Houston Baseball won its fifth consecutive Silver Glove Series on April 22, defeating Rice University 4-3 at Reckling Park. The victory was secured by a two-out home run from junior Riley Jackson in the ninth inning.
The annual series is significant for both schools and their supporters, as it represents a longstanding rivalry between Houston and Rice. With this win, Houston continues its streak of success in the series.
Junior Richie Roman earned his second win of the season after pitching the final 1.1 innings without allowing a hit and permitting only two baserunners. For Rice, Jackson Blank took the loss after giving up the go-ahead home run to Jackson in the ninth inning. Senior Cade Climie extended his on-base streak to 13 games, which ties for the second-longest by a Cougar this season and is currently the longest active streak on the team. Junior Alex Solis matched his season-high with six strikeouts during four innings pitched, while senior Tyler Cox recorded multiple hits for the fifth time in eight games.
Houston’s offense included home runs from both Climie and Jackson, marking their twelfth multi-homer game of the year. The Cougars have now won by a score of 4-3 for the eighty-first time in program history—a result that is their second most common behind only a 3-2 finish (eighty-seven occurrences). The start of Tuesday’s game was delayed by one hour and fifteen minutes due to rain.
In game action, Xavier Perez gave Houston an early lead with an RBI single in the first inning before Antonelli Savattere scored on an error during a sacrifice bunt in the second. After Rice tied it up with two runs in their half of that frame, Climie put Houston ahead again with his fifth homer of the season in the fifth inning. Rice leveled once more before Jackson’s decisive ninth-inning homer clinched victory for Houston.
Looking ahead, Houston will travel north to play TCU in another three-game series beginning Friday evening.
