Keng homers three times as UTSA powers past Rice in league openerKeng homers three times as UTSA powers past Rice in league opener
Jeff Huehn/UTSA Athletics
Baseball

Keng homers three times as UTSA powers past Rice in league opener

HOUSTON – Chase Keng belted three home runs, tying a program record, and leading UTSA baseball to a 16-4 rout at Rice in the league opener for both teams, on Friday night at Reckling Park. 
 
UTSA (9-7, 1-0 Conference USA) smashed five home runs – including the three from Keng – in a rout of the Owls in the series lid-lifter. UTSA plated five in the first, two in the second, eight in the third and one in the fourth to build an early insurmountable lead, with the Owls getting four in the bottom of the first. The game was called due to runs after seven complete innings. 
 
It marked the fifth all-time three-homer game for a UTSA player and the first since Ryan Hutson in 2011. Keng finished with a 4-for-4 game, adding a walk and a single, scoring three runs. 
 
UTSA also got the first career grand slam from junior shortstop Joshua Lamb, and a first-inning, three-run homer from catcher Nick Thornquist, his fourth of the year. Lamb drove in five runs, with Thornquist going 1-for-3 with four RBI. 
 
Junior centerfielder Dylan Rock added his fourth career four-hit game, going 4-for-4 with a double and a walk. 
 
UTSA also got three runs scored from Griffin Paxton, who went 1-for-3, also getting hits from Jonathan Tapia and Austin Ochoa. 
 
UTSA starter Luke Malone worked 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. Hunter Mason (3-2) took over in the second and worked 3.2 innings, allowing just two hits and striking out three. He turned the ball over to freshman Kyle Sonduck with a 12-run lead in the sixth inning. Sonduck worked 1.2 shutout innings, allowing just a hit and striking out two. 
 
Rice (11-9, 0-0 C-USA) starter Blake Brodgon worked two-plus innings, allowing seven hits and eight runs, striking out three. After giving up a leadoff shot to open the third, Rice called on Cristian Cienfuegos took over in relief, allowing seven runs in one inning. Rice also used Johnny Hoyle and Micah Davis out of the bullpen. 
 
The Roadrunners opened the first inning strong, getting a leadoff runner, Paxton, on via a catcher's interference and Rock pushed Paxton out to third with a single into the gap. Thornquist smashed a 1-2 offering over the right-centerfield fence, his fourth homer of the year and the 11th of his career for a 3-0 lead.

After Tapia smoked a 2-1 offering up the middle for a single, Keng drilled a 2-1 pitch out to centerfield, his first homer of the year, taking UTSA's lead to 5-0. 

 
Rice answered in the first, getting a three-run homer from Guy Garibay, his fourth of the year. Cade Edwards followed with a solo shot out to left-centerfield. 
 
Paxton led off the first with a single up the middle and Rock pushed him to third with a double, painted down the opposite-field line. Kyle Bergeron loaded the bases, reaching on a dropped third strike to load the bases for Thornquist, who was hit by a pitch to force home Paxton. Joshua Lamb followed with a sac fly hit out to shallow right, allowing Rock to score just ahead of the tag at the plate for a 7-4 lead. 
 
Keng stretched the lead to 8-4 with his second shot of the game, a no-doubt bomb out to rightfield.

Ochoa kept the frame going with a one-out, two-strike double down the line, Paxton drew a walk and Rock loaded the bases with a single through the left side. Bergeron forced home Ochoa with a hit by pitch and after the second out, Lamb cleared the bases with a grand slam hit out to leftfield, his second homer of the year.

After Tapia was hit by a two-out pitch, Keng belted his third home run in as many at-bats, taking UTSA's lead to 15-4 after three innings. 

 
A trio of Roadrunners drew walks in the fourth, with Rock coming home to score for a 16-4 lead. 
 
GAME NOTES: Sophomore Luke Malone appeared in his ninth game and made his sixth start … Senior C Nick Thornquist hit his fourth home run of the year and the 11th of his career … Thornquist has reached base safely in 15 straight games, a team best … Thornquist has a team-leading seven-game hitting streak … Junior RF Chase Keng hit his first homer of the year and the fourth of his career … Senior LF Ian Bailey was hit by his third pitch of the year … Junior CF Dylan Rock doubled for the fifth time in 2021 and the 38th time in his career … Thornquist was by his first pitch of the year and the fourth of his career … Junior SS Joshua Lamb hung his third sac fly of the year and the sixth of his career … Keng belted his second homer of the game, and season, and the fifth of his career … it marked Keng's first career multi-homer game … Freshman 3B Austin Ochoa doubled for the fourth time … Rock collected his third three-hit game of the year … DH Kyle Bergeron was hit by his second pitch of the year … Lamb hit his second homer of the year and his first career grand slam … Jonathan Tapia was hit by his third pitch of the year and the 26th of his career … Keng belted his third homer of the game and the sixth of his career … Keng's three-homer game ties the single-game school record, done five times in UTSA history and the last coming by Ryan Hutson in 2011 … Tapia was hit by his second pitch of the game, the fourth of 2021 and the 27th of his career … Senior RHP Hunter Mason worked in his 51stcareer game and his sixth of 2021 … Rock had a season-high four hits, marking his fourth career four-hit game … Freshman RHP Kyle Sonduck appeared in his third game of the year … UTSA has now won four of its last five meetings vs. Rice, the top five-game stretch vs. the Owls in program history. 
 
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