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Like A Glove! Owls Rally Past Houston To Keep Silver Glove Trophy
May 10, 2008
HOUSTON -- The fourth-ranked Rice baseball team rallied for the go-head runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, before adding six big insurance runs in the eighth, to defeat crosstown rival Houston 8-1 in the second game of a three-game Conference USA weekend series Saturday afternoon at Reckling Park in Houston. By winning the season-long five-game series over UH in four games, Rice claimed the annual Silver Glove Trophy as the city's collegiate baseball champion for the eighth-straight year and tenth time overall. More importantly, the first place-sitting Owls clinched at least a share of the Conference USA regular season title with their 17th league win. The Blue & Gray is now 17-3 in C-USA action with four conference games left to play. Rice can clinch the conference title outright with one more victory (over Houston on Sunday or next week in the series at Tulane). The final score for Saturday's game did not resemble the first two thirds of the contest. Starting pitchers Chris Kelley (Rice) and John Touchton (UH) were locked in a scoreless pitcher's duel for the first five innings. In the top of the sixth, Houston's Jake Stewart led off with a double down the left field line and Jimmy Cesario drove him home with a one-out base hit to left. Rice got on the scoreboard in bottom of the seventh when designated hitter Jess Buenger, making his first appearance in a game since April 15, came off the bench and sparked the team and fans with a base hit to center. Jared Gayhart followed with a basehit that put men on the corners. Houston successfully made a play at the plate on a ground ball by J.P. Padron to get one out, but Rice still had men on first and second for Diego Seastrunk. The Owls' sophomore from Channelview rolled a base hit into a hole in right field to score Gayhart and Padron sprinted for third. A UH fielding error on the play, however, allowed Padron to score from third and Rice moved ahead for the first time in the game, 2-1.
Houston still had a chance and proceeded to load the bases with one out in the top of the eighth, but Owl senior closer Cole St.Clair worked out of the jam with an infield fly just behind first base and a grounder to second. The Owls needed only an insurance run or two in the bottom of the eighth to play it safe, but the team exploded for six more runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batsman. The big blows were a two-run double to right by freshman Doug Simmons and another base hit by Seastrunk that scored two more. Seastrunk finished the day with three hits and three RBI. Freshman Matt Evers earned the win in relief of Kelley to improve his record to 4-1. St.Clair notched his team-leading fifth save of the season. Rice won its sixth game in a row and is now 38-11. Houston fell to 30-20 overall and 11-9 in C-USA. The Owls retain the Silver Glove for another year, but there is still a final game in the series left to play. The rivals meet Sunday at Reckling Park at 1 pm. The contest is the final regular season home game for seven Rice seniors. |
