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August 19, 2005 > Sports > Owls lose to top-seeded Green Wave

Owls lose to top-seeded Green Wave

Rice upsets LSU on the road to earn berth in NCAA super-regional round

By Matt McCabe | Thresher Editorial Staff

A year after suffering the biggest upset in NCAA Division I baseball tournament history — losing to Texas Southern University at home in the 2004 regional — the baseball team pulled off an upset of its own, beating Louisiana State University at their famed home field, Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., to win its June regional. The regional championship gave the Owls a super-regional berth in New Orleans, where they fell to top-ranked Tulane University in three games.

“We would have loved to go to Omaha,” head coach Wayne Graham said. “It was a ground ball rolling up the middle that prevented it.”

A weak ground ball from Tulane’s Brian Bogusevic in the third and deciding game, with runners on second and third and two outs in the top of the eighth inning, squirted up the middle past sprawling junior right-hander Eddie Degerman, breaking a 3-3 tie. Tulane led 6-3 going into the bottom of the eighth, but a misplayed fly ball in left field by Tulane’s Mark Hamilton allowed the Owls to rally back and tie the game at six. But the game’s momentum shifted again in the ninth when Tulane struck for three runs off sophomore right-hander Adam Hale to take a 9-6 lead, which it would not relinquish.

Graham, who has led the Owls to 11 NCAA tournament appearances in 14 years with the team, said he believes his 15th year has promise as well.

“Going as far as we did [last year] certainly prepared this team to do what we hope we can do,” Graham said. “We think we have the talent to be a major force in college baseball for the next two or three years.”

Rice joined Conference USA this summer, which includes three other teams that qualified for the 2005 NCAA tournament: Tulane, Southern Mississippi and East Carolina. Nine teams will play baseball in Conference USA: Alabama-Birmingham, Memphis, Central Florida, Houston and Marshall in addition to the four NCAA-tournament teams.

“[C-USA] is such a better fit,” Graham said. “This league has obvious strength because of all of the teams that have been in regionals recently.”

Rice struggled to maintain a strong RPI last year, since its schedule featured many games against weak WAC opponents.

“It’s a better situation, it’s a much higher RPI league,” Graham said. “There was an unreasonable pressure to win the WAC, because if we didn’t, [the NCAA selection committee] might not think we should be in the tournament. We’re going to try and win Conference USA, but it’s nice to know if we don’t, that we have an excellent chance to be in the playoffs as long as we have a good year.”

The Owls began their postseason run with a dramatic three-win performance at the Baton Rouge regional June 3-6. Junior right-hander Josh Geer went the distance in the first game of the regional against Northwestern State, coasting to a 7-3 victory. In the second game, Collegiate Baseball Freshman of the Year Joe Savery shut down the potent LSU bats with 10 strikeouts in seven and a third innings, giving up just two runs in the Owls’ 9-7 win. Pendleton tied a career high with four runs batted in. Degerman pitched the deciding game of the regional for the Owls, coming through with a solid six and a third-inning outing.

Degerman left the game with the scored tied at four and gave way to Pendleton, whose fastball and breaking ball shut down the Tigers. He faced just nine batters in the final two and two-thirds innings. In the top of the ninth, a one-out triple by freshman all-American Tyler Henley set the table for junior infielder Greg Buchanan, who then singled Henley home to give the Owls a 5-4 lead that Pendleton would hold.

“There wasn’t anything wrong with [LSU’s] strategy — we just beat them,” Graham said. “I think we fed off the crowd at LSU. There were people in the lineup who were suddenly stepping forward, like Pendleton. You’re always trying to build nine guys in you lineup who are at least a threat.”

In the first game of the super regional, the Owls scored seven runs on Tulane’s ace, left-hander Brian Bogusevic, in four innings en route to a 9-5 win behind strong starting pitching from Josh Geer and scoreless relief from freshman left-hander Cole St.Clair and freshman right-hander Bobby Bell. In the second game, Tulane’s Micah Owings pitched a three-hit shutout, and the Green Wave won 7-0.

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