Tuesday's Sports Update : Baseball defeats Texas State 16-2

By Meghan Hall     4/22/10 7:00pm

After eight days of no baseball due to finals, Rice was back at it at Reckling Park this afternoon, taking on Texas State University in a rescheduled game from Feb. 23. The Owls (27-16, 11-4 Conference USA) were firing on all cylinders today and romped their way to a 16-2 win over the Bobcats (28-15, 18-6 Southland Conference). Senior Jared Rogers (5-1) was on the mound first for Rice and delivered splendidly, tossing five innings with only three hits. He forfeited no runs and walked only one while striking out three.

Rogers was well-supported by his offense, which picked up at least a run in each inning except the third. Sophomore center fielder Jeremy Rathjen started the scoring in the first inning with a home run to become the second player-the other being sophomore third baseman Anthony Rendon-to reach double digits in homers. Freshman second baseman Michael Ratterree and junior shortstop Rick Hague also homered in the game.

Six Owls had multi-hit games as part of the team's 17-hit attack. Hague led the way with three RBI and five hits, three of which were for extra bases. Left fielder Michael Fuda notched three hits and was only a home run away from hitting for the cycle.

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In terms of relief work, junior Abe Gonzales (4-3), sophomore Matthew Reckling (1-1) and freshman Chase McDowell (0-0) all saw action for Rice. McDowell worked himself into a jam in the ninth but worked out of it, surrendering only one run before closing the game out for the Owls.

Rice, currently ranked No. 25 nationally by Baseball America, will play Texas Southern University tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. at Reckling Park. The team will then travel to Marshall for a conference series beginning Friday night.

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