Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Rice (Rice Tournament)
Baseball Falls 15-5 to Rice
2/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 15, 2002
The 15th-ranked Wake Forest baseball team took its first loss of the season, 15-5, to ninth-ranked Rice on Friday night at Reckling Park in Houston.
The Owls hit five home runs off Deacon pitching and total of 23 hits. The star of the game for Rice was catcher Justin Ruchti who went 5-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI.
Rice got to Wake Forest starter Ben Clayton early, putting up three runs in the top of the first. Clayton (0-1) took his first loss since March 30 of last season. He allowed four runs on ten hits in just four innings of work.
Rice pulled away with a combined ten runs off the Wake Forest bullpen in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.
Jeff Ruziecki blasted his first home run of the year in the eighth inning. Ryan Hubbard also had two hits for the Deacons.
Junior Adam Bourassa reached base in his first three plate appearances but grounded out in the eighth to snap his streak of reaching base. Through two games this year, Bourassa had reached base in all seven of his plate appearances.
Wake Forest returns to action tomorrow afternoon at Reckling Park against New Mexico. Freshman left-hander Tim Morley will make his Deacon debut against the Lobos.
Rice (4-1) 300 134 301 - 15 23 0Wake Forest (1-1) 010 010 120 - 5 9 2
