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Rice Owls Take Down Crosstown Rival Houston, 13-7, To Close Out Silver Glove Series

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Baseball

Jack Riedel blasted a pair of three-run homers, Ben Royo added a three-run clout of his own to put Rice ahead to stay and Guy Garibay Jr. chipped in with a two-run blast as Rice closed out the 2023 Silver Glove Series with a 13-7 win over Houston.

The Details: Riedel opened and closed the scoring on the night, blasting his first three-run shot in the bottom of the first and then sending his second to an almost identical spot in right-center in the eighth inning to build the Owls' final margin to six runs. After starter Garrett Stratton worked a scoreless opening frame, Max Johnson led off the bottom of the first with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball.  With one out, Royo walked on four pitches and Riedel sent the next on sailing toward University Blvd for a career-high fifth homer of the year.  The blast also extended his hitting streak to 14 games.  Houston jumped in front with six runs in the third, but Garibay drew the Owls to within one with his eighth homer down the line in right. Houston added a run in the fifth to make it 7-5 before the Owls cut the margin again to one in the bottom of the sixth when Royo scored on a Pierce Gallo ground out. In a game that would feature four home runs that drove in 11 runs, the tying run came without the benefit of a hit.  Paul Smith led off with a walk and moved to second on a sac bunt by Ben Dukes. Both move up on a wild pitch and then Smith scored on a passed ball on a fourth ball to Garibay. Royo hammered the next pitch onto the hill beyond the left field fence to give Rice a 10-7 lead. Garret Zaskoda (1-1), who was one of six Owls to receive their diplomas prior to Tuesday's game with Incarnate Word, was the beneficiary of the offensive explosion, tossing three shutout innings to pick up the win in the Silver Glove finale for the second straight year.
 
Notes

  • Rice improved to 33-11 all-time vs. Houston, 32-31 in the Silver Glove series.   and 6-8 in midweek games.
  • The 13 runs were the most for Rice vs. Houston at Reckling since a 13-6 win on 5/9/08.
  • This was the third time this year the Owl hit four homers in a game, but the first time at home (@Texas A&M, @UTSA)… The last time the Owls hit at least four home runs three games in a season was in 2017 when the Owls had two games with four long balls in addition to a seven-homer game at UAB.
  • Zaskoda toss three shutout innings last year at Schroeder Park and got the win when the Owls won in 12 innings.
  • Royo's homer was his 13th of the season, tying him with head coach Jose Cruz Jr. for the third most home runs at Rice by a freshman, and was his third in as many games vs. Houston… His 13 homers are the most for an Owl since Andrew Dunlap hit 13 in 2019… The last Owls with more than 13 in a season were Anthony Rendon (26) and Rick Hague (16) in 2010.
  • Jack Redel's two-homer game was his second this season, both in his last eight games.  His six RBI were a career-high, a season-high for the Owls, and the most by an Owl since Trei Cruz drove in nine in 2019… He has matched the longest hitting streak by an Owl since Ford Proctor had a 14-game streak from 4/8 to 5/5 in 2018.  now hitting .439 over his streak (25x57).  
  • Max Johnson scored a career-high four runs and matched his season high with two hits… In his first two starts since returning from an injury, he is 3x6 with three walks and five runs.

Up Next:  Rice opens its first Conference USA road series on Friday when the Owls open a three-game series at WKU at 6 p.m.  They return home next Tuesday to host Prairie View and then close out their C-USA regular season schedule by hosting FIU May 18-20.