Owls Close Out Regular Season With 18th Win in a Row
Friday Sparks Win With HR, 2 Doubles
By Mark Anderson
Brian Friday sparked the Owl offense today with three hits, including a home run, and two doubles to lead the Owls to a 7-4 win to close out the regular season.
For the Owls, this was win number eighteen in a row. Granted, that doesn’t compare to the thirty in a row that Rice won in 2003 as they win the national title—at least now. But the Owls, since being 19-10, have gone 26-1.
Joe Savery pitched well in his last regular season start, giving up only three hits, while walking three and striking out seven. In the third, Savery scrambled to get out of the way of a shot by Alex Fennell, then threw a wild pitch before walking Chalmers and giving up a sacrifice fly to Murray to put Memphis in a tie, 1-1.
But Brian Friday led off the third with a double, and centerfielder Chalmers overthrew third. Friday got up and slid home to put the Owls back on top by a 2-1 count.
In the fourth, Aaron Luna led off with a walk, and Joe Savery doubled deep into the corner in left to give the Owls a 3-1 lead. Diego Seastrunk then followed Savery with a single to score Savery and put the Owls up 4-1. But Adam Zornes grounded into a double play, and J.P. Padron was out at first on a very close play at first to end the inning.
In the fifth inning, the Tigers finally got Friday out on a deep drive to center. But Jared Gayhart stepped up and he didn’t miss, homering to right center to increase the lead to 5-1.
The Tigers clawed back in the sixth when shortstop Michael Murray homered off Joe Savery to make the score 5-2. But the Tigers couldn’t muster anything after that, and the score remained decidedly in the Owls’ favor.
In the bottom of the sixth, Joe Savery was pinch-hit for by Dodson, who earned a walk. After Seastrunk popped out to the catcher in foul ground, Zornes doubled to left to put runners on second and third. That ended Schenk’s afternoon, who had replaced Hudgens with one out in the fifth. Matt Yokley was summoned to pitch, and Padron laid down a perfect suicide squeeze to bring in Dodson. After Friday had struck out, Gayhart singled to drive in Zornes and give the Owls a 7-2 lead.
In the eighth, Bryan Price, who has looked great late in the season, got an opportunity with a runner on first and second. The first pitch Price threw went back to the backstop, advancing the runners a base. Amar dumped a seeing eye single into short right, and Norrid did the same. Now the score was 7-4, and the pressure was on Bryan. But the Price was right as he induced a fly out and a groundout to end the inning. He then finished the ninth by earning his first save, striking out two in the final inning.
The Owls travel to Greenville to play in the C-USA tournament next week. While I cannot be there personally, I’ll do all I can to get you updates. I’ll be back if Rice hosts the regionals.
Friday Sparks Win With HR, 2 Doubles
By Mark Anderson
Brian Friday sparked the Owl offense today with three hits, including a home run, and two doubles to lead the Owls to a 7-4 win to close out the regular season.
For the Owls, this was win number eighteen in a row. Granted, that doesn’t compare to the thirty in a row that Rice won in 2003 as they win the national title—at least now. But the Owls, since being 19-10, have gone 26-1.
Joe Savery pitched well in his last regular season start, giving up only three hits, while walking three and striking out seven. In the third, Savery scrambled to get out of the way of a shot by Alex Fennell, then threw a wild pitch before walking Chalmers and giving up a sacrifice fly to Murray to put Memphis in a tie, 1-1.
But Brian Friday led off the third with a double, and centerfielder Chalmers overthrew third. Friday got up and slid home to put the Owls back on top by a 2-1 count.
In the fourth, Aaron Luna led off with a walk, and Joe Savery doubled deep into the corner in left to give the Owls a 3-1 lead. Diego Seastrunk then followed Savery with a single to score Savery and put the Owls up 4-1. But Adam Zornes grounded into a double play, and J.P. Padron was out at first on a very close play at first to end the inning.
In the fifth inning, the Tigers finally got Friday out on a deep drive to center. But Jared Gayhart stepped up and he didn’t miss, homering to right center to increase the lead to 5-1.
The Tigers clawed back in the sixth when shortstop Michael Murray homered off Joe Savery to make the score 5-2. But the Tigers couldn’t muster anything after that, and the score remained decidedly in the Owls’ favor.
In the bottom of the sixth, Joe Savery was pinch-hit for by Dodson, who earned a walk. After Seastrunk popped out to the catcher in foul ground, Zornes doubled to left to put runners on second and third. That ended Schenk’s afternoon, who had replaced Hudgens with one out in the fifth. Matt Yokley was summoned to pitch, and Padron laid down a perfect suicide squeeze to bring in Dodson. After Friday had struck out, Gayhart singled to drive in Zornes and give the Owls a 7-2 lead.
In the eighth, Bryan Price, who has looked great late in the season, got an opportunity with a runner on first and second. The first pitch Price threw went back to the backstop, advancing the runners a base. Amar dumped a seeing eye single into short right, and Norrid did the same. Now the score was 7-4, and the pressure was on Bryan. But the Price was right as he induced a fly out and a groundout to end the inning. He then finished the ninth by earning his first save, striking out two in the final inning.
The Owls travel to Greenville to play in the C-USA tournament next week. While I cannot be there personally, I’ll do all I can to get you updates. I’ll be back if Rice hosts the regionals.
posted by my kid's sports pics at 3:50 PM
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