HOUSTON – Rice broke a 3-3 tie with a run in the seventh, then used a five-run eighth to put away HBU, 9-3, and even the non-conference baseball series Sunday afternoon at Reckling Park.
Senior rightfielder
Brandon Bena went 2-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs for the Huskies (1-1), while senior centerfielder
Chase Talbot when 2-for-3 and scored a run. Senior second baseman
Trent Franson went 1-for-3 with an RBI and freshman shortstop
Sebastian Trinidad went 1-for-3 and scored a run.
Sophomore righthander
Blake Bolgiano (0-1) took the loss, giving up one run on two hits with a strikeout and a walk in two innings. Senior starter, righthander
Jacob Coats, gave up three runs on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
Braden Comeaux went 4-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs, while Cade Edwards went 4-for-4 with a solo home run and scored twice for the Owls (1-1). Justin Dunlap also added a solo home run, going 1-for-4 and scoring twice. Hal Hughes went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run, Bradley Gneiting doubled and drove in a pair and Will Karp went 1-for-4 with an RBI and scored three times.
Garrett Zaskoda (1-0) earned the win out of the bullpen for Rice, holding HBU to one run on two hits with four strikeouts and a walk over the final four innings. Starter Blake Brogdon allowed two runs on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
Rice got on the board in the bottom of the first on Gneiting's RBI ground-rule double, then Edwards homered down the leftfield line in the second to put the Owls ahead, 2-0.
HBU finally broke through in the fifth as Bena delivered a two-out, two-run single to the game, 2-2.
Dunlap quickly regained the lead for the Owls with a solo home run down the leftfield line to lead off the bottom of the fifth.
The Huskies also answered as junior first baseman
Jake Miller led off the sixth with a single and scored the tying run on Franson's RBI single.
Gneiting put Rice ahead for good with a sacrifice fly in the seventh, then Comeaux's bases-loaded triple in the eighth capped a five-run rally.
The series concludes Monday with a 1:30 p.m. first pitch.
