FALL BALL (October 1 - November 14, 2012)
Unofficial Recaps by Roger Tower
November 14, 2012 - Blue 4, Gray 1
A gloridous end to the fallball season as Blue won 4-1.
Kevin McCanna (Blue) and Ryan McCarthy (Gray) each pitched three scoreless and hitless innings.
Connor Mason (Gray) and Tyler Spurlin (Blue) came on to pitch the next three innings.
Blue scored one run in the fourth on a Leon Byrd double and Michael Aquino RBI single. Blue scored two more in the sixth on Keenan Cook's two out double to left-center.
Spurlin pitched three scoreless innings.
Zechariah Lemond (Blue) pitched two innings, giving up one run on four hits.
Chase McDowell three two scoreless innings for Gray.
Jordan Stephens closed out for Blue with two shut-out innings.
Blue would score one run off John Williamson in the second inning of work. Geoff Perrott doubled and scored on a Dustin Theiss single. Williamson struck out three in the inning.
November 12, 2012 - Gray 13, Blue 1
It was a beautiful but ultimately very chilly evening. Gray thrashed Blue 13-1 behind the solid pitching of Matt Ditman (5 innings) and John Williamson (1 inning) and good team hitting to win in six inning.
Austin Orewiler pitched the first four innings for Blue. Matt Ditman the first five for Gray.
Gray failed to score in the first two innings off Orewiler.
In the third, Andrew Murphy singled to center. It was the first of his four hits on the day. Ford Stainback followed with another single. Shane Hoelscher singled Murphy home. Ford to third and Shane took second on the throw. Christian Stringer's sac-fly scored Ford. Shane scored on a wild pitch. Two outs followed.
In the fourth, Gray tallied two more runs. Geoff Perrott singled. Chase McDowell walked. After a strike-out, Murphy singled home Geoff. McDowell going to third. Murphy stole second. Ford's sac-fly scored Chase. A walk to Shane and HBP to Stringer loaded the bases. A pop-up ended the fourth.
Blue did not score in the first four innings. It was Gray 5 Blue 0 after four.
Jeremy Fant relieved for Blue in the fifth. He walked one and retired three in the fifth.
Blue scored one run in the fifth on two walks, a wild pitch, and a sac-fly.
Gray up 5-1 after 5.
In the sixth, the first seven batters reached base for Gray.
Murphy singled. Ditman was HBP. They each advanced on a ground rule wild pitch (The pitched ball hit the screen protecting the umpire and others.) Ford walked to load the bases. Hoelscher scored two with a single. He advanced to second on the throw. Stringer singled home two more. Skyler Ewing walked. Perrott reached on an infield throwing error with Stringer scoring and Ewing going to third and Geoff to second.
The first out was recorded on Chase McDowell's sac-fly scoring Ewing. An infield ground-out was the second out. Murphy doubled to center scoring Perrott. Ditman doubled to center scoring Murphy. For the inning, there were 8 runs with five hits.
John Williamson closed the game for Gray. He retired three around two walks.
Final was 13-1.
Pitching summary:
Ditman allowed 1 run (1 ER) and 2 hits with 2 strike-outs and 3 walks in his outing. He was supported by inning ending ground ball double plays in each of the first two innings.
Williamson allowed no runs with 2 walks and 1 SO.
Orewiler pitched 4 innings with 5 R 5 ER 6 H 2 SO 4 BB and 1 HBP
Fant pitched 1.2 innings with 8 R 5 ER 5 H 1 SO 3 BB 1 HBP
Hitting highlights:
Murphy 4 H with a D 2 RBI 1 SB
Hoelscher 2 H 3 RBI 2 BB
Stringer 1 H 3 RBI 1 BB 1 HBP
Stainback 1 H 1 RBI
Ditman 1 D 1 RBI 1 HBP
Williamson 1 H 1 BB
Perrott 1 H
McDowell 1 RBI
Aquino 1 H 1 BB
Kopycinski 1 H 1 RBI
Ratterree 2 BB
Byrd 1 BB 1 SB
Fox 1 BB
Wednesday will be the final intrasquad game of fallball. Intrasquad will start earlier (est. 3:30 PM) as lots of pitchers will see work.
November 9, 2012 - Blue 3, Gray 1
Jordan Stephens and Connor Mason each pitched 5 innings.
and each pitched 5 innings.
Jordan alllowed one first inning run. He walked Shane Hoelscher. Keenan Cook singled to center. Christian Stringer doubled Shane home. The inning eaned with no further hits.
Jordan gave up the one run and four hits. He walked two and struck out three.
Connor gave up two uneanred runs in the first. Leon Byrd reached on an error on his bunt. Michael Ratterree walked. Connor Tekyl singled home Leon. Ratt taking third. Chase McDowell's SF to center scored Ratt. That was it in the first.
Connor allowed one more fun in the fourth on a walk to Chase. John Williamson singled him to third. Hunter Kopycinski singled Chase home. Two outs closed the inning.
In his five innings, Connor allowed 3 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 SO, 4 BB.
Zech Lemond pitched 2 shut-out innings. 4 SO, 1 BB.
Jeremy Fant pitched a scoreless eighth for Blue. He allowed 1 H.
Kevin McCanna closed for Gray relieving Mason. He went three innings. No runs, one hit, six SO, no walks.
Tekyl had three hits including a double. Hunter had two hits including a double. Cook had two singles. Stringer and McCanna each had a double. Stainback and Williamson each had a single.
I'll update next week's schedule when I know more.
November 8, 2012 - Blue 7, Gray 4
It was another great day for Fallball at Reckling Park. It did get a little chilly near the end. Blue won 7-4 in 7 innings.
Lance Berkman was around helping out the batters once again.
For the Gray team, Tyler Spurlin went the first five innings with Holt McNair and John Williamson each pitching an inning.
Chase McDowell pitched the first four innings for Blue and Ryan McCarthy finished pitching the final three innings.
Gray opened the game scoring a run in the first. Christian Stringer doubled down the right-field line. He scored after a wild-pitch (WP) and an error.
Blue answered with a run in the bottom of the inning. Leon Byrd walked. He moved to second on a WP. He took third on an infield out. Keenan Cook drove him home with a sac-fly (SF).
Michael Ratterree walked. A strike-out ended the first.
The scrimmage was tied at one after one inning.
Gray would not score in the second.
Blue tallied twice when Matt Ditman doubled to right-center scoring Connor Teykl (walk) and Geoff Perrott (HBP). Two outs followed.
After two innings, Blue was up 3-1.
Neither side scored in the third.
Gray scored once in the fourth on singles by Shane Hoelscher and Skyler Ewing and an infield error. The inning ended on an infield out.
Blue scored on Teykl's single up-the middle. He took second on a passed ball. An infield out back to the pitcher moved him to third where he scored on a WP. Byrd walked and Kirby Taylor singled. They were stranded.
After four innings, it was 4-2 Blue.
McCarthy came on for Blue in the fifth.
Gray scored when Brian Smith was HBP. He stole second and scored on Kevin McCanna's two out single to center. A fly to right ended the inning.
Blue answered again with Ratterree leading off with a triple to deep right-center. He scored on Chase McDowell's SF.
Michael Aquino walked. Teykl singled with Aquino moving to second. Aquino moved to third on an error. Teykl was caught attempting to steal second for the second out of the inning. A fly to left ended the rally.
Blue was up 5-3 after five innings.
Gray was retired in order in the sixth.
McNair relieved Spurlin for Gray in the sixth.
Andrew Murphy reachec on an infield single. Ditman followed with a triple scoring Murphy for his third RBI of the game. Ditman scored on Taylor's SF. The inning ended with no other runners.
It was 7-3 Blue going to the seventh.
Gray scratched out on run in the seventh. Hunter Kopycinski singled. Blake Fox walked. With one out, Kevin McCanna singled to center to load the bases.
Ford Stainback drove home Hunter with a SF to center. Hoelscher got his second hit of the game to reload the bases. All runners were stranded on an infield ground-out.
John Williamson relieved McNair in the seventh.
Ratterree walked for the third time. Williamson picked him off. Two fly-outs ended the game.
Final was 7-4 Blue.
Pitching lines:
McDowell 4 inn 4 H 2 R 0 ER
McCarthy 3 inn 4 H 2 R 2 ER 2 SO 1 BB 1 HBP
Spurlin 5 inn 6 H 5 R 5 ER 2 SO 6 BB 1 HBP
McNair 1 inn 2 H 2 R 2 ER 1 SO
Williamson 1 inn 0 R 1 BB
Hitching highlights:
RBI: Ditman 3, Taylor, Cook, McDowell, Stainback and McCanna 1 each
Triples: Ratterree and Ditman
Doubles: Stringer and Ditman
Singles: Teykl, Hoelscher, and McCanna 2,
Ewing, Kopycinski, Rathjen, Byrd, Taylor, Murphy 1
Stolen Base: Smith
Another scrimmage tomorrow.
Off Saturday and Sunday.
November 5, 2012 - Gray 5, Blue 4
Today's batting practice was highlighted by Lance Berkman giving hitting instructions to the players as they came to bat. He worked with all the groups and was around for the scrimmage. Good to have Lance back on the Rice campus.
Today also marked the return of Shane Hoelscher to the batting order and third base.
Austin Orewiler started for the Blue team. He pitched the first four innings.
Austin struggled with his control early. In the first inning, he walked three, With the bases loaded, Connor Theiss drove in two runs with a single to center. Geoff Perrott drove home the third run of the inning with a sac-fly to center. A fly-out ended the inning.
After two strike-outs in the second, Keenan Cook and Michael Ratterree hit back-to-back singles. Ratt was out trying to go to second on the throw into the infield.
Michael Aquino doubled to center with one out in the third. With two outs, he moved to third on Perrott's infield single to short. A catcher's error sent him home. An infield pop-up ended the third.
Austin pitched a perfect fourth inning.
Matt Ditman opened for Gray and retired the first twelve men he faced.
After four ,it was Gray 4, Blue 0.
Ditman continued to pitch in the fifth. Chase McDowell beat out a high-hopper to second for the first hit off Ditman. Chase moved to second on a wild pitch. He took third on an infield ground-out. Another wild pitch brought Chase home. John Williamson singled to center. He was out attempting to steal second to end the fifth.
Kevin McCanna relieved Orewiler in the fifth. He retired the first six batters he faced.
After five innings, it was 4-1 Gray.
Zech Lemond came in to pitch for the Gray in the sixth. Kirby Taylor singled to center. He stole second. A strike-out and pop-up followed. With two outs, Kevin McCanna reached on catcher's interference. A passed ball moved the runners to second and third. Taylor scored on Leon Byrd's infield hit. A fly out concluded the inning.
After six, it was 4-2 Gray.
In the seventh, Gray scored it's fifth run. Dustin Theiss singled and stole second. He advanced to third on a ground-out to the right-side. Ditman singled Dustin home. The inning ended with no further action.
With Lemond pitching the seventh, Blue answered back. Skyler Ewing reached on a two-base error. He took third on a ground-out and scored on a sac-fly by Hunter Kopycinski. Shane Hoelscher made his hitting appearance and took up just where he left-off with a single to left.
An infield out ended the rally.
It was 5-3 after seven innings.
John Williamson pitched the eighth for Blue striking out one and walking one and he allowed no runs.
Connor Teykl came in for Gray and allowed his first earned run of the fall. With one out, McCanna walked. Byrd followed with his second single of the day. The runners advanced on a ground-out to first. Ewing walked to load the bases. A wild-pitch scored McCanna with Byrd and Ewing moving up a base. Chase McDowell walked to load the bases. A strike out ended the game.
Final Gray 5, Blue 4
Pitching lines:
Blue:
Orewiler 4 Inn 4 R 3 ER 5 H 3 SO 3 BB
McCanna 3 Inn 1 R 0 ER 2 H 1 SO 0 BB
Williamson 1 Inn 0 R 0 ER 0 H 1 SO 1 BB
Gray:
Ditman 5 Inn 1 R 1 ER 2 H 4 SO 0 BB
Lemond 2 Inn 2 R 1 ER 3 H 1 SO 0 BB
Teykl 1 Inn 1 R 1 ER 1 H 1 SO 3 BB
Hitting highlights:
Byrd 2 H 1 RBI
Aquino 1 D
Teykl 1 H 2 RBI
Perrott and Ditman 1 H 1 RBI
McDowell, Williamson, Taylor, Hoelscher, Cook, Ratterree, Theiss 1 H
Theiss and Taylor 1 SB
Tomorrow is election day. Wednesday is the golf outing.
Thursday and Friday will be practice with an intrasquad game.
November 2, 2012 - Blue 8, Gray 1
The big news of the day is that Holt McNair made his first pitching appearance of the fall. He pitched well, retiring all three batters he faced hitting his spots. He struck out two.
The other lefty, John Williamson, also pithced well in his one inning of work. He walked one and struck out one.
Jordan Stephens pitched five solid innings, allowing five hits and one earned run. He struck out 7 and walked 3. He allowed one earned run,
Connor Mason was the victim of poor team defense on several occasions. He worked 5 innings, allowing 9 hits and 8 runs (4 ER). He struck out 1, walked 1 and hit 2.
Connor Teykl pitched a perfect inning. Jeremy Fant faced three batters in his inning. He walked one who was caught stealing.
Byrd had 2 H with a double. Aquino and Stainback each had a double.
The following each had a single: Taylor, Williamson, Smith, Teykl, Stirnger, Rathjen, McCanna and Perrott.
Scrimmages on Monday, Thursday and Friday.
November 1, 2012 - Gray 1, Blue 1
November may be here but the weather felt more like early summer. Another great day for fallball.
Each of the four pitchers (Ryan McCarthy and Blake Fox for Blue; Tyler Spurlin and Chase McDowell for Blue) pitched four innings.
Leon Byrd was at short today and Ford Stainback at second and Kirby Taylor played at third for Blue. Shane Hoelscher did not play.
The eight inning scrimmage concluded with the score 1-1. It was the fifth draw of the fall.
McCarthy went the first four innings for Blue allowing 1 hit and 1 run while striking out 1 and walking 1. Ratterree hit a lead-off double to left-center in the second. McDowell moved him to third on a ground-out to the right-side. Ratterree scored on a wild pitch.
After Hunter Kopycinski walked, Connor Tekyl reached on catcher's interference. McCarthy retired the final eight batters he faced.
Spurlin started for Gray. His breaking ball was much improved from last Sunday.
Tyler pitched hit-less and scoreless ball for the first three innings. He did walk two in the second.
In the fourth, Ford Stainback had a lead-off walk. Skyler Ewing doubled down the left-field line with Ford holding at third.
With the infield drawn in, Keenan Cook reached on an infield error. All runners holding to load the bases.
Ford was forced at the plate on an infield fielder's choice. Bases still loaded with one out.
Tyler got a strikeout for the second out of the inning. Bases still loaded.
Geoff Perrott was hit-by-pitch on a 2-1 count giving Geoff the only RBI of the day.
A pop-out to short ended the inning stranding three.
In his four innings, Spurlin allowed 1 run, 1 hit, struck out 5, walked 3 and had 1 HBP.
Fox pitched for shutout innings for Blue. He allowed four singles, 4 strikeouts, with 1 walk and 1 balk.
McDowell also pitched four scoreless innings. Chase gave up 5 hits with one being a double by Ditman. He had 1 strikeout and 2 walks.
All runs for the day were earned runs.
Ratterree, Teykl, Ditman and Ewing each had two two hits. Williamson, Taylor and Smith each had a single hit.
Teykl had the only stolen base.
Tomorrow is a busy day with Rice Women's Tennis at UH beginning with doubles at 9:30 AM. Baseball practice at three with intrasquad beginning after 4:00 PM. The Volleyball team plays Southern Miss at 7:00 PM.
I'll try to get out a short recap before 7:00 PM. Otherwise I'll get it out after VB game.
October 30, 2012 - Gray 4, Blue 4
The weather at the Reck was absolutely gorgeous once again. Blue and Gray battled through seven innings only to end in a 4 all draw.
Today several players played at new positions.
For the Gray squad, Leon Byrd played six innings at second base and one at short; Christian Stringer played third base; Ford Stainback played one inning at second base; Beau Rathjen played three innings in center-field and Andrew Murphy played three innings in left-field.
For the Blue side, Keenan Cook played three innings at second base; Chase McDowell played three innings in center; Skyler Ewing caught the first four innings and then played three innings in left; and Kirby Taylor played three innings at third base.
Also, Connor Teykl made his pitching debut for Blue.
Austin Orewiler started and went the first four innings for Gray. Kevin McCanna threw two innings and John Williamson relieved in the final inning.
For Blue, Matt Ditman went the first four innings while Jeremy Fant pitched the fifth and sixth and Connor Teykl closed it out.
Mat Ditman retired the first six batters he faced. In the third, Brian Smith walked and scored on Beau Rathjen's triple down the left-field line.
Beau scored on an infield ground-out. Andrew Murphy singled to left. Two ground balls ended the top of the third.
Gray scored one more run off Ditman in the fourth on a Christian Stringer triple. He scored on an infield out. There were no other base runners.
Blue was getting more hits but not as many runs off Austin Orewiler. Keenan Cook walked, stole second and scored on a throwing error. Skyler singled in the inning for the only hit.
In the second, Geoff Perrott ripped the first pitch for a double to left-center. Geoff was out trying to steal third with one out. Dustin Theiss, Kirby Taylor and Keenan Cook followed with singles. Keenan recorded the RBI.
Ewing doubled leading off the third but was stranded. Taylor got his second hit of the leading off the fourth. Keenan followed with his second single. Michael Ratterree was HBP to load the bases. Chase McDowell drove home Taylor with an infield out. Two quick outs followed.
After four innings, the game was tied at three.
In the fifth, McCanna came on for Gray and Fant for Blue. Several of the players made their position changes at that time.
McCanna gave up a single to Perrott but no runs in the fifth. Gray did plate a two-out run in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Ratterree and McDowell. Chase knocking home his second RBI of the game.
In the fifth, Brian Smith doubled to left and moved to third on a fly out to center. Murphy walked with two out. Smith scored on a double steal attempt when Murphy kept from being tagged until after Smith had scored.
After six, it was knotted at four.
Connor Teykl pitched a perfect seventh for Blue.
Williamson also faced three batters. After Perrott walked with one out, Gray turned a nice 3-6-3 double play to end the game.
Final was 4-4 for the fourth tie of the fall.
Wednesday is an off-day. Intrasquad games on Thursday and Friday.
Pitching lines:
Orewiler 4 inn 3 R 3 ER 8 H 2 SO 3 BB 1 HBP
Ditman 4 inn 3 R 3 ER 2 SO 1 BB 1 BK
McCanna 2 inn 1 R 1 ER 3 H 1 SO
Fant 2 inn 1 R 1 ER 2 H 1 SO 1 BB
Williamson 1 inn 0 R 0 H 1 SO 1 BB
Teykl 1 inn 0 R 0 H 1 SO
Hitting highlights:
Triples: Stringer and Rathjen
Doubles: Smith, Perrott, Ratterree, and McDowell
Two hit games: Cook, Ewing, Perrott, Taylor
RBI: McDowell (2), Cook, Williamson, Rathjen, McCanna
SB: Cook
October 25, 2012 - Gray 0, Blue 0
Today was a very short intrasquad game designed to get Matt Ditman and Jeremy Fant each two innings of work.
Ditman allowed a single to Christian Stringer in the first. John Williamson doubled to left in the second. Each was stranded.
Fant gave up a single to Michael Ratterree in the first and a single to Skyler Ewing in the second. Ratterree was eliminated on an around-the-horn doube play.
Ewing was forced at second by Connor Teykl. Teykl was doubled up on a 4-6-3 DP.
There were no walks. Ditman struck out two.
Tomorrow is an off day.
October 24, 2012 - Gray 5, Blue 2
Trying to keep an eye on the World Series and get out a quick recap tonight.
For the game, the defense turned four ground ball double plays. Three runners were caught stealing and two runners were out trying to take an extra base.
Austin Kubitza continued his outstanding pitching with two scoreless innings for Blue.
Jordan Stephens gave up a solo HR to Michael Aquino in the first. Christian Stringer followed with a solid single to center and was ruled "out by default" trying to stretch it to a double. Brian Smith singled to left. A ground ball double play ended the inning.
He pitched a scoreless second inning.
Zech Lemond relieved Kubitza. After a scoreless third, he gave up four runs in the fourth.
Leon Byrd walked to lead-off the inning. Hoelscher singled to right. Leon to second. Byrd stole third with Hoelscher holding at first. Keenan Cook walked to load the bases.
Michael Ratterree drove home Byrd with a sac-fly to right. Skyler Ewing drove home Hoelscher with a single to right. Cook would score and Ewing would move to third on a throwing error.
Geoff Perrott drove home Ewing with a single to left. A double play grounder ended the rally.
Chase McDowell relieved Stephens in the third. Blue would score one in the inning. Kevin McCanna singled up the middle. Ford Stainback walked for the first time all fall pushing Kevin to second.
Aquino ripped a single to center to score Kevin. Aquino was out trying for second. Two outs followed.
Chase allowed a single in the fourth followed by three outs.
After four innings, Gray was up 4-2.
Tyler Spurlin pitched a scoreless fifth for Blue.
Blake Fox pitched the fifth and sixth innings for Gray. He walked Matt Ditman but the pitcher's best friend eliminated the runner. A strike-out followed. Blake retired the side in order in the sixth. Blake was
throwing a very nasty change-up.
Maybe the biggest news of the day was Kevin McCanna making his initial mound appearance of the fall.
Kevin relieved Spurlin for Blue and pitched the sixth inning. He struck out the first batter. Ratterree hit a short drive to right that was a clean single. The ball escaped the outfielder sending Michael to third. Wayne brought the infield in. Chase McDowell singled through the left-side to drive home Ratt. A pop-up followed. Chase was caught attempting to steal second to end the game.
Final Gray 5 Blue 2. Gray is catching up!!!
Pitching lines:
Kubitza 2 inn 1 H 0 R 1 SO 0 BB
Lemond 2 inn 5 H 4 R 3 ER 0 SO 2 BB
Spurlin 1 inn 1 H 0 R 1 SO 0 BB
McCanna 1 inn 2 H 1 R 0 ER 1 SO 0 BB
Stephens 2 inn 3 H 1 R 1 ER 0 SO 1 BB
McDowell 2 inn 3 H 1 R 1 ER 2 SO 1 BB
Fox 2 inn 0 H 0 R 3 SO 1 BB
Hitting highlights:
Aquino had two hits and two RBI including his second HR of the fall.
Kirby Taylor had two hits including a double.
Hoelscher had two singles and a walk in his three plate appearances.
Others getting one hit each included Stringer, Smith, Teykl, McCanna, Ratterree, McDowell, Ewing, Perrott and Theiss.
Ratterree, McDowell, Ewing and Perrott each had an RBI.
Byrd stole third.
Short scrimmage tomorrow with Ditman and Fant pitching two innings.
October 22, 2012 - Gray 3, Blue 1
Gray beat Blue 3 -1 in a 7 inning scrimmage.
Ryan McCarthy and Austin Orewiler each pitched 3 innings for Blue.
Connor Mason went the first four innings for Gray with Ditman going the next two innings.
Jeremy Fant pitched one inning for each side.
I believe there were six fans watching at one point. Our little group was cheering for one of the teams to score a point. (You had to be there.)
Blue broke through in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Connor Teykl doubled to left. Hunter Kopycinski walked. McDowell grounded to second. Teykl scored from second following an error on the failed force-out at second. A strike-out ended the fourth.
Blue up one after four.
In the sixth, Gray rallied. Ford Stainback singled. Ford stole second and took third on a wild pitch.. A pop fly out followed. Christian Stringer walked. Michael Aquino ripped a triple to left-center. The ball left the bat at 101 mph. Two runs scored. Aquino scored on John Williamson's sac-fly.
Once again a strike-out ended the inning.
Fant closed for each side.
Final Gray 3 Blue 1.
Pitching stats:
McCarthy 3 inn, 1 H, 0 R , 1 SO, 1 BB, 1 HBP
Orewiler 3 inn, 2 H, 3 R , 3 ER, 2 SO, 1 BB
Mason 4 inn, 2 H, 1 R , 0 ER, 6 SO, 4 BB
Ditman 2 inn, 0 H, 0 R , 0 SO, 0 BB
Fant 2 inn, 1 H, 0 R , 0 SO, 0 BB
Offensive highlights:
Aquino Triple, Run, 2 RBI
Stringer Double, Run, SB
Teykl Double, Run
Stainback Single, Run, SB
Perrott Single
Cook Single, SB
Williamson RBI, SB
Others with a SB: Byrd, Hoelscher, Murphy
Tomorrow is an off day.
October 18, 2012 - Gray 5, Blue 3
Today, Coach Graham was the home plate umpire. He sat in his chair protected by a screen placed behind the catcher and made the calls.
Connor Mason pitched 3 innings for Blue with Blake Fox pitching the fourth.
Matt Ditman pitched the first 2 2/3 innings for Gray with Jeremy Fant finishing the last 1 1/3 innings.
Batting for Gray with one out in the first, Shane Hoelscher continued his hot hitting with a single to center. He moved to second on a failed pick-off attempt. Two infield ground-outs ended the inning.
Leon Byrd lead-off for Blue. He singled to center. After a pop-out to, Byrd was safe on a close call scampering back to first-base. Leon later stole second and took third on a wild pitch. Michael Aquino singled through the hole on the left-side of the infield scoring Byrd. Aquino was caught trying to steal second to end the first.
1-0 Blue after one inning.
Gray would score three in the second inning. With one out, Hunter Kopycinski singled to center. John Williamson was HBP. Hunter to second. Beau Rathjen singled to left driving home Hunter. Williamson to second.
Williamson was picked-off second. Matt Ditman walked. Two wild pitches and an error brought home Rathjen and Ditman. Kevin McCanna bounced a ball over the left field fence for a ground rule double. An unassisted put-out at first concluded the inning.
Chase McDowell lead-off with a single. Three consecutive outs followed, stranding Chase.
After two innings, Gray lead 3-1.
In the fourth, Gray had singles from Stainback (out trying to go to second), Hoelscher again, and Christian Stringer. Skyler Ewing's double to left-center drove home Shane and Christian.
An infield out to second moved Ewing to third. Two walks loaded the bases. A strike-out was the third out.
Blue mounted a rally in the third. Kirby Taylor doubled to left. Leon Byrd homered to right driving home Taylor. Two ground-outs followed. Ditman was relieved by Jeremy Fant. Another ground-out was it for Blue in the third.
After 3 innings, Gray 5, Blue 3.
Blake Fox pitched a perfect fourth for Blue. Fant walked one and gave up a two out single to Brian Smith. A pop-up ended the game.
Final Gray 5, Blue 3.
Pitching lines:
Connor Mason 3 inn, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 SO, 3 BB, 1 HBP
Matt Ditman 2 2/3 inn, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 SO
Jeremy Fant 1 1/3 inn, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB
Blake Fox 1 inn, 0 H, 0 R. 1 SO
Offense:
Leon Byrd 2 H with a HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB
Shane Hoelscher 2 H
Skyler Ewing 1 Double, 2 RBI
Beau Rathjen 1 H, 1 RBI
Michael Aquino 1 H, 1 RBI
Kirby Taylor 1 Double
Kevin McCanna 1 Double
The following batters each had 1 H:
Ford Stainback, Chase McDowell, Brian Smith, Christian Stringer, Hunter Kopycinski
October 17, 2012 - Gray 1, Blue 0
Since yesterday's ten minute scrimmage featured more offense than today's six inning affair, I thought a quick review of that action was in order.
The weather had been sliding downhill all afternoon but the scrimmage started at 4:00 PM with John Williamson pitching to Gray.
Ford Stainback singled to center. With the count 2-1, Shane Hoelscher hit a line-drive to left that cleared the fence in a nano-second.
Two pop flies followed. Keenan Cook tripled to the right-center alley. A third fly out ended the inning. The game was called at 4:10 PM. 2-0 Gray.
Toda,y the first six pitchers each went an inning. As happened last time when the team's best pitchers know it's one and done, they go right after the batters.
The first three Blue pitchers ( Zech Lemond, Jordan Stephens, and Tyler Spurlin) each retired the side in order in their inning of work.
The first three Gray pitchers (Austin Kubitza, Chase McDowell and John Simms) pitched a scoreless inning allowing one hit each.
Ryan McCarthy came on to pitch the final three innings for Blue. Austin Orewiler relieved to do the same for Gray.
In the fourth, McCarthy walked a batter with one out. Two infield ground-outs ended the inning,
Shane Hoelscher greeted Orewiler with a single to center. Christian Stringer bunted him to second. An out followed. Keenan Cook singled to left. Shane rounded third and headed home. The throw from left was perfect and nailed him at the plate.
Gray finally broke up the no-hitter by Blue and scored a run in the fifth. With two outs, Blake Fox doubled to center. Geoff Perrott singled him home. Following a walk to McDowell, the inning ended on a fly out.
Blue appeared ready to take the lead in the fifth. With one out, Hunter Kopycinski singled to center. Beau Rathjen doubled down the left-field line.
Hunter rounded third but the throw from left came in quickly. Hunter scampered back to third. The two runners were stranded on infield ground-outs.
Orewiler and McCarthy each retired the side in order in the sixth.
Gray had just two hits but scored the only run to win. Blake Fox had a double and Geoff Perrott a single.
Blue had seven hits but couldn't get a run. Hits for Blue were singles by Ford Stainback, Brian Smith, Beau Rathjen, Shane Hoelscher, Keenan Cook and Hunter Kopycinski.
Rathjen also had a double.
October 11, 2012 - Blue 4, Gray 1
Four pitchers today. Austin Orewiler and John Williamson went 2 innings each for Blue.
Ryan McCarthy went 2 innings and Evan Rutter went one for Gray.
In the first, Leon Byrd walked for Gray. He took second on a ground-out to third. He stole his first base of the fall going to third. A pop-up and fly out stranded him at third.
In the first, Blue got back-to-back singles from Christian Stringer and Brian Smith with two outs. Stringer was out at the plate trying to score on Smith's single to right.
In the the second, Connor Teykl singled to center. Dustin Theiss singled to right. Connor going to third. Dustin was cut down 9-5-4 trying to take second on the throw to third.
Chase McDowell walked. Connor scored on Kirby Taylor's sac-fly to center. Another fly ball closed out the inning.
The first five batters for Blue reached base in the bottom of the second. Blake Fox singled up the middle. Keenan Cook doubled down the right-field line. Hunter Kopycinski walked to load the bases. Beau Rathjen drove home Blake and Keenan with a single. Hunter went to second;.
John Williamson singled to right. Hunter took third. Rathjen was thrown out after rounding second. Ford Stainback's sac-fly scored Hunter. A fly to right shut-down the rally.
After two, it was 3-1 Blue.
Williamson replaced Orewiler in the third for Blue. Two walks were followed by a pop to center and a double play ball to third.
For Blue, Andrew Murphy reached second on an infield throwing error. Stringer walked. Andrew scored on Smith's single, An unassisted ground out at first turned into a double-play when Stringer was put out trying to get back to third.
Williamson pitched a perfect fourth. Game over.
Final Blue 4, Gray 1.
October 10, 2012 - Gray 0, Blue 0
Today's scrimmage was designed to give the six pitchers a brief work-out prior to meeting the Horned Frogs this weekend.
All six pitchers came out throwing good fastballs and hard sliders knowing they were done in one inning. The scrimmage ended 0-0.
For Blue, Blake Fox faced three batters allowing a single to Shane Hoelscher. A double play grounder to short ended the inning.
In the second, Kubitza sandwiched John Williamson's single to center with his two strike-outs. Williamson was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.
In the third, Tyler Spurlin pitched a perfect frame with one strike-out.
For Gray, Jordan Stephens pitched a 1-2-3 first and Chase McDowell did the same in the second. Chase had one strike-out.
Zech Lemond pitched the the third for Gray. After two quick outs, Andrew Murphy dropped a double down the right-field line. A ground-out to second ended the short 31 minute scrimmage.
Each batter had one at bat. The three hits are listed above.
Tomorrow should be another short scrimmage. Not sure of the pitchers or how many now. Would expect one inning for each pitcher again.
October 8, 2012 - Gray 4, Blue 3
Wayne continues to provide perfect weather for the Rice fallball season. Blues skies and low humidity were the backdrop for an exciting 5 innings of baseball.
Just as it appeared Gray was ready to win two-in-a row, Blue scored four straight runs to grab the win. The final was Blue 4, Gray 3.
Pitchers today for Gray were Connor Mason for the first three innings and Matt Ditman for the final two innings. For Blue, it was John Simms (3 innings) and Jeremy Fant (2 innings).
In the first, Gray tallied two runs. With one out, Shane Hoelscher and Christian Stringer hit back-to-back doubles. Hoelscher scoring. Walks to Michael Aquino and Blake Fox loaded the bases. The next batter struck-out.
John Williamson walked to force in the second run on the inning. A fielder's choice grounder ended the first for Gray.
Mason retired the first 8 batters he faced. Kevin McCanna singled in the third. Leon Byrd walked. They were stranded on a pop foul out.
Simms retired Gray in order in the second. In the third, Hoelscher singled down the right-field line. He was caught stealing as the batter struck-out. Aquino singled up the middle. A grounder to second was the last out of the third for Gray.
After three, it was Gray 2, Blue 0.
Fant came on for Blue and Ditman relieved for Gray.
Gray bumped their lead to 3-0 in the fourth. Hunter Kopycinski singled to center. Williamson walked. Hunter to second. Brian Smith grounded to short forcing Williamson. Hunter to third. When the throw to first was off-line, Hunter scored. Smith would steal second but was stranded.
In the bottom of the fourth, Michael Ratterree homered down the left-field line. Andrew Murphy singled to center. Connor Teykl followed with a single to right. Murphy taking second. A strike-out followed. Murphy stole third and would score on McDowell's ground-out to second to first. Connor going to second. A strike-out concluded the fourth.
After four, Blue had closed the gap to 3-2.
In the fifth, Hoelscher got his third hit of the day. This one was a double to right. Two outs followed. Blake Fox walked. Hoelscher would later steal third. The inning ended on a called third strike.
The Blue dugout got into the game as McCanna and Murphy got back-to-back singles. A fly to right was the second out. Keenan Cook hit a slow roller to second for an infield hit. McCanna and Murphy each moving up a base. The throw to first was hurried and skipped past the fielder. McCanna would score the tying run. Murphy moving to third. There was a throw toward home that sailed high and allowed Murphy to score the go ahead run. Cook wound up on second. Ratterree walked and was forced at second on an infield grounder. Game over.
Final Blue 4, Gray 3
Pitching Lines:
Blue: Simms 3 innings, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 SO, 3 W
Fant 2 innings, 1 R 0 ER, 2 H, 1 SO, 2 W
Gray: Mason 3 innings, 0 R, 1 H, 2 SO, 1 W
Ditman 2 innings, 4 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 SO, 1 W
Offensive highlights:
Gray:
Hoelscher 3 H, 2 D, 1 SB
Stringer 1 H, 1 D, 1 RBI
Aquino 1 H
Kopycinski 1 H
Williamson 1 RBI
Smith 1 SB
Blue:
Cook 1 H
Ratterree 1 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Teykl 1 H
McDowell 1 RBI
McCanna 2 H
Murphy 2 H, 1 SB
No practice on Tuesday.
October 7, 2012 - Gray 4, Blue 1
After a very nippy and blustery early morning, the day was perfect by the start of today's scrimmage. Gray tallied 3 in the fifth to grab their first win of the year. Final was 4-1.
Ryan McCarthy and John Williamson each pitched three innings for the Gray. Evan Rutter and Austin Orewiler pitched three innings each for Blue.
Rutter pitched the first three innings for Blue. Keenan Cook started the inning with a double to right. Keenan was tagged out on a ground ball to third. Geoff Perrott reached first on the fielder's choice. Connor Teykl popped a ball to left that fell in front of the fielder. Perrott was forced at second.
Michael Ratterree doubled to center scoring Connor. A pop to short was the third out.
Rutter would retire Gray in order in the second and third.
McCarthy started for Gray and retired the side on a strike-out, ground-out and fly-out in the first.
In the second, Christian Stringer lead-off with a single to right. a fly-out and strike-out followed. Brian Smith singled to center. Stringer taking second. A fly-out ended the frame.
In the third, Blue loaded the bases with no one out. Matt Ditman was HBP. Andrew Murphy doubled to center with pinch runner Beau Rathjen going to third. Leon Byrd walked. Two stike-outs and a fly to right left the runners stranded.
After three innings, it was 1-0 Gray.
Orewiler came on to pitch for Blue and Williamson for the Gray.
With two outs, Ratterree walked and Chase McDowell singled to left. An infield ground-out ended the fourth for Gray.
Blue tied it at 1-1 on walks to Hunter Kopycinski and Blake Fox. Brian Smith singled to second loading the bases with none out. Beau Rathjen's sac-fly scored Hunter. Two strike-outs stranded two.
After four, it was 1-1.
In the top of the fifth, Gray had their first four batters reach base. Williamson singled to center. Dustin Theiss walked. Kevin McCanna walked to load the bases. Kirby Taylor singled to center plating Williamson. Cook's ground-out to first scored Theiss with McCanna moving to third and Taylor to second. Perrott drove home McCanna with a sac-fly to center. A strike out was the final out of the fifth.
For Blue in the fifth, Stringer singled up-the-middle with two outs. He was stranded on a fly to center.
In the sixth, Chase McDowell tripled to right center. Chase was stranded as the next batter struck out and the third out was a ground out.
Blue attempted to mount a rally in the bottom of the sixth as Blake Fox walked for the second time. He was forced at second by Smith. Brian stole second. A strike out and ground out ended the game.
Pitching lines: (Each pitcher 3 innings)
Blue:
Rutter 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 D, 1 SO
Orewiler 3 R, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 T, 3 So, 3 W
Gray:
McCarthy 0 R, 3 H, 1 D, 1 SO, 1 W, 1 HBP
Williamson 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 SO. 3 W
Offensive highlights:
Blue:
Stringer 2 H
Smith 2 H, 1 SB
Murphy 1 D
Rathjen 1 RBI
Gray:
McDowell 2 H, 1 T
Cook 1 D, 1 RBI
Ratterree 1 D, 1 RBI
Williamson 1 H
Taylor 1 H, 1 RBI
Perrott 1 RBI
Go Owls.
October 6, 2012 - Blue 10, Gray 3
I'm not a weatherman but I firmly believe the heat coming off the Owl's bats at Reckling Park this afternoon kept the cold front at bay. There were a total of 27 hits banged out between the two squads, Blue with 20 and Gray with 7.
The final score today was 10-3 Blue.
Pitchers for today were Kubitza, Lemond and Fox for Blue and Stephens, McDowell and Spurlin for Gray. Each pitcher threw three innings.
Gray was retired in order by Austin Kubitza in the top of the first.
Blue would score one run off Jordan Stephens in the bottom of the first. Leon Byrd lead off with a ground-rule double to left. Leon moved to third on a ground-out to first. Shane Hoelscher drove him in with a ground-out to second. Christian Stringer singled to center but was stranded on a fly to left.
Gray was held scoreless in the second.
Blue tallied another run in the second. Hunter Kopycinski walked. He moved to second on a wild-pitch. A ground ball moved him to third. Beau Rathjen delivered the two out RBI single. A fly to left ended the inning.
Gray got one run back in the third. Kevin McCanna walked with one out. He went to second on an errant pick-off attempt. After a ground-out to short, Keenan Cook doubled Kevin home. A strike-out was the third out.
Blue added a third run in the bottom of the third. Byrd beat out a hit to short. Ford Stainback singled to right with Byrd going to third. Hoelscher's double to right scored Byrd and moved Stainback to third. A pop-out followed. Michael Aquino walked. Kopycinski's soft liner to short was turned into a double play as Hoelscher was out trying to get back to second base.
After three, it was Blue 3 Gray 1.
Lemond came in for Blue. McDowell for Gray.
In the fourth, Michael Ratterree walked. He stole second and then scored on Connor Teykl's single to center. Two strike-outs and a ground-out followed.
Blue was retired in order in the bottom of the fourth as was Gray in the top of the fifth.
Blue would get back on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Matt Ditman singled to left. Byrd singled to center. Ditman to second. A fielder's choice grounder forced Leon at second. Hoelscher grounded to short with Ditman scoring. That was Shane's third RBI of the day. Another infield ground-out closed the inning.
Gray was set down in order in the sixth.
Blue finally put up a crooked number in the sixth. Aquino singled to short. Kopycinski doubled him to third. Brian Smith tripled to deep right center. Two runs scored. Smith would score on Rathjen's sac-fly. Byrd got his fourth hit of the with two outs, a single through the right-side of the infield. An out followed.
After six innings, it was Blue 7 Gray 2.
In the seventh, the new pitchers were Fox for Blue and Spurlin for Gray.
Gray scored one in the seventh on a single to right by Teykl. He stole second and moved to third on Kirby Taylor's infield single. A double-play grounder to short erased Kirby with Connor scoring. Dustin Theiss singled to center but was stranded on an infield grounder.
In the bottom of the seventh, Hoelscher singled to right. Stringer walked. A 4-6-3 double play followed. Shane going to third. Kopycinski singled Shane home. A stike-out was the final out.
Gray put the first tow runners on base in the eighth. Andrew Murphy was HBP. Cook singled to right with Murphy going to second. Following a fly-out, Murphy stole third. A 4-6-3 double play ended the frame.
Blue played add-on in the eight. Ditman lead-off with a HR to left just over the glove of a leaping John Williamson. Stainback doubled to left center with one out. After a stike-out, Stringer singled Ford home. Stringer moved to second on the throw home. He took third on a passed ball but was stranded on a fly to right.
In the ninth, Kirby Taylor was the only runner for Gray on a two-out single to left.
Blue failed to score in the bottom of the ninth. Kopycinski singled to short. A strike-out followed. Rathjen singled to right. Hunter to second. A game ending double play to second second left a very disappointed Leon Byrd in the on-deck circle.
Final Blue 10 Gray 3.
Pitching lines: Each pitcher went 3 innings.
Blue:
Kubitza 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 SO, 2 W
Lemond 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 SO, 2 W
Fox 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO, 1 HBP
Gray:
Stephens 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 SO, 2 W
McDowell 6 H, 4 R 4 ER, 1 SO
Spurlin 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 SO, 1 W
Offensive highlights:
Blue:
Byrd 4 H, 1 D
Kopycinski 3 H, 1 D, 1 RBI
Stainback 2 H, 1 D
Hoelscher 2 H, 1 D, 3 RBI
Stringer 2 H, 1 RBI
Smith 2 H, 1 T, 2 RBI
Rathjen 2 H, 1 RBI
Ditman 2 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Aquino 1 H
Gray:
Cook 2 H, 1 D, 1 RBI
Teykl 2 H, 1 RBI, 1 SB
Taylor 2 H
Theiss 1 H
Ratterree 1 SB
Murphy 1 SB
Defensive plays:
6 DP
Hoelscher made a diving catch to his left on a line-drive.
No one was picked-off or caught stealing.
Same time tomorrow (2:00 PM take field. Scrimmage around 3:15 PM.)
The cold front may sneak in now that the Owls have put their bats away for the night.
October 3, 2012 - Blue 1, Gray 1
The weather and the pitching continue to be excellent. Blue tralled by a run when Michael Aquino hit the first HR of the fall in the bottom of the fourth. Gray failed to score in the fifth resulting in a 1-1 final.
Brad Kottman pitched three innings for Blue. John Simms pitched the first two innings for Gray.
For Gray, Shane Hoelscher was HBP with two outs in the first. He was standed.
Blue was retired in order in the first.
Gray scored in the second. A lead-off double by Hunter Kopycinski was followed by a Blake Fox single to left, Hunter moving to third Fox was caught stealing for the first out of the inning. Brian Smith singled through the left-side sending Hunter home. Smith was picked-off first for out number two. An unassisted ground-out to first ended the inning.
Ratterree hit a hard shot single past second. A ground ball to second was turned into a double-play on the tag of the runner and throw to first. A grounder to third was the final out.
The line for Simms was 2 innings, 0 R, 1 H, 1 SO.
In the third, Kottman allowed a lead-off single to Beau Rathjen. Rathjen sort of stole second on a long run-down in which he finally was safe.. A strike-out followed. Rathjen was safe on the fielder's choice attempt at third. Murphy reached first. A 4-6-3 DP ended Gray's at bat in the third.
Kottman's line was 3 innings, 1R, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 SO, HBP.
Connor Mason relieved for Gray and pitched the third and fourth innings.
Blue was retired in order. Hoelscher made a great diving stop at third to get the second out of the inning. A grounder to short ended the frame.
The score was Gray 1 Blue 0 after three.
Matt Ditman pitched the fourth for Blue. Hoelscher singled to center. Christian Stringer forced him at second. String stole second on a semi-delayed steal. Ditman got a strike-out for the second out. A walk to Fox followed. A fly to right closed the inning.
Ditman pitched 1 inning, 0 R, 1 H, 1 SO, 1 W.
Mason came back out to pitch the fourth for Gray. Keenan Cook singled to left. He was caught stealing. In true baseball tradition, Michael Aquino followed with the first HR of the fall. Chase McDowell singled to left. Mason struck out the next batter and got the third out on a pop-up to center.
Mason's line was 2 innings, 1R, 3 H, 1 SO.
Jeremy Fant came in to pitch for Blue. Originally he was going to pitch an inning for Gray but Mason went two innings instead.
John Williamson was HBP. Fant struck-out the next batter. A fly out to center and a ground-out to second ended the game.
Fant pitched the one inning allowing no hits or runs. He struck out one and hit one.
The final was a tie at one run each.
October 2, 2012 - Blue 2, Gray 0
I wasn't sure what to expect today but was treated to great pitching with several defensive gems and one monster hit.
Austin Orewiler pitched three scoreless innings for the Blue. After retiring the first 7 batters, Orewiler faced Kirby Taylor. Kirby reached on an infield single toward second. Dustin Theiss followed with a single to center. Kirby advanced to second.
With Matt Ditman at the plate, Austin's pitch appeared to bounce away from Hunter Kopycinski. The runners attempted to advance. Hunter threw out Dustin at second. Kirby taking third.
Another pitch to Ditman trickled away from Hunter. He recovered quickly and threw to Austin covering the plate to eliminate Kirby and end the inning.
Tyler Spurlin also pitched three scoreless innings for Gray. With two out in the first, Shane Hoelscher reached on an infield error. Shane was out attempting to steal second.
In the second, Kopycinski reached on an infield throwing error. Blake Fox singled to right. Michael Ratterree came up throwing and nailed Hunter sliding into third. A fielder's choice grounder to third forced Blake at second to end the second inning.
Spurlin pitched a perfect third.
The line for Orewiler was 3 innings, 0 R, 2 H, 2 SO.
Spurlin pitched 3 innings with 0 R, 1 H, 1 SO.
After 3, it was 0-0.
Evan Rutter pitched the next three innings for Blue. Evan retired the side in the fourth with Leon Byrd making a beautiful diving catch in center to retire Keenan Cook.
In the fifth, Blake Fox made a diving catch to his right to get the first out. After a groundout, Connor Tekyl reached on an infield error. He moved to second on a throwing error during a pick-off attempt. A strike-out ended the fifth inning. Rutter retired the side in order in the sixth.
Rutter's line was 3 innings, 0 R, 0 H, 2 SO.
Ryan McCarthy relieved for the Gray in the fourth. Ryan retired three batters and hit one with a pitch.
In the fifth, Blue appeared on its way to a big inning. Ratterree made a diving catch in right-field for the first out. Blake Fox singled to center. Brian Smith walked, Fox to second. Beau Rathjen also walked. Bases loaded with one out.
The next batter grounded to third. Connor Tekyl threw home forcing Fox at the plate. A ground ball to short forced the runner at second. The inning ends and preserves the scoreless game.
In the bottom of the sixth, Leon Byrd crushed a ball to deep right-center for a triple. Ford Stainback singled Leon home. Ford moved to third on an error on a pick-off attempt.
Beau Rathjen walked. The next batter grounded into a double play with Ford scoring from third . The inning was stopped as Ryan had reached his pitch limit.
The line for McCarthy was 2.2 innings, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 W, 1 HBP
After 6 innings, it was 2-0 Blue.
John Williamson pitched the seventh for Blue. A strike-out, a walk, and a double-play grounder to third (5-4-3) ended the scrimmage.
Blue wins 2-0.
Byrd had the only extra base hit. His triple.
Blake Fox had 2 singles.
Taylor, Theiss and Stainback each had a single.
Stainback had the only RBI.
No SB.
October 1, 2012 - Blue 6, Gray 1
As practice started Coach came up the dugout steps and gave the group sitting there a quick greeting and then said, "Once again I have demonstrated impeccable timing with the weather".
The game began at 4:04 PM and ended just before 6:00 PM. Blue won 6-1 with good pitching and some help from 4 unearned runs.
Blake Fox pitched the first three innings for Blue. Zech Lemond took the mound for Gray for the first three innings.
During his outing, Fox picked-off one runner while two were caught stealing.
Blake gave up one run in the second on a lead-off double by Hunter Kopycinski. Williamson drove Hunter home with a single to right-center. Williamson was caught stealing. A strike-out, walk and a sharp line-drive out to third ended the rally.
Leon Byrd bunted for a single to lead-off the third but was caught stealing. A fly out and a strike-out ended the third and Fox's outing.
His line was 3 innings, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 SO, 1 W, and 1 HBP.
Lemond also picked a runner off first and had a runner thrown out trying to steal.
Zech pitched a scoreless first.
In the second, Shane Hoelscher doubled with one out. Geoff Perrott reached when he was HBP. A fielder's choice grounder forced Perrott. Hunter scored when the ball was dropped after the force. Beau Rathjen was HBP. Beau was caught attempting to steal second.
In the third, Andrew Murphy lead-off with a single. He was forced at second. Ford Stainback also forced the runner at second. Ford stole second and scored on Christian Stringer's single. String took second on a WP. Skyler Ewing walked. Keenan Cook singled Christian home. Ewing was out after getting caught rounding second base ending the inning.
Lemond's line was 3 innings, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 W, 2 HBP.
After three, Blue lead 3-1.
Austin Kubitza pitched the fourth and fifth innings for Blue. Williamson's bunt single after Michael Ratterree walked in the fourth was the only hit he gave up. The runners were stranded. Austin pitched a perfect fifth.
Kubitza pitched 2 innings, 1 H, 0 R, 2 SO, 1 W.
Chase McDowell pitched the 4th and 5th for Gray.
In the fourth, Hoelscher lead-off with a single and advanced to second on a WP. Perrott walked. Kirby Taylor forced Perrott at second. Shane moved to third. Kirby stole second. A strike-out followed. An infield throwing error on Murphy's grounder allowed each runner to score. Murphy was out attempting to steal. That ended the fourth inning.
Chase pitched a scoreless fifth. Fox lead-off with a high hop over first for a single. Stainback beat out a slow roller to second. Two strike-outs followed. Cook forced Ford at second to end the fifth.
The line for McDowell was 2 innings, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 SO, 1 W.
Jordan Stephens finished up for the Blue pitching 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh.
Jordan's line was 2 innings, 0 R, 0 H, 2 SO.
Matt Ditman pitched the sixth for Gray. With one out, Perrott reached on an infield error. Rathjen walked pushing Geoff to second. Murphy forced Beau at second. Geoff taking third. Andrew stole second. Perrott scored on the overthrow at second. A fly to center ended the sixth.
Ditman's line was 1 inning, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 W.
Final was Blue 6 Gray 1.
Hoelscher and Kopycinski each had a double.
Stringer, Hoelscher and Williamson each had two hits.
Byrd, Aquino, Kopycinski, Stainback, Cook, Murphy and Fox each had one hit.
One RBI each for Stringer, Cook and Williamson.
One SB each for Byrd, Taylor and Murphy.
Go Owls!!!
September 6, 2013: Plans are underway for the Rice Baseball Alumni Game at noon on November 2, 2013 at Reckling Park. All Rice fans and Rice baseball alumni, please mark your calendars! An online Alumni Game Registration Form for Rice baseball alumni, accessible from this webpage, will be available shortly. Please note that in accordance with NCAA rules, a Varsity vs. Alumni game is prohibited. Please stay tuned as details unfold! In addition to the Rice Baseball Alumni Game, there will be a Rice Baseball Alumni Lecture on Friday night and a Baseball Awards Banquet on Saturday night as part of the weekend. Any questions, please contact Steven Herce.
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