Tuesday Sports Update : Baseball battles rain to hook the 'Horns

By Meghan Hall     3/11/10 6:00pm

On a damp and drizzly evening, 14th-ranked Rice hosted second-ranked Texas at Reckling Park and came away with a 10-6 win. Rice (11-7) opened the scoring with two runs in the first inning off Texas starter Austin Dicharry (0-1). Sophomore third baseman Anthony Rendon-current Conference USA Co-Hitter of the Week-brought in junior right fielder Chad Mozingo with a sacrifice fly, while sophomore catcher Craig Manuel drove in left fielder Michael Fuda for his first RBI of what would turn out to be a productive day.

Rice starter Jared Rogers (1-1) gave up three runs to the Longhorns (13-4), including a home run to second baseman Jordan Etier, before being lifted for sophomore Matthew Reckling (1-0) in the third.

The Owls supported their new reliever by putting up a crooked number in the third, thanks to a three-run shot by senior center fielder Steven Sultzbaugh that scored Manuel and freshman second baseman Michael Ratterree.

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Texas got one run back in the fourth, after which Reckling was replaced by freshman Holt McNair (1-0), who scored his first career win. Rendon then extended Rice's winning margin with his team-leading seventh home run in the fifth inning.

Freshman Tyler Duffey (2-0) threw the bulk of the innings for Rice, tossing 2.2 innings with only one hit and six strikeouts, much to the contentment of his coach.

"Duffey really picked us up," Head Coach Wayne Graham said. "He came in there and stabilized things when it looked like things were falling apart. He's been doing that every time he's been out there; he's been outstanding."

More offense ensued in the sixth, when a leadoff triple by senior first baseman Jimmy Comerota got the ball rolling. Junior shortstop Rick Hague executed a perfect bunt to score Comerota, and Manuel brought in another run with a single to increase Rice's lead to 8-5.

The Owls scratched two runs in their final two innings, a fielder's choice by Mozingo and a third RBI hit for Manuel, who finished with a team-high three hits. The Longhorns managed another run in the eighth, but sophomore Taylor Wall (0-3) came in the ninth and closed out the game.

With 13 hits on the night in a win over a longtime rival, Rice evens its season record against the Longhorns to 1-1 and finishes its homestand on a good note.

"They had some really good at-bats," Graham said. "Obviously that's a team with an ERA of less than two, so when you score 10 runs you're doing a pretty good job. I felt like we competed real well."

The Owls are heading out on an eight-game road trip to play San Diego, Texas, Memphis and Lamar before returning to Reckling Park to face Houston on April 1.

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