RICE BRINGS OUT WHUPPING STICK AGAINST NORTH CAROLINA, 14-4
Owls Face NC Again Tomorrow in Elimination Game for Heels

By Mark Anderson

Rosenblatt Stadium, Omaha—The Rice Owls scored six runs in the second inning as they took their second win of the College World Series.

For those of you who think this sounds familiar, you’re right. It is exactly the same situation the Owls found themselves in at this point last year.

But there is something different about this 2007 squad. They will not talk in public about it, but for this team, there is a sense of unfinished business and something to prove to their critics. Twenty-nine runs over two games is not an accident. This team has the sticks to hit, from the first spot in the lineup to the ninth, including the role players on this team.

If there was any doubt whatsoever that Friday’s 15-20 win over Louisville was a fluke, the win over North Carolina made a statement that it wasn’t.

In the top of the second, Danny Lehmann—possibly the quiet MVP of this series—doubled to left with one out. Joe Savery brought him in with a single back through the middle to bring Lehmann home. Diego Seastrunk introduced himself to America by hitting a double to put Savery at third. Buenger followed that with a run-scoring single. That brought up J.P. Padron, playing first for Savery, and his at-bat was one that defined the Owls this evening as he fouled off pitches and took pitches until he walked on the twelfth pitch. That brought up Brian Friday, whose double brought in two more runs.

That was the end for starting pitcher Alex White, but not the end of the nightmare in Omaha for North Carolina. New pitcher Matt Danford, who balked before you could blink. Mike Fox, the North Carolina head coach, simply couldn’t believe David Buc’s call, and a long discussion followed, with Buck the one walking away smiling, and Fox practically ready to pull out his hair.

After Fox’s appeal fell on deaf ears, play was resumed—and the Owl offense kept going with it. Jared Gayhart kept the inning going and the runs scoring by hitting a sacrifice fly. Aaron Luna ended the inning thre way he started it—by hitting into an out. He would make up for that later, though, and the Owls took a 6-0 lead.

After North Carolina chipped away fro a run in the bottom of the second, Rice came back with two runs after two outs in the third. Seastrunk reached on Josh Horton’s error that should have ended the inning. Buenger was the n hit by a pitch, and Padron singled to left, scoring Seastrunk with Rice’s seventh run, making it a 7-1game.

North Carolina, however, stuck to a strategy—making Joe Savery run up his pitch count. And it was working, at least to a dregree. North Carolina chipped away for another run to make the score 7-2, but more importantly, Savery’s pitch count at the end of three was sixty pitches—a very high count.

But in the fourth inning, Rice did two things—it scored two runs and gave Joe a chance to gather himself. Gayhart started the inning by drawing a walk, as did Henley. Aaron Luna laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving runners up to second and third. Lehmann then hit a grounder to third baseman Chad Flack, who caught Gayhart in a rundown between third and hime, and was eventually tagged out, but not without runners advancing to second and third. That brought up Savery, who was given a free pass That brought up Diego Seastunk, who promptly singled to right on a 1-0 count to drive in two more runs for the Owls.

That was the end for Danford, who was replaced by Tyler Trice. Trice struck out Jess Buenger to end the inning, but the score was now 9-2 in favor of Rice.

When Savery came to the mound in the fourth, the issue of whether or not he would be around long enough to get his first win at the College World Series was settled—and very quickly. He threw one ball on the forst pitch, and then on three consecutive pitches, got Johnson to ground out to third, Gore to ground out to third, and then Fronk to fly out to leftfielder Aaron Luna to end the inning. Up until that point, Savery had thrown sixty four pitches through four. Although giving up an uncharacteristic four runs on seven hits and three walks, and two wild pitches on top of that, Savery ended six plus innings with a total of eighty-seven pitches in receiving that first ever CWS win.

Meanwhile, Rice continued to add to their lead. In the fifth, RBI singles by Gayhart and Henley increased the run output to eleven. IN the seventh, Danny Lehmann’s RBI single added another run. And in the top of the ninth, Henley reached by getting hit with two outs, bringing Aaron Luna to the plate. Luna finished off the scoring with a homer to left center, making the final score 14-4.

Cole St. Clair, the Owls’ All-American reliever, came in to take over for Savery in the seventh, and gave up only two hits and allowed no runs while striking out two.

Wednesday’s game will be a rematch against North Carolina. While the starting pitchers have not officially been named, expect Ry-an Ber-ry to get the start in an attempt to vanquish North Carolina. North Carolina most likely will send out their best in Robert Woodward. Both have similar records and ERAs.