May 16, 2008

Box Score

CBS College Sports Highlights

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Trailing by two runs with two out in the top of the eighth inning, the Rice baseball team rallied for six unanswered runs on the way to an 8-4 victory over Tulane in the opening game of a split double-header Friday afternoon at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans. The teams will play game two of the twinbill at 7:21 pm Central Time.

After Rice was able to keep Tulane off the scoreboard for the first three frames, the Green Wave put three runs on the board in bottom of the fourth. The Owls had retired nine men in a row but the second trip through the lineup was a different story. Seth Henry walked with one away and two batters later Jared Dyer started a parade of four-straight hits. The Blue & Gray finally worked out of the jam but were down 3-0.

The Owls came right battled back for two runs on three doubles in the top of the fifth. Jimmy Comerota led off with a double down the left-field line and Derek Myers drove a double to the gap in right-center for the team's first run of the game. J.P. Padron knocked a double into left for an RBI that cut the lead to one, 3-2.

Tulane added another score in the fifth. Seth Henry doubled-in a run after a leadoff walk to extend the lead to 4-2. The Green Wave proceeded to hold the lead all the way to two outs in the top of the ninth inning. With two-away and a man on base, true freshman Rick Hague blasted his eighth home run of the season to tie the game, 4-4. The Owls then exploded for four more runs on two hits and two walks in the top of the ninth. The big blow was a three-run homer by Diego Seastrunk for his fifth round-tripper of the year.

Cole St.Clair struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to earn his eighth win. Derek Myers tied a career-high with three hits in the game and Padron tallied three safties as well. It was the Owls' ninth-straight win and 21st victory in the last 22 games. The team still has work left to do in the series finale set for 7:21 pm.