Fifth-ranked Owls Capture Cross-town Shootout over Cougars

HOUSTON-Rice continued its solid play this weekend against Houston. After losing the series opener to the Cougars, the Owls were able to bounce back and take the next two games of the series. Thus, Wayne Graham and company retain the coveted Silver Glove Trophy that the two rivals play for every season.

Rice @ Houston – Game 1

Despite nearly statistically identical performances on the mound and at the plate, Houston came away with a 5-2 win in game one of the weekend series. Cougar starter Aaron Brown got the job done, going seven innings and surrendering only a pair of runs. Brown’s only mistake came against second baseman Jess Buenger, who hit a solo home run in the seventh inning. Buenger was seemingly the only Owl batter who did much of anything at the plate, going 3 for 4, the only Rice player with more than one hit for the game.

The game was tied at one through five innings thanks to great pitching by Rice starter Ryan Berry. However, Berry got into a little trouble in the sixth, when he allowed three runs, keyed by a two-run double off the bat of Dustin Kingsbury.

Rice @ Houston – Game 2

Thanks to six innings of shutout baseball from starter Ryne Tacker, Rice got back in the win column by shutting out Houston, 12-0. The senior Tacker had nine strikeouts and only allowed three hits. The Owl offense came alive as well after a mediocre performance the day before.

Led by Joe Savery, who had a 4-for-4 day at the plate, the Owls collected 15 hits on their way to another offensive outburst, reaching double digit scoring for the eighth time this season.

Jared Gayhart and Brian Friday hit back-to-back doubles in the first inning, putting Rice up 2-0 and they never looked back. In all, five Rice batters would have multi-hit games, and five players would drive in runs.

Rice @ Houston – Game 3

Rice reached double digit scoring for the second straight game, taking the series from Houston with an 11-6 win on Sunday. The Owls registered 16 hits, including four by Jess Buenger who had two doubles and two RBIs. Tyler Henley and Travis Reagan also had big days at the plate, wracking up a pair of hits and a homerun each.

The Owls trailed 2-1 early but a four-run fourth inning highlighted by three doubles put them on top for good.

Rice starter Joe Savery went 4.1 innings allowing two runs on five hits. The win went to reliever Scott Lonergan who threw 1.2 innings of shutout baseball and improved to 4-0 on the season.

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