Savery and Langwell punch Rice’s ticket to Omaha

Savery and Langwell punch Rice’s ticket to Omaha

SPECIAL TO THE RICE NEWS

Joe Savery made his last home appearance at Reckling Park one to remember and Matt Langwell
danced around early trouble to lead Rice back to the College World
Series with a 5-2 win in game two of the Houston (Rice) Super Regional
Saturday.

Before a record crowd of 5,234, Savery collected three hits and
drove in three runs while Langwell and Cole St. Clair combined to hold
the Aggies to a pair of runs as Rice closed out its 2007 season with 22
consecutive wins at home. This will be the top-ranked Owls (54-12)
sixth trip to Omaha and their fourth in the last six years.

TOMMY LAVERGNE

Top: Rice closer Cole St. Clair strikes fear in opposing batters. Bottom: A fan displays a sign expressing their sentiments.

While the record throng was still setting into their seats, Rice opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning. Brian Friday led off the game with a double down the left field line. Following a Jared Gayheart strikeout and a Tyler Henley walk, Savery singled up the middle to drive in Friday, advancing Henley to third.

Texas A&M threatened in the bottom of the first. Kyle
Colligan walked, Brandon Hicks singled and Blake Stouffer walked to
load the bases. But, Craig Stinson struck out looking and Luke Anders
hit a grounder to Savery who threw to Brian Friday
to force Stouffer . Anders appeared to have beat the return throw from
Friday to Langwell, who was covering first, but Stouffer was called for
interference, turning the play into a 3-6-1 double play to end the
threat.

Savery extended the Owls’ lead to 2-0 with an opposite field
home run (his fifth of the season) to left field to lead off the third
inning.

In the fourth, the Owls added another run. Danny Lehmann
was hit by a pitch to open the inning, then Friday and Gayheart both
reached on well-executed sacrifice bunts to load the bases, chasing
Texas A&M starter Kyle Thebeau. Henley grounded into a double play,
but Lehmann scored, increasing the lead to 3-0.

The Aggies would get on the board in the bottom of the fourth
inning. Josh Stinson hit a two-out double down the right field line and
scored when Darby Brown hit a long single that landed on the warning
track in right field. It was Brown’s first hit since April 20, as he
has missed most of that time with a broken hand.

TOMMY LAVERGNE

Starting pitcher Matt Langwell has plenty to be proud of. He gets the win and has a super outing.

In the top of the seventh, Henley ripped a one-out triple down
the right field line. He scored to make it 4-1 on Savery’s third hit of
the day, a single to right field.

The Owls added an insurance run in the top of the eighth inning. Jess Buenger reached base on an error by Aggie shortstop Brandon Hicks. He advanced to second on a Diego Seastrunk
bunt and moved to third on a wild pitch. After Dodson walked, Lehmann
sacrificed a bunt down the first base line, scoring Buenger to make it
5-1.

Aggie rightfielder Blake Stouffer cut the lead to 5-2 in the
bottom of the eighth inning with his 12th home run of the season, a
340-foot shot down the left field line. But St. Clair dispatched of the
Aggies in order in the 9th, the final out coming to rest in Savery’s
glove on a foul pop fly off the bat of Parker Dalton.

Langwell, a College Station native who grew up watching the
Aggies, improved to 8-1 with the victory for Rice. He threw 6.2
innings, allowing one run on four hits, while striking out seven. Cole St.Clair came in to pitch the final 2.2 frames, surrendering a run on two hits in picking up his eighth save of the season.

Thebaeu (3-6) was tagged with the loss for Texas A&M. He
gave up three runs on seven hits over three innings, fanning six and
walking two.

The Owls will face the winner of tomorrow’s Oklahoma
State-Louisville game on Friday in Omaha at either 1 pm or 6 pm. Final
determination of game times will not be released until all games of the
Super Regional round have been completed.

For more stories about the College World Series, visit http://media.rice.edu/media/2007_College_World_Series.asp.

For the College World Series photo gallery, visit http://riceowls.cstv.com/genrel/gallery_index_sports.html.