Rice Baseball Loses Again

February 25, 2010
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Owls Fall To 0-4 With Home Loss To Lamar

(Lamar Photo)

HOUSTON – Senior Anthony Moore set the tone with a pair of extra base hits in the first two innings and scored three runs to lead Lamar University to a 13-7 win over No. 9-ranked Rice University Wednesday evening at Reckling Park.

Lamar improved to 4-0 on the season while Rice dropped to 0-4. The Cardinals snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Owls that dated back to the 2003 season, when Lamar swept the season series with Rice.

Lamar jumped on Rice starter Anthony Fazio as Moore opened with the game with a double off the wall in left field. After Clayton Farhat walked, Ryan Meade singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Moore with the game’s first run.

Joey Latulippe walked to load the bases. Pablo Salinas cleared the bases with a 3-run triple to right center field to give the Cardinals a quick 4-0 lead.

Moore tripled to the wall in straight away center field in the second inning and scored on Farhat’s sacrifice fly to left field to put Lamar up 5-0.

Rice scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. Diego Seastrunk singled to center and Steven Sultzbaugh followed with a single up the middle. Chase McDowell, who was 2-for-4 with three RBI, delivered an RBI single to right field, driving in Seastrunk. Jimmy Comerota drove in Sultzbaugh with a sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 5-2.

The Cardinals rallied for four runs in the top of the fourth inning to increase their lead to 9-2. Ted Zentek, Aaron Buchanan and Tyler Theriot all singled. Theriot’s single drove in Zentek with the first run and Buchanan was thrown out trying to go to third on the play.

After Moore drew a walk from left-handed reliever Abe Gonzales, Farhat hit a 3-run opposite field home run to left field. That was Farhat’s first home run of the season. He went 1-for-2 at the plate, drove in a season-best four runs, walked twice and scored twice.

Seastrunk led off the home half of the fourth inning with a solo home run to right center field, his first of the season, to make the score 9-2.

Rice kept up the pressure with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Anthony Rendon led off the inning with a single. Michael Fuda followed with a single and Seastrunk walked to load the bases.

McDowell delivered a 2-run single to left field to make the score 9-5. The game was then halted for nine minutes due to a glare at home plate from the Medical Center buildings. When the game resumed, reliever Taylor McInnis coaxed Comerota into an inning-ending double play.

For the third time in the game, the Cardinals put up a four-run inning in the top of the seventh. This joined the first and fourth innings. Meade was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Latulippe reached on a two-base throwing error by Rendon at third base, which allowed Meade to score.

Salinas and Zentek both walked to load the bases. Buchanan, who was 2-for-4 with two RBI, followed with a 2-run double down the left field line. Zentek scored on a wild pitch from reliever Holt McNair to increase the Cardinals’ lead to 13-5.

The Owls closed out the scoring with single runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Fuda doubled down the right field line and scored on Sultzbaugh’s RBI single to right in the eighth. Rick Hague singled to lead off the ninth. Mozingo followed with a single and Rendon drove in Hague with a single up the middle to make the score 13-7.

Blake Ford (1-0) started and picked up his first win of the season for the Cardinals. He pitched four innings, allowing three runs on five hits with two strikeouts. Taylor McInnis added three innings of relief with one run on three hits and two strikeouts.

Fazio (0-1), who is a freshman from Beaumont (Kelly HS), took the loss for the Owls. He lasted just one-third of an inning, allowing four runs on three hits.

The Owls next host a talented group teams at the annual Rice Invitational Tournament, this Friday through Sunday (Feb. 26-28) at Reckling Park. Rice is joined in the tournament by Elon, Nebraska and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for three full days of round-robin action.

(Lamar & Rice Releases)

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