March 2, 2011
Rice 11, Arizona 7 (Box Score)
TUCSON, Ariz. - An eight-run fifth inning was too much for No. 17 Arizona to overcome as No. 21 Rice split a mid-week series with an 11-7 victory on Wednesday night at Kindall Field/Sancet Stadium.
Geoff Perrott hit a solo home run to left field to lead off the fifth frame, cutting a 3-1 Arizona lead in half. It seemed harmless at the time, but five walks, a hit batter and four base hits later added up to a disastrous inning for Arizona's pitching staff.
Vincent Littleman suffered the loss, giving up five runs on three hits and two walks in 1.2 innings pitched. It was his walk to Daniel Gonzales-Luna and a one-out single by J.T. Chargois in the deciding fifth inning that set the tone for the rest of the game .That brought 2010 National Player of the Year Anthony Rendon to the plate, who already had a single and a double on the evening.
Rendon lifted a deep fly ball down the right field line that Robert Refsnyder was unable to track down near the right field foul pole. The ball landed inches inside the foul line and Rendon raced to third with a bases-clearing triple to give the Owls a 4-3 lead.
Arizona's pitching continued to compound the problems throughout the inning. James Farris and Daniel Ponce de Leon gave up four walks and a pair of base hits as Rice extended its lead to 9-3. The damage could have been worse if not for Ponce de Leon striking out Rendon on strikes to end the inning.
After Arizona scored a single run in the bottom of the fifth, the Owls tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh. The Wildcats countered with a pair of their own runs to trail 11-6 after seven innings of play.
Arizona (6-2) attempted to mount a rally in the ninth inning after two errors by the Owls. The second error of the inning allowed Field to score a seventh run for the Wildcats and put Seth Mejias-Brean on second base. Alex Mejia drew a walk to put two runners on with one out and the potential tying run on deck.
But Rice reliever Tyler Duffey, who allowed just one hit over 2.1 innings relief, was able to strike out Bryce Ortega and Joey Rickard to end the game with no further scoring.
Chase McDowell picked up the win for Rice (6-4). The right-hander tossed 5.2 innings and allowed four runs on nine hits.
Things did not start off so good for McDowell. After being spotted a 1-0 edge in the top of the first, McDowell allowed a run in the bottom of the inning when Josh Garcia drove home Cole Frenzel on a single.
The Wildcats took a 3-1 lead in the second inning thanks to a lead off single by Mejias-Brean, bunt singles by Mejia and Ortega, and an infield run-scoring single by Rickard.
But things settled down for McDowell and the Owls thereafter. Rice tallied 15 hits in the game and drew nine walks from Wildcats pitchers. It was more than enough to overcome five errors in the field.
Arizona will turn its attention to Utah Valley, which comes into Tucson for a three-game series this weekend. The first game of the series is set for 6 p.m. on Friday night at Kindall Field/Sancet Stadium.
