CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Another record fell for the Charlotte 49ers baseball program on Saturday afternoon (May 7), but this time it wasn't an offensive record. Sixth-year senior Colby Bruce made his 104th appearance on the mound, setting the record for most career appearances by a Niner pitcher, in CLT's 14-13 victory over Rice at Hayes Stadium.
 
Bruce was one of eight pitchers to toe the rubber for the Niners (30-17, 13-10 C-USA) on Saturday, breaking the record in the sixth inning. He surpasses the late Erik Walker, who made 103 appearances for the Green and White during the 2003 to 2006 seasons before being drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays. One of Charlotte's best arms in program history, Walker's name is still seen frequently throughout the record books, including sitting atop the saves list with 26 in his illustrious career - 10 more than the next-closest Niner.
 
Spencer Giesting was the first arm out of the bullpen and picked up the win after throwing two innings of shutout relief with two hits allowed and four strikeouts. He took over for Will Lancaster in the fourth and was followed by Michael Oh coming out of a rain delay. AJ Wilson was in between Oh and Bruce, with all three throwing in the sixth inning. Tony Rossi finished the frame out and pitched until the ninth before Collin Kramer and Matt Brooks came in for the final stanza. Brooks left the tying run for Rice (13-32, 6-17) on third base with a game-ending double play for his first save since earning two as a freshman back in 2017.
 
Four different Niners had multiple hits offensively, led by Nate Furman with four to match his career-high. Josh Madole, Austin Knight, and Kaden Hopson all had two knocks, with both of Hopson's going for extra bases. He started his day off with his fourth home run of the season in the second before picking up a double in the fifth. Cam Fisher also left the yard in the second with a three-run shot to extend his team-leading home run number to 16 on the season. Madole also drove in three on the day to tie Fisher for the most RBIs on the team while Jack Dragum and Hopson each brought home a pair.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Rice opened the scoring in the second inning on a double play with the bases loaded. The Owls started the frame off with a single before a pair of hit batters loaded the bases for the twin killing that brought home the runner from third. Charlotte immediately answered in the bottom of the inning with six runs, including two home runs.
 
Knight singled and came home one pitch later when Hopson hit his second home run in as many days to right field, just barely carrying the wall, to give the Niners the lead. David McCabe drew a walk and an error trying to end the inning by retiring him at second left him safe in scoring position and Dragum safe at first. Madole singled off the pitcher's back in the next at bat and a wild throw from the Rice starter trying to get him at first allowed McCabe to score and left both Dragum and Madole in scoring position. Both of them came home on the next pitch when Fisher went to the opposite field for his 16th longball of the season to make it 6-1.
 
Rice got one back with a solo home run in the third and then picked up two more in the fourth to cut Charlotte's lead down to two, 6-4. The Niners answered in the bottom half of the inning again, plating three to get the lead back to five. Furman and McCabe laced back-to-back singles to center field and both scored when Dragum doubled to the gap in right. Dragum moved up to third on the throw to the plate trying to get McCabe, and the Charlotte third baseman scored in the next at bat on a sac fly from Madole.
 
The Niners tacked on two more in the fifth thanks to doubles from Hopson and Furman to make it 11-4 before the game was halted for a weather delay - the fifth consecutive game CLT has had a delay. Charlotte added three more in the fifth inning after the 47-minute stoppage, taking advantage of a Rice error and RBIs from Madole and Will Butcher to extend the lead to double-digits, 14-4.
 
That was it for Charlotte's offense as Rice started to make a comeback in the second half of the contest. The Owls matched the Niners' five-run outburst in the fifth with as many in the sixth and added a solo home run in the seventh to reach double digits and make it a 14-10 game. It got even closer in the ninth when the same Rice player hit a three-run shot to left to pull the visitors within one, 14-13. Rice pressed on, and a pair of singles put runners on the corners - including the tying run sitting 90 feet away with one out. Brooks was able to get a hard grounder to Dragum at third, starting a 5-4-3 double play that ended the game and gave the Niners the series.
 
UP NEXT
Charlotte will look for its third consecutive Conference USA sweep on Sunday (May 8) in the final game against Rice. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.