two-run inning in the third, Sanders settled into a rhythm and retired the next 13 in a row to keep the Owls in striking distance. He needed only 81 pitches to cover his seven innings of work. Rice loaded the bases again in the eighth to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, but could only manage one run to close to the final margin of 4-2.
Next Up: Rice returns to Reckling on Tuesday to host HCU at 6:35 in the first of four home games that also feature three against Harvard next weekend.
Notes
How it Happened: After struggling to reach base in the early innings in the first two games, the Owls created early traffic on the bases, putting a pair on in each of the first two frames. Hiram Bocachica took advantage of the opportunity in the second, lacing a single to drive in Michael Zito with the Owls' second run of the series and the first run off a USC starting pitcher this season. After USC increased its lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the third, Rice loaded the bases on a walk to Aric Anderson and infield singles by Zito and Landis Davila, but could not deliver the knockout blow to starter Andrew Johnson. After being tagged for his second two-run inning in the third, Sanders settled into a rhythm and retired the next 13 in a row to keep the Owls in striking distance. He needed only 81 pitches to cover his seven innings of work. Rice loaded the bases again in the eighth to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, but could only manage one run to close to the final margin of 4-2.
Next Up: Rice returns to Reckling on Tuesday to host HCU at 6:35 in the first of four home games that also feature three against Harvard next weekend.
Notes
- Rice fell to 0-2 on Sunday, 3-5 on the season, 5-4 all-time vs. USC, and 46-26 against the current members of the Big Ten.
- Sanders is the first Owl to pitch seven innings this season, and he set career-bests with seven innings and 81 pitches.
- Michael Zito was 2x3 in his first start of the year.
- JC Davis has hit in seven of eight games this season.
- Davila and Zachary Daigre each picked up infield singles for their first hits as Owls.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, Andrew (2-0)
L: Sanders, Ethan (0-1)
S: Troy, Adam (4)
Batting:
RBI: Bocachica Jr., Hiram 1 ; Smith , Paul 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Anderson, Aric 1 ; Zito, Michael 1
HBP: Davila , Landis 1
Batting:
2B: Takeuchi, Kevin 1
HR: Lopez, Augie 1
RBI: Lopez, Augie 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Covarrubias, Abbrie 2 ; Takeuchi, Kevin 1 ; Lopez, Augie 1
Game Leaders
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RBI
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5
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RBI
1
AB
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H
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RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballINF
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