Tuesday's Sports Update : Baseball unable to make up early deficit, falls to DBU

By Meghan Hall     3/25/10 7:00pm

Rice dug itself into an early hole tonight that it could not crawl out of, and the team fell to Dallas Baptist University 7-6.Sophomore Matthew Reckling (1-1) notched his first start for the Owls (17-13, 4-2 Conference USA) this evening at Reckling Park but could not find control of his pitches, walking three and forcing in a run via a hit batter before being pulled in the first inning.

Freshman Holt McNair (2-1) entered the game in relief and surrendered a grand slam to the first batter he faced, first baseman Ryan Behmanesh, for an early 5-0 lead. The Patriots (17-12) picked up two more in the third after senior Mark Haynes (0-0) relieved McNair.

Rice answered with one run of its own in each of those innings with RBI hits by sophomore left fielder Jeremy Rathjen and freshman second baseman Michael Ratterree, both of whom finished the night with a team-high three hits. Ratterree also crossed the plate in the fifth on an RBI groundout by Rathjen.

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The Patriots did not score after the third inning, thanks to the solid relief work of junior Abe Gonzales (3-3), freshman Tyler Duffey (2-1) and redshirt freshman Anthony Fazio (1-1). The Owls managed to pick up a single run in each of the last three innings, but it was not enough to overcome DBU's early lead.

There was potential in the seventh, when a double by Rathjen scored senior first baseman Jimmy Comerota, but Ratterree faltered when rounding third base and was tagged out at the plate. Junior shortstop Rick Hague also hit a solo home run in the eighth, his fourth of the season.

Rice goes on the road this weekend and will face Tulane Friday night in New Orleans at 6:30 p.m.

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