Baseball splits weekend series against Texas Longhorns
John Williamson slides back to first during the series against the University of Texas at Austin.
In a matchup of two of the nation’s top baseball programs, the no. 13 Rice Owls and no. 10 University of Texas, Austin split a four-game series played this past weekend at Reckling Park.
Both Rice victories came on the same day as Rice swept the Saturday doubleheader, giving junior pitcher Blake Fox and freshman pitcher Ricardo Salinas their first wins of the season. The Longhorns, who trailed in both Friday’s and Sunday’s games, battled back to claim the two victories. Rice is now 2-2 in the season.
The Owls scored first in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly by junior shortstop Leon Byrd to take a 1-0 advantage. The Owls’ Friday night starter, Kevin McCanna, struck out six Texas batters through his first four innings of work while allowing zero runs. However, the Owls’ inability to execute with runners in scoring position would come back to hurt them, and Rice did not see another runner cross home plate the rest of the game. Despite out-hitting Texas 10 to five, the Longhorns defeated Rice by a score of 3-1.
Looking to even up the series at 1-1, Rice scored six runs on seven hits in the first inning of the first game of the Saturday doubleheader on their way to a 10-9 victory. Senior catcher John Clay Reeves hit his first home run of the season with a two-run shot, and fellow senior second baseman Ford Stainback recorded four hits on the afternoon with two RBIs. Junior pitcher Matt Ditman closed the game, pitching 3.0 innings while striking out seven batters to earn his first save on the year.
In game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, true freshman pitcher Ricardo Salinas took the mound for his first career collegiate start. Salinas threw 6.0 scoreless innings while his teammates scored five runs through the first half of the ballgame. Senior left fielder Kirby Taylor led the offense, going 3-4 on the day with 3 RBIs. The Owls won the game 5-2.
For the first four innings of the final game, both teams were deadlocked at zero runs, but quickly changed in the fifth when the Owls put three runs on the board. For the second day in a row, the Owls’ starting pitching kept the Longhorns off the board for the first six innings of the game. However, Texas broke through in the seventh inning after a costly error in the outfield allowed two runs. With the game tied at three runs apiece, the two teams headed into extra innings where the Longhorns would go on to win by a score of 4-3 to even up the series.
True freshman pitcher Glenn Otto appeared twice in the series and faced a total of eight Longhorn hitters, of which he struck out seven. In total, Rice struck out 17 batters in Sunday’s game. Otto said he felt the pitching staff was prepared all weekend thanks in part to pitching coach Patrick Hallmark.
“I think Coach Hallmark did a really good job getting us ready to go out there and compete,” Otto said. “Overall, [our pitchers] had a remarkable opening weekend, and we hope to keep it up all season.”
Hitting Coach Clay Van Hook said he was proud of his hitters, who recorded double-digit hit totals in all four contests. He credited aggression and swinging at good pitches for the .343 batting average on the weekend.
“Our hitting was successful due to the fact we were aggressive at the plate, and when we got good pitches to hit, we didn’t miss them,” Van Hook said. “Our walk-to-strikeout ratio was very good, meaning we were disciplined enough to handle Texas, who has really good [pitchers].”
Taylor led the offense over the weekend, hitting .643 with two doubles and four RBIs. Taylor said he was satisfied with the play of the younger players.
“As a senior, I am very satisfied with where we are at … because we could have been 4-0 this weekend if not for a few mistakes we made ourselves,” Taylor said. “Being an older guy, you definitely want to see the younger kids and the freshmen play well and compete, [and] I’m really looking forward to Arizona because they will be another big test for us [as a team].”
The Owls travel to Tucson, Arizona this upcoming Friday to play the University of Arizona in a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for Feb. 20 at 4 p.m.
More from The Rice Thresher
MMA and milk miles: Rice students engage with sports
It’s not uncommon to find yourself walking to Reckling Park to watch the baseball team or to the recreational fields to play soccer. However, Division I and intramural sports are only a sliver of what the greater Rice community takes part in. From cricket to mixed martial arts to milk miles (yes, milk miles), students engage in a variety of sports that are a testament to their past pastimes, new endeavors and the need to destress.
Reflecting on four years: a heartfelt farewell to the Thresher
As I sit down to write this farewell column, I can’t help but feel a whirlwind of emotions swirling within me. It feels like just yesterday that I nervously clicked the “Join Meeting” button on Zoom in early August of my freshman year to express my interest in joining the sports section of the Rice Thresher. Daniel Schrager and Ben Baker-Katz, the sports editors in my freshman year, welcomed me with open arms, encouraging me to write for the Thresher. Little did I know that this initial encounter would mark the beginning of an incredible journey that has shaped my college experience in ways I could have never imagined.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.