Rice University Athletics
Rice University
15-11
HCU
11-14
Green’s Heroics Propels Rice to Win Over Houston Christian
3/25/2026 10:52:00 PM | Baseball
Rice wasted no time getting to HCU pitching, getting five hits as the Owls plated four in the first inning. Hiram Bocachica, Jr., Jacob Devenny, and JC Davis led off with singles, the last of which got Rice on the board. Three batters later, Kutter-Gage Webb singled and advanced to second, scoring Devenny. Colin Robson then scored two with the Owls' fifth single. HCU got one back in the bottom half, getting a two-out walk, followed by a single.
The Rice pitching held the Huskies in check for most of the game, retiring 15 of 16 batters, allowing just one walk. However, with one out and runners at the corners in the seventh, Levi Castilleja cut the lead to two with a sacrifice fly, and Preston Curtis tied the game with his third home run of the game.
But the Owls responded in a big way. Cole Green gave Rice the lead with a leadoff home run, his third of the season. It then loaded the bases with no one out before Landis Davila was hit by a pitch to bring in another run. Two batters later, Devenny's sacrifice fly scored Robson. Davis and Paul Smith followed with singles to finish the scoring.
HCU, though, wouldn't go away. After loading the bases in the ninth with no outs, the Huskies drew two straight walks to bring the tying run to the plate. After Tyree Jackson flew out to left, Nico DeFazio scored on a wild pitch. But Jeremy Rader grounded to short, and Webb ran down Preston Curtis from third, tagging him out before he crossed home plate, and Anthony Avalos flew out to center to end the game.
Ethan Atchley earned the win, moving to 2-1 on the year. Jackson Kendall took the loss for Houston Christian.
Up Next
Rice opens its home conference schedule this Friday, Mar. 27, when it hosts Florida Atlantic. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.
Notes
*Rice moved to 4-3 in midweek games.
*Ty Baker made his first career start.
*With two hits, JC Davis recorded his team-leading 10th multi-hit game of the season.
*With two hits, Jacob Devenny recorded his first multi-hit game of the season.
*Paul Smith recorded his fifth multi-hit game of the year.
*Smith extended his hitting streak to a season-long eight-games.
*Smith recorded his team-high sixth double in the fifth inning.
*Colin Robson recorded his second multi-RBI game of the season.
*Kutter-Gage Webb extended his on-base streak to a season-long 10 games.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Atchley, Ethan (2-1)
L: Kendall, Jackson (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Smith , Paul 1 ; Webb , Kutter-Gage 1
3B: Davila , Landis 1
HR: Green, Cole 1
RBI: Robson, Colin 2 ; Smith , Paul 1 ; Devenny, Jacob 1 ; Green, Cole 1 ; Davila , Landis 2 ; Davis, JC 2 ; Webb , Kutter-Gage 1
SH: Davila , Landis 1
SF: Devenny, Jacob 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rios, Lorenzo 2 ; Bocachica Jr., Hiram 1 ; Robson, Colin 1 ; Devenny, Jacob 1 ; Green, Cole 1 ; Davila , Landis 1 ; Davis, JC 1 ; Webb , Kutter-Gage 2
SB: Robson, Colin 1
CS: Davila , Landis 1
HBP: Bocachica Jr., Hiram 2 ; Davila , Landis 1 ; Webb , Kutter-Gage 1
Batting:
2B: Halligan, Katcher 1
HR: Curtis, Preston 1
RBI: Castilleja, Levi 1 ; Bard, Luke 1 ; Curtis, Preston 3 ; DeFazio, Nico 1
SF: Castilleja, Levi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Castilleja, Levi 1 ; Walker, Jack 2 ; Bard, Luke 1 ; Curtis, Preston 1 ; Halligan, Katcher 2
HBP: Walker, Jack 1
