Southern Miss
Rice
Baseball Splits Doubleheader at Rice
5/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 15, 2010
HOUSTON - Southern Miss ran their winning streak to 12 games with an 11-10 victory in game one of the DH but saw their streak snap with a 10-2 loss in the night cap.
The first game saw Southern Miss (30-18, 12-8 C-USA) jump out to a 11-2 lead and hold on for a 11-10 victory. Scott Copeland improved to 8-0 on the season and Tyler Koelling was five-for-five in the game.
In game two B.A. Vollmuth hit his second home run of the day, a two-run shot in the first inning but Rice scored 10 unanswered runs and held Southern Miss scoreless in the final eight frames.
"Other than the eighth inning I thought we played a great game in game one. Scott (Copeland) had dominating stuff and Collin (Cargill) came up big for us at the end," head coach Scott Berry said.
"In game two it was obvious Todd (McInnis) was not himself and we decided to go on and take him out as a precautionary measure, but I was proud of the way Geoffrey Thomas threw and soaked up those innings so we would have the rest of the staff fresh for tomorrow."
The two teams will meet again tomorrow for the rubber game of the series, first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. with freshman Jay Myrick scheduled to start for Southern Miss.
Game 1 Recap
Southern Miss 11, Rice 10
Game 1 Box Score
Southern Miss ran their winning streak to 12 games by jumping out to an 11-2 lead and holding on for an 11-10 victory of the No. 21 ranked Rice Owls.
The streak ties the 2005 and the 1997 teams for the second longest win streak in school history.
Tyler Koelling led the charge going five-for-five including a three run home run. He tallied four RBI and scored two runs in the game. B.A. Vollmuth added in a three hits along with three runs scored and two RBI, including a two-run home run. Mark Ellis also had a two-run shot.
Scott Copeland had another quality start to improve to 8-0 on the season. He worked seven innings, allowing two runs on nine hits while striking out six.
Southern Miss put together a two-out rally in the top of the second inning as Isaac Rodrigues drew a walk and Travis Graves was hit by a pitch putting two runners on base. Tyler Koelling cleared both runners with his third home run of the season, a three-run shot over the left field wall to put Southern Miss up 3-0.
Rice (31-19, 14-6 C-USA) cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the second on a solo home run by Michael Ratterree.
The Golden Eagles batted around in the top of the third as Vollmuth singled and Ellis executed a perfect hit and run to put runners on the corners to start the rally. Dillon Day platted Vollmuth on a RBI ground out and Archer drove a double into the left-center gap to score Ellis and chase Rice starter Taylor Wall from the game. New Rice hurler Mark Haynes hit the first batter he faced, Isaac Rodriguez, and walked Travis Graves drew a walk to load the bases. Koelling delivered again with a RBI single to left field, making the score 6-1.
Ratterree added his second RBI of the game in the bottom of the fourth to cut into the Southern Miss lead, making the score 6-2.
The Golden Eagles scored three runs once again in the top of the sixth inning. Koelling started the rally and came in to score on an error by Rice second baseman off the bat of Kameron Brunty. Vollmuth added the other two runs with his team high ninth home run of the season, a two-run shot to left-centerfield putting Southern Miss up 9-2.
The black and gold padded their lead in the top of the eighth as Mark Ellis hit his fifth home run of the season, a two-run bomb to right-center field. The home run made the score 11-2 and turned out to be the difference in the game.
Rice made things interesting in the bottom of the eighth as they sent 13 batters to the plate and scored eight runs to cut the Southern Miss lead to one. The Owls used seven hits and one Southern Miss error to account for the runs. Paxton King allowed five earned runs on four hits without recording and out and Collin Cargill came in and allowed two runs on three hits before settling down and leaving the tying run at third base.
Cargill set the Owls down in order in the ninth to seal the victory.
Game 2 Recap
Rice 10, Southern Miss 2
Game 2 Box Score
Southern Miss struck early in the second game as Brunty led off the game with a walk and Vollmuth hit his second home run of the day, a towering shot well over the wall in left field to put Southern Miss up 2-0.
Rice added a run in the bottom of the first on a RBI double by Rendon.
Rendon gave Rice their first lead of the day in the bottom of the third with a three-run home run to left-center field. The Owls were not done in the third as they added three unearned runs, keyed by a dropped fly ball in left by Brunty.
Rice added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI double Jeremy Rathjen and a sacrifice fly by Jimmy Comerota to make the score 9-2.
Ricky Hague hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eight to stretch the Rice lead to 10-2.
McInnis fell to 5-5 on the season, working two plus innings, allowing four earned runs and striking out one.
Thomas worked six complete innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits while striking out six.
"Geoffrey really grew some tonight, the experience he gained in this game was a great opportunity for him and something for us to build upon to help make him a quality pitcher for us in the future."
