Rice needed help from a ninth-inning USM wild pitch in winning Friday night's series opener 4-3 over the Golden Eagles in Hattiesburg, MS.
The win was Wayne Graham's 800th victory.
Saturday's affair was a bit more decisive, as Rice bats heated up en route to a 16-4 victory over USM.
Sophomore Rick Hague and freshman Anthony Rendon had big days at the plate. Hague was 3-for-5 with a double and a his 4th home run of the year. Rendon was 2-for-4 and had 2 more home runs Saturday, his 6th and 7th of the season. The Houston Lamar sensation drove in 4 runs on the two blasts.
These two were hardly the only Owls swinging the bat well. Leadoff hitter Brock Holt was 2-for-4, Chad Mozingo was 2-for-5 hitting in the 2 hole. Jimmy Comerota also went 2-for-4, and hit his 1st home run as a Rice Owl.
Ryan Berry got the start today and for the first time in 4 games didn't pitch a complete game. Berry did notch his 4th win of the year however, leaving after 5.0 innings of work.
Matt Evers came in to pitch the 6th, holding USM scoreless. Matthew Reckling entered in the 7th and would finish it out where Evers left off - in scoreless (and hitless) fashion for the Owls. Reckling has pitched extremely well this week, last night's performance was another brilliant performance, adding to his strong Tuesday night effort in the Owls' victory over #2 Texas.
The Owls turned 4 double plays in Saturday's win. They are now 14-5 on the season, and 2-0 in C-USA action.
Tomorrow's series finale with USM is set for 1:00 pm, also at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg.