On March 21-23, the Florida Atlantic University Owls baseball team (19-5, 2-1 AAC) hosted the Rice University Owls (5-19, 1-2 AAC) for their first AAC series of the season. 

When the teams faced off last season on May 10-11, FAU went 1-2, losing games one and three of the series and winning the second. 

Game 1 (Friday, March 21): FAU 9, Rice 3 

In preparation for the game, the team posted via Instagram informing fans about the $1 hot dog deal at the game. This increased the excitement of the opener and in return had a good turnout with a total of 719 hot dogs consumed. 

In the first inning, Rice designated hitter Blaine Brown hit a home run to open up the scoring of the game, making it 1-0. 

FAU responded in the second with a hit down the left-field line by shortstop Brando Leroux and a score by third baseman Patrick Ward. 

In the bottom of the fourth, FAU’s Ward crushed a homer to left field, making the score 2-1. Later that inning, Leroux scored on a passed ball, 3-1. 

In the top of the sixth, Rice’s Brown scored again. In the bottom, Leroux hit a homer, where Ward also scored, 5-2. 

Shortly after in the seventh inning, Rice first baseman Graiden West singled to right field, which allowed second baseman Hiram Bacachica Jr. to score. FAU’s catcher Ayden Garcia responded with a homerun in the bottom of the seventh, 6-3. 

FAU’s last time up to bat, Ward, center fielder Marshall Lipsey, and right fielder Jake Duer all scored, creating a wide margin.

“They did a wonderful job and it was a really good team win,” said head coach John McCormack in response to the team’s performance,

Game 2 (Saturday, March 22): FAU 1, Rice 3

To open up the scoring game, FAU third baseman Nick Romano hit a single to left field, which allowed designated hitter Ayden Garcia to score, 1-0.

Rice first put points up in the fifth, when second baseman Hiram Bocachica Jr. singled to the middle. This allowed both first baseman/left fielder Treyton Rank and shortstop Michael Zito to score, 2-1.

In the top of the seventh, Rice’s Bocachica again singled and Rank scored his second point of the game.

FAU struggled to find rhythm offensively with Rice ultimately winning and an end score of 3-1. 

“We were not good offensively. We have to regroup and be better tomorrow,” said McCormack reflecting on the game. 

Game 3 (Sunday, March 23): FAU 6, Rice 4

The game started off slow offensively and Rice first scored in the top of the fourth, when center fielder Tobias Motley singled to right field and Brown scored. FAU responded in the bottom of the fourth with a score by Lipsey.

In the bottom of the sixth, FAU’s Ward hit a double down the left-field line resulting in a score by right fielder Jake Duer, 2-1. 

In the top of the seventh inning, Rice right fielder Trey Duffield singled to center field and both third baseman Max Jonshson and Rank reached home plate. In the bottom, FAU’s Lipsey hit a home run to right field while Leroux and pinch runner Dany Baez also scored, 5-3.

Nearing the end of the game, FAU left fielder Kyle Boylston singled to center field allowing Ward to score in the bottom of the eighth. 

During the last inning, Rice in hopes of closing the gap scored, but it was FAU who took the win, 6-4.

“I think it was a great series, it was really good to get out of here winning two out of three,” said McCormack post game.

Florida Atlantic will be on the road against Florida Gulf Coast on March 25 at 6:30 p.m. They then continue their conference play at UTSA on March 28-30. 

Emily Harper is a Contributing Writer for the University Press. For more information on this article, you can reach her at emilyharper2022@fau.edu.