Sanders and Thames Lead Owls Past Shockers

Saturday, April 25

Wichita, KS

2:05 PM

Rice University

25-19, 8-9

Wichita State

25-19, 9-8

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

Sanders and Thames Lead Owls Past Shockers

4/25/2026 7:16:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Series to be decided at 12:05 on Sunday

By: Chuck Pool (cpool@rice.edu)

Wichita- Freshmen Ethan Sanders and Ty Thames combined to hold Wichita State in check and preserve an early lead as Rice snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Wichita State on Saturday.

How it Happened: Sanders worked the first five, and his roommate on the road, Thames, handled the final four innings, scattering a combined seven hits and walking just two while combining for nine strikeouts. After a scoreless first, the Owls manufactured a pair of runs in the top of the second. Mason Ashlock and Kutter-Gage Webb opened the inning with singles and moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by Lorenzo Rios. Masa Chilcutt gave the Owls their first lead of the series with a groundout to bring home Ashlock. Webb moved to third on a ball in the dirt and then scored when Zachary Daigre hit a ground ball to first but beat the Shocker's first baseman to the bag for his fourth hit of the series. Rice expanded the lead to 3-0 at the top of the fifth, converting a two-out double by Colin Robson into a run thanks to an RBI single by Paul Smith. Sanders had cruised through his first four innings, retired 12 of 13 batters, but the Shockers touched him for a solo homer, followed by a two-out RBI single. But after another single put the go-ahead run on base, Sanders ended the threat with a strikeout on a 3-2 count. Thames took over in the bottom of the sixth and after erasing a leadoff walk with a double play, he put a pair on with an infield single and a hit batter before ending the threat with a strikeout. He worked around a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth to record his fifth save of the season.

Next Up: The teams will meet to decide the series a 12:05 on Sunday.

Notes

The Owls improved to 25-19 on the season, 12-9 on the road, and 4-6 all-time at Eck Stadium.
The win was the first for the Owls over Wichita State in its home ballpark…They defeated Missouri, Indiana, and Cal State Fullerton at Eck Stadium in the 1996 Wichita Regional, but were 0-5 against the Shockers at home.
Rice improved to 9-2 in one-run games this season and is 11-5 under David Pierce in wins by a single run.
The Owls are 5-3 on the road in the American Conference, their best road record in three seasons in the league… They were 4-11 last year and 4-8 in 2024.
Thames last three saves have come in his last three conference road games, and he has not allowed a run in eight innings covering those three appearances (8.0, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 SO).
Smith tied his season-best with three hits, extending his on-base streak to 11 games… He is hitting .410 over his last 11 games with 12 RBI and has driven in 32 in his last 35 games.