Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Rice
No. 1 Rice Swings Past Baseball, 10-3
4/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 18, 2009
HOUSTON, Texas - Marshall University red-shirt freshman left fielder Rhett Stafford finished 2-for-4 with two doubles but six homers, including two from Rick Hague, sparked No. 1 Rice to a 10-3 victory over the Thundering Herd in Saturday evening's Conference USA baseball game at Reckling Park.
With the loss, Marshall falls to 15-22 on the season, 5-9 in league action while Rice moves to 27-9 overall, 11-3 in C-USA play and has now won each of the 11 meetings between the teams.
Leading 10-3 in the top of the ninth, Rice reliever Jared Rogers entered and gave up a two-out single to right by senior second baseman Adam Yeager before a groundout sealed the victory for the Owls.
Rice junior right-handed starter Mike Ojala earned the victory and moves to 3-0 on the season while Marshall southpaw starter Greg Williams suffered the loss. The freshman moves to 1-3 overall.
In the top of the first, Yeager drew a leadoff walk and sophomore centerfielder Ben Jurevicius poked a single into shallow left field, sending Yeager to third to give the Herd runners on the corners with no out. Junior third baseman Josh Valle then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to give Rice two outs in the inning, but Marshall scored the first run of the contest as Yeager raced home on the play. Ojala then induced a groundout to end the frame with the score 1-0.
Rice responded in the bottom of the first when Brock Holt led off with a base-on-balls before stealing second. Hague then drew a one-out walk before a fly out moved Holt to third, giving the Owls runners on the corners. Diego Seastrunk then drilled an RBI single through the right side, knotting the game at 1-1 and moving Hague to third. A two-out walk to Daniel Gonzalez-Luna loaded the bases for Michael Fuda who sent a tall fly ball to deep center but Jurevicius came down with a tremendous over-the-shoulder catch on the warning track to strand all three runners and end the inning.
The Owls forged ahead in the bottom of the second when Jeremy Rathjen earned a leadoff walk followed by a two-run blast off the bat of Steven Sultzbaugh, making the score 3-1. Holt followed that with a single to center, stole second and then moved to third on a groundout before Hague delivered the second two-run shot of the inning, a launch to left field, increasing the margin to 5-1 and chasing Williams from the contest in favor of Sikula. Anthony Rendon added a single but a nicely timed 4-6-3 double play ended the Rice threat.
Rice extended its lead in the bottom of the fourth stanza when Hague and Rendon crushed back-to-back two-out solo shots to left field, giving the Owls a six-run cushion and 7-1 lead. From there, Sikula fired his third strikeout of the game to end the frame without further damage.
Sophomore shortstop Kenny Socorro tripled to right center to lead off the top of the fifth inning and came full circle on a sacrifice fly by Yeager, making the score 7-2. Valle drew a two-out walk but the Herd could not cut into the lead any further as a groundout to third ended the inning.
The Owls answered in the home half of the frame when Michael Fuda lined a one-out homer over the fence in right field, making the score 8-2. The long ball was the fifth of the game for Rice, setting a season-high.
Rice reliever Andrew Benak replaced Ojala to start the sixth frame. Ojala gave up two runs on three hits, walked five and struck out one batter in his eighth outing of the season. Benak retired the first two batters in order before Stafford ripped a double into right center and moved to third on a wild pitch but a diving snag by Hague at shortstop robbed freshman Eric Semeniuk of a base-hit and kept Stafford stranded 90 feet from home.
The Owls tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth frame when Holt went deep to right field to lead off the inning. The blast was the sixth of the game for Rice and moved the score to 9-2. Two outs later, three walks and a fielder's choice jammed the sacks before Fuda brought home the Owls' 10th run of the contest with the fourth free pass of the stanza, increasing the lead to 10-2. Ryan Lewis then drilled a hard grounder heading towards right field but Yeager made a superb stop on the play and fired to first to close out the inning.
In the top of the eighth, Valle singled to right and moved to third on a long single to left by sophomore Kevin Shackelford. Benak forced a double play to get two outs in the inning before a single to right field by freshman Alfredo Brito brought Valle home, making the score 10-3. From there, Stafford smoked a double to center field but Brito was gunned down at home on an 8-6-2 relay to end the inning.
Herd sophomore reliever Chad Johnson pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless baseball while freshman reliever Joe Church retired the side in order in the bottom of the eighth in the losing effort.
Holt finished 4-for-4 with three runs scored in the game, while Hague and Rendon added two hits apiece in the winning effort for the Owls.
Marshall and Rice will play the series finale, Sunday, April 19 at Reckling Park. First-pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. ET. Both pitchers are yet to be determined.
