Cohasset, MA native Ben Rice crushed a 412-foot home run in his first pro game at JetBlue Park.
For Ben Rice, Wednesday afternoon at JetBlue Park was a bit of a full-circle moment.
The Cohasset, MA native made the trip from Tampa with the New York Yankees and ended up making quite an impression in his first professional appearance at the Red Sox’ spring home.
Rice crushed his first home run of the spring, launching a 412-foot blast over the bullpen in right-center off Boston reliever Justin Slaten.
The ball left his bat at 108.8 mph, and powered through a stiff wind blowing in from right field, making the drive even more impressive.
While the swing was the loudest moment of Rice’s afternoon, it wasn’t the only one.
Earlier in the game, the Yankees first baseman flashed some defensive range by diving to his right to knock down a hard ground ball off the bat of Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Rice quickly scrambled to his feet, corralled the ball and flipped it to pitcher Jake Bird covering first base.
The play likely should have resulted in an out, but the first base umpire ruled that Bird failed to step on the bag. Even without the call going his way, it was an impressive display of athleticism from the former Dartmouth standout.
For Rice, simply getting the chance to play at JetBlue Park carried its own significance.
Although Wednesday marked his first time taking the field there as a professional, the 27-year-old was already familiar with the ballpark.
Rice told The Boston Globe that he attended Red Sox spring training games at JetBlue as a fan growing up in Massachusetts.
This time, he returned as a member of Boston’s longtime rival - and left his mark with one swing.
Mar 4, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) is congratulated by New York Yankees left fielder Jasson Domínguez (24) after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. (Jim Rassol/Imagn Images)While Rice provided the loudest swing of the afternoon, the Red Sox spent much of the game focused on two arms at very different stages of their development.
Garrett Crochet, who is expected to take the ball on Opening Day, used the outing primarily as a stamina-building exercise. The left-hander worked in a somewhat unusual rhythm, getting pulled with two outs in the third inning before briefly returning to begin the fourth as Boston looked to extend his workload.
The results were secondary to the process.
Crochet allowed three runs on three hits over 2.2 innings while striking out three across 53 pitches. After surrendering a leadoff homer to Yankees prospect George Lombard Jr., he settled in to retire eight consecutive hitters.
Later in the game, Payton Tolle delivered the most electric pitching performance of the afternoon.
The young left-hander struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced across three scoreless innings, including a stretch of five straight punchouts. Tolle’s fastball touched 100.4 mph and consistently sat in the upper 90s, while a mid-80s curveball helped him finish off several hitters - the kind of combination that continues to make him one of the most intriguing arms in Boston’s system.
Mar 4, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) tossed the ball to the covering pitcher in the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. (Jim Rassol/Imagn Images)JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.