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The Rice Raiders varsity baseball team has been struggling to find ways to score this season as they have collided with some imposing defenses from their opposing district teams. Their struggles continued with a pair of difficult district losses as they first fell to Columbus to start the week by a 21-1 margin, and then later in the week in a much closer effort against Palacios. The Raiders played admirably against the Sharks, but they could not get over the hump as they fell to a 6-4 loss.
The Raiders struggled mightily against the Cardinals as Columbus found success on both sides of the ball. Rice’s pitching could not effectively keep the Cards from shooting pitches back into the open space in the outfield. The fielding also left much to be desired as the Raiders suffered from five errors that allowed Columbus to reach base and move along the base path. After allowing 21 runs in just three innings, Rice finally broke the shutout due to the efforts of Ruston Krenek. After knocking the second of his two hits into the game for a single, he took advantage of a few wild pitches and a ball hit that brought the run home. Rice did not get much momentum following the score as they fell in the mercy-rule defeat.
The Raiders’ follow up against the Palacios Sharks featured a much livelier offensive outing by Rice. They were able to reach base at a much higher rate going against one of the district’s poorest defenses. The Sharks allow an average of over nine runs a game from their opponents, a hint at the openings Rice found in their defense. However, the Raiders’ own defensive issues undermined their opportunities to take the lead. Despite having one of their best scoring games of the season, Rice once again struggled to prevent errors on the field as they allowed Palacios to secure a second- straight win.
