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No. 11 Rice Rolls Over Texas Tech 17-4
February 09, 2002 | Baseball
Feb. 9, 2002
HOUSTON, Texas - 11th-ranked Rice scored 13 runs in the third and fourth innings and the Owls never looked back in a 17-4 win over Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon in the Astros College Classic at Enron Field.
With the loss, Texas Tech falls to 6-3 on the season and has now lost seven straight games to Rice dating back to the 1996 season. Rice improves to 2-1 on the season after suffering the first loss of the year to Texas A&M on Friday night.
Rice scored the first run of the game when leadoff hitter Chris Kolkhorst scored on a passed ball by Tech catcher Willie Durazo. Tech starter Nathan Fouts walked the first two batters of the inning to set up the Owl score.
The Red Raiders answered in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Scooter Jordan that plated leadoff hitter Jon Slack. The Owls continued their mastery of Nathan Fouts in the top of the third as Fouts walked Kolkhorst and then A.J. Porfirio followed with a triple that went over the head of center fielder Tyler Carson to give Rice the go ahead run 2-1. The Owls added another on an RBI groundout and then got a grand slam from Mike Lorsbach after Tech reliever J.J. Newman loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch, an error by left fielder Jon Slack and a single by Hunter Brown. Thanks to a six-run top of the third, Rice took a 7-1 lead into the bottom of the inning.
Rice took a 14-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning thanks to seven runs on six hits including an inside-the-park home run by Enrique Cruz.
Texas Tech freshman Cody Fuller came into the game in the top of the seventh inning defensively and then hit an RBI single to bring home Gera Alvarez giving Tech its second run of the game. Alvarez led off the inning with a double to left field.
Texas Tech will travel to the Southwest Texas Tournament this weekend being held at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas. The Red Raiders will take on Houston at 5 p.m. on Friday night in the first game of the tournament.
