March 26, 2011
| UCF vs. Rice March 26, 2011 |
| From Houston, Texas | |||||
| Team | R | H | E | ||
| UCF | 2 | 7 | 2 | ||
| Rice | 6 | 8 | 1 | ||
WP: Gonzales (3-0), 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
LP: Winkler (3-1), 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
SV: None
Game-Changing Moment
Rice put the game away in the fifth inning when it loaded up the bases with no outs, and proceeded to score three runs to make it 6-0.
Three Stars
First: RICE SP Abe Gonzales, WP, 6.1 IP, 1 R
Second: RICE PH/C Craig Manuel, 2-for-3, 2 RBI
Third: RICE RF Ryan Lewis, 1-for-3, 2 RBI
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
HOUSTON, Texas (UCFAthletics.com) - Rice southpaw Abe Gonzales retired the first 13 hitters he faced to help lead the No. 23 Owls (16-10, 1-1) to a 6-2 victory over UCF Saturday in Houston. The Knights fell to 17-6 on the year and 1-1 in Conference USA, but they will have another shot at capturing the series with the finale on Sunday.
Gonzalez allowed his first baserunner when Jonathan Griffin singled in the fifth, and went on to work 6.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits. Griffin led all Knights with two hits on the afternoon, and Ronnie Richardson and Darnell Sweeney each drove in a run.
Rice busted out for three runs in the second inning to grab the quick lead, getting on the board thanks to two walks, an error and four singles. Later in the fifth, the Owls would chase UCF starter Danny Winkler from the contest by getting the first two aboard, and reliever Bryan Brown entered. The righty walked Michael Ratterree to load the bases with no outs and the home team went on to plate three more runs.
Trailing 6-0 in the sixth, the Black and Gold put together its first scoring opportunity on a leadoff double by Erik Hempe and a one-out single from Travis Shreve. After Shreve touched second on an error to put two in scoring position, Richardson drove in one on a fielder's choice but that was all the Knights could muster.
It was not until the ninth that the Knights put another rally together. Richardson's leadoff double over the head of Keenan Cook in left led to a RBI single off the bat of Sweeney, however the bullpen shut it down after that to allow Rice to split the first two games with the Knights.
UCF and Rice will conclude the series Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, and the Knights will then return to the Sunshine State for a home-and-home against No. 28 Stetson. The Hatters will invade Orlando Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. for UCF's Pink at the Park day.
Game Notes
UCF - 17-6 Overall, 1-1 C-USA
No. 23 Rice - 16-10 Overall, 1-1 C-USA
-Junior righty Matt Collins appeared for the first time since making starts Feb. 19 and March 5. He came on in relief in the fifth inning and struck out Daniel Gonzales Luna with runners at the corners to end the frame.
-Collins finished with 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out one.
-Also in relief, Johnny Sedlock held Rice scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings, striking out a pair.
-Collins and Sedlock combined for 3.1 hitless innings.
-Rice completed the day by leading in the hits department, 8-7, as all eight of those hits were singles.