Northwestern Baseball Earns First 2026 Win with a Run-Rule Victory at Rice

The Northwestern Wildcats did not just find their first victory of 2026 on Sunday, February 15. They announced their arrival with an offensive landslide.

How? They did all that, dominantly displaying power at Reckling Park.

It is where the Northwestern dismantled the Rice Owls in a 17-6 run-rule victory. And with that, they capped an opening weekend in Houston with a performance for the record books.

Northwestern Baseball's Noah Ruiz Show Arrives in Houston

The Wildcats’ bats were surgical, launching five home runs and posting their highest run total in nearly a year. The 17-run explosion marked the program’s most prolific scoring day since a 17-2 win over Ohio State on May 11, 2025.

RUN-RULE DUB 😼 pic.twitter.com/9fpT4gQ3TR
— Northwestern Baseball (@NUCatsBaseball) February 15, 2026

The five long balls matched a mark set during a 9-7 victory at Nebraska on April 18, 2025. The message was clear. The 2026 lineup carries the same slugger DNA that fueled last year’s late-season surge.

While the entire lineup contributed, graduate transfer Noah Ruiz stole the spotlight. Making his first weekend appearance as a Wildcat, the infielder delivered a debut that Rice pitchers will not soon forget.

Ruiz blasted two home runs — his first two in a Northwestern uniform — and drove in seven runs. Those seven RBIs represent the highest single-game total, especially by a Wildcat, since Jackson Freeman recorded eight in an 18-8 win at Maryland on March 29, 2025.

Ruiz also became the second Northwestern player to hit two home runs in a game this season, joining Freeman, who accomplished the feat during Friday’s opener.

Northwestern wasted no time putting pressure on Rice starter Anthony Diaz. In the first inning, Owen McElfatrick reached base and quickly came around to score when Ryan Kucherak delivered an RBI single.

Moments later, Ruiz stepped in and crushed a three-run blast to left field. Just like that, the Wildcats led 4-0. Garrett Shearer, returning from injury, tossed a scoreless bottom of the first to maintain the early momentum.

The second inning brought more fireworks. Jackson Freeman continued his scorching opening weekend by driving in Noah Brocklebank with an RBI single. Kucherak followed with another RBI single, this time plating McElfatrick. Ruiz added his fourth RBI of the afternoon with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Freeman and extending the lead to 7-0.

Rice answered in the bottom of the second with five runs on five hits and one walk, capped by a two-run homer from JC Davis. The deficit shrank to two, and the home crowd stirred.

Northwestern Baseball Setting the Tone Early and at the End

In the third inning, Freeman launched his third home run of the weekend, a two-run shot to center that restored a four-run cushion.

Jack Lausch added to the onslaught in the fourth, hammering his first homer of the season off the center-field batter’s eye to push the score to 10-5. Rice responded once again when JC Davis hit his second homer of the day. It was a solo blast that trimmed the margin back to four. The decisive stretch came in the sixth inning.

Ruiz stepped back into the spotlight and crushed his second three-run homer of the afternoon, driving in Freeman and Nick Barron. It marked his first multi-homer game as a Wildcat and effectively broke the game open.

Later in the inning, catcher Jay Slater added his second home run of the season, a two-run shot that stretched the lead to 15-6. In the seventh, Barron tacked on an RBI single, and Slater drew a bases-loaded walk. That final push triggered the run rule and sealed the 17-6 victory.

Matt Kouser earned the victory and improved to 1-1 after delivering 3.0 innings of one-run baseball. He allowed just one hit and struck out one batter. Shearer’s clean first inning helped settle things early. And Drew Dickson, on the other hand, closed the door with 1.1 hitless innings. Anthony Diaz took the loss for Rice, allowing six earned runs on four hits in 1.1 innings of work.

With their first win of 2026 secured, Northwestern now turns its focus to a four-game road trip to Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Wildcats will compete at Fifth Third Park, home of the Hub City Spartanburgers, the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

On Friday, Feb. 20, Northwestern will face Cornell at 11 a.m. CT. Saturday, Feb. 21, features a doubleheader with Cornell at 11 a.m. CT and Boston College at 3 p.m. CT. The road swing concludes Sunday, Feb. 22, against Boston College at 2 p.m. CT.

More from Northwestern On SI

Stay up to date on the Wildcats by bookmarking Northwestern On SI and follow us on Twitter.