Rice Holds on to Take Series Opener at Charlotte

Friday, April 10

Charlotte, NC

5:05 PM

Rice University

21-14, 5-5

Charlotte

18-15, 3-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Rice	1	1	2	0	2	0	1	0	0	7	11	1
Charlotte	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	5	9	2

Rice Holds on to Take Series Opener at Charlotte

4/10/2026 9:58:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Tim Andrzejewski (tra3@rice.edu)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After jumping out to a 6-0 lead, Rice saw its lead trimmed to two before holding on to defeat Charlotte in the first game of a three-game series, Friday night.

Rice took an early lead, loading the bases in the first inning within no outs before Paul Smith scored Cole Green on a sacrifice fly. But Hiram Bocachica, Jr., hit into a double play to end the threat. The Owls added another run in the second. Kutter-Gage Webb drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on Lorenzo Rios' sacrificed bunt. Two batters later, Landis Davila brought him in with a single through the right side. Rice doubled its lead in the third. With two outs and Davis on second, Hiram Bocachica, Jr., connected on his first home run of the season, a no-doubter to left field to give the Owls a 4-0 lead.

The Owls added on in the fifth. With one out, Colin Robson singled and advanced to second on an error. He came around on a single from Smith. Bocachica then doubled into the left field corner, allowing Smith to score from first.

Charlotte got on the board in the six. Following a one-out double, Cody Gunderson hit his seventh home run of the year.

Rice got a run back in the seventh. After loading the bases, Webb was hit by a pitch to bring in Robson. But Lorenzo Rios and Masa Chilcutt struck out, leaving them loaded. The 49ers threatened in the bottom half, as a single and double put the first two batters in scoring position. But Tanner Wiggins struck out the next three to get out of the inning.

Charlotte put the first two on in the eighth. Dylan Koontz then hit his 10^th home run to straight away center field, cutting into the Rice lead. The 49ers kept threatening, loading the bases with one out. But Brayden Sharp struck out Johnny Sutryk and got Spencer Nolan to pop up, leaving them stranded. Sharp then got the final three outs to preserve the victory.

Tanner Wiggins struck out a career-high eight in seven strong to earn the win, moving to -1 on the year. Eddie Copper (3-2) took the loss.

Up Next
Rice and Charlotte will play Game Two of its three-game series tomorrow, Apr. 11. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.

Notes
*Rice is 7-2 this season in the opening game of a weekend series.
*Tanner Wiggins struck out a career-high eight batters while tying his career-high with 7.0 innings pitched.
*Landis Davila recorded his first career-multi hit game with three hits.
*JC Davis went 3x5, his team-leading 14^th multi-hit game of the year.
*He also reached base for the 10^th straight game, tying his season-high.
*Hiram Bocachica, Jr., went 2x5, his third multi-hit game of the year.
*He also tied a career-high with three RBI.
*Colin Robson went 2x4, his seventh multi-hit game this season.