PONCE, PUERTO RICO — In day three of the 2026 Puerto Rico Challenge, with a trio of games played in Ponce and the matchup between Seton Hall-NC State unfortunately cancelled due to rain in Caguas, Houston snuck by Manhattan, No. 21 Wake Forest beat up on Indiana State, and Boston College shutout Washington.
Houston sneaks by Manhattan
A trio of Cougars shined on the mound while a pair of runs in the eighth inning served as the difference-maker as Houston Baseball defeated Manhattan, 4-2, on Sunday morning at Estadio Paquito Montaner.
While junior Alex Solis (1-0) claimed the win on the mound with 3.0 innings where he allowed one run on three hits and striking out four, both senior Ryne Rodriguez (1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 R) and starter junior Richie Roman (5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K) excelled on the bump for the Cougars (3-0).
Houston went 3-0 in the 2026 Puerto Rico Challenge, winning each game from Friday-Sunday including victories over No. 21 Wake Forest, Boston College and Manhattan – Image Credit: Houston Athletics
Redshirt senior Jacob Smoot (0-1) took the loss for Manhattan (0-3) after ceding two runs on two hits and three walks in 2.2 innings of work.
No. 21 Wake Forest beats up on Indiana State
Behind another stellar pitching performance that featured a combined 15 strikeouts, the Wake Forest baseball team (2-1, 0-0 ACC) closed out their opening weekend of play at the 2026 Puerto Rico Challenge with a dominant 10-1 win over Indiana State (1-2, 0-0 MVC) on Sunday afternoon.
Junior left-hander Matthew Dallas picked up the win on the mound for the Demon Deacons as he ended his first start of the season with seven strikeouts while allowing only three hits and a run over 4.0 innings of work. This marked the fourth-time in his Wake Forest career that the Memphis native totaled at least seven strikeouts in a game.
After a tough loss to Houston to start off their season on Friday in the Puerto Rico Challenge, No. 21 Wake Forest picked up a pair of wins on Washington and Indiana State – Image Credit: Seth Seebaugh/Wake Forest Athletics
Sophomore reliever Duncan Marsten was lights out for Wake Forest, striking out six Sycamore batters over 4.0 innings of scoreless relief. The four innings and four strikeouts both marked a career-high for Marsten on the mound.
The Deacs were led offensively by junior outfielder Jackson Miller, who finished the game going 2-for-4 with three RBIs. The Palm Beach, Fla., native recorded his first hit as a Demon Deacon on a two-run single to give the Deacs the lead in the second inning, before driving in another run with a single in the fifth. Junior first baseman Kade Lewis got going offensively as he launched the Demon Deacons first home run of the season on a two-run shot to left field in the top of the third.
Kade Lewis hit the Demon Deacons first home run of the 2026 campaign on Sunday in No. 21 Wake Forest’s win over Indiana State – Image Credit: Seth Seebaugh/Wake Forest Athletics
After breaking Saturday’s game against Washington open with a three-run double, senior Jimmy Keenan added an RBI double to plate Miller in the top of the fifth.
Boston College shuts out Washington
Boston College Baseball (2-1) defeated Washington (0-3) on Sunday evening in the final game of the Puerto Challenge, 10-0. Tyler Mudd and Chase Hartsell combined for the four hit shutout while striking out six over seven innings as they kept the Huskies at bay.
The Eagles got the scoring started in the bottom of the first when Kyle Wolff drove in Ty Mainolfi from third, who had advanced to third on a wild pitch and a Jack Toomey single.
Boston College’s Ty Mainolfi crossed home plate twice in the Eagles’ victory on Sunday vs. Washington and drove in another – Image Credit: Boston College Athletics
Boston College struck again an inning later when Julio Solier recorded his first career triple which scored Gunnar Johnson and Colin Larson to put the Eagles up 3-0. Nick Wang made it 4-0 when his deep sac fly to center field scored Solier.
After Solier flew out in the bottom of the fifth inning, Wang went deep with a solo shot for his first and the team’s first home run of the season. Mainolfi followed up the home run with a walk before Toomey launched his first of the season to make it 7-0 and bring in Mainolfi.
Jack Toomey launched his first home run of the 2026 season in Boston College’s final game of the Puerto Rico Challenge on Sunday – Image Credit: Boston College Athletics
The Eagles picked up another run in the bottom of the sixth when Mainolfi hit a sac fly to center field which brought in Larson.
In the bottom of the seventh, Boston College quickly got two outs before Gunnar Johnson was then hit by a pitch. Larson then walked, which allowed the Eagles to execute a double steal moving Johnson to third and Larson to second. Sean Martinez then walked off the game in the bottom of the seventh when his first hit of the season scored both Johnson and Larson.
The 2026 Puerto Rico Challenge wraps up on Monday, February 16th, with streaming available on VictoryPlus.com – Image Credit: Puerto Rico Challenge
To tune in to the final day of the 2026 Puerto Rico Challenge from home, scheduled for Monday, February 16th, please visit VictoryPlus.com for more additional streaming details.
And to learn more about the Puerto Rico Challenge, check out the tournament’s official website at theprbaseballchallenge.com as well as on Instagram (@pr.baseballchallenge).
Information Courtesy of Houston Athletics, Wake Forest Athletics and Boston College Athletics
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