The Dallas Baptist University Patriots fell to 16-8 on the season as they were defeated by the Rice University Owls on Wednesday night by the score of 11-8. The Owls improved to 18-7 on the season.

Starting pitcher Chris McMullen pitched sixth and one third innings allowing only five runs on 10 hits while striking out one Rice batter. Junior Michael LaCourse allowed one run on two hits in relief. Freshman Michael Smith added one and one third scoreless innings. Freshman Ryan Behmanesh allowed two runs on one hit before Sophomore Chris Haney and Senior Kevin Aduddell combined for two thirds innings to finish out the game. Haney was stuck with the loss dropping him to 2-2 on the year. Travis Wright picked up the win for the Owls improving to 1-0 on the year.

The Patriots did not waste any time getting on the board as they put up six runs on the Owls in the top of the third inning. Senior Brandon Bantz led off the inning with a single to left field. Junior Austin Knight reached on an error advancing Bantz to second, then Senior Clay Kelly advanced runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Junior Ryan Enos was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Junior Ryan Goins stepped up and hit a blooper to second base scoring one as the Owl second baseman fumbled the exchange to give the Patriots the lead, 1-0.

Senior Trevor Head continued the Patriot scoring in the third as he hit a two RBI single to left field to score Kelly and Enos. Then Junior Ryan Thompson crushed a three run homerun, his sixth of the year, over the left field wall to extend the Patriots lead on the Owls, 6-0.

Rice was quick to respond as Chad Mozingo hit a two run homerun off of McMullen in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring Sultzbaugh who reached on a single.

The Patriots added to their lead in the top of the sixth. Bantz scored on an Owl wild pitch after reaching from a walk, advancing on a Knight single and Kelly sacrifice bunt. Then Knight was pushed across from a Junior Travis Meiners RBI groundout to leave the score, 8-2.

The Owls managed to score four on the Patriots in the bottom of the sixth as Gonzales-Luna came across the plate after a Patriot wild pitch, and then Brock Holt hit a three run homerun of LaCourse erasing the Patriot lead to only two runs, 8-6.

Rice struck again in the bottom of the eighth inning as they scored five off of Behmanesh and Haney to overtake the Patriots. Aduddell stepped in for the Patriots to end the inning with the Owls in the lead, 11-8.

The Patriots were not able to generate any runs in the ninth as the Owls defense closed the door on DBU, holding the lead to end the game in a final score of 11-8.

The Patriots are back in action on Thursday, April 2, as they welcome Houston Baptist University to Patriot Field for the first game of the three game weekend series. The first pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.