March 6, 2009

Box Score

HOUSTON -- With no shortage of drama, the fifth-ranked Rice baseball team completed a two-out, ninth-inning rally to claim a narrow 2-1 victory over Washington State in the day's second game at the 2009 Rice Invitational presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Friday night at Reckling Park.

Trailing 1-0 and with just two hits in the game heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, Rice rallied to tie the score and then push across the deciding run for the 2-1 victory. Jess Buenger came off the bench and drew a leadoff walk to start it off. Washington State was looking to turn two on an infield ground ball off the bat of Jimmy Comerota, but a Cougar fielding error on the play allowed pinch-runner Brock Holt to take third and Comerota to advance to second with no one out.

WSU retired Rice's Chad Mozingo on a line-out back to the mound and elected to intentionally walk Diego Seastrunk to set up a force at every station. The Cougars, however, had a passed ball on a 1-2 pitch to Anthony Rendon and Holt dashed home to tie the game, 1-1. WSU brought the infield in and successfully retired Rendon for the second out. Comerota and Seastrunk were held in check. The Cougars then intentionally walked the sixth batter of the inning, Rick Hague, to again set up a force while facing Rice freshman Jeremy Rathjen.

The force play worked, but in Rice's favor. Rathjen was down to his final strike when he was hit by a pitch. All the runners advanced, including Comerota with the game-winning run from third base. Rice had completed the two-run rally for the win, all without getting any hits. The Blue & Gray had only two hits for the contest, both by Rathjen with a single in the second inning and a double into the right field corner in the eighth. WSU starting pitcher Matt Way had turned in a sterling performance, holding the Owls to no earned runs on the two Rathjen hits for 8.0 innings. Way walked three Owls and struck out four.

Rice senior reliever Jordan Rogers improved to 3-0 with the win in relief. He fired the final 2.1 hitless innings, striking out two and running his current streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 11.1 in a row. Junior Mike Ojala started for the Owls on the mound and struck out 10 in 6.1. He scattered four hits and allowed the lone Cougar run in the sixth.

WSU designated hitter Jared Prince singled with two away and scored on a double to right-center by Patrick Claussen. The Cougars fell to 3-6 on the young season. Rice improved to 7-3 with a second-straight win.

Action in the annual round-robin tournament continues through Sunday (Mar. 8) at Reckling Park. Saturday's games feature a 1 pm meeting between Rice and Notre Dame. Washington State meets Oral Roberts in the second game of the twinbill at 4:30 pm. In the tournament's first game on Friday, Notre Dame rallied for a late run to win a 2-1 pitcher's duel over Oral Roberts.