June 5, 2006
Box Score | Photo Gallery
Baylor's three-run third was answered by No. 1 Rice's five-spot in the bottom of the inning, and the host Owls never trailed again en route to a 7-4 victory over third-seeded Baylor in the NCAA Houston Regional championship game at Reckling Park.
The Bears finish the season 37-26, reaching the 35-win plateau for the eighth time in the last nine seasons. Rice (53-10) advances to the super regional round and will face the winner of Monday night's Oklahoma-Wichita State game. The Owls have won 13 straight and 35 of their last 37 games.
After Drew Bias scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch with two outs in the third, Zach Dillon punched a two-run single through the right side.
However, the Bears' lead did not last long as Rice immediately got the offense started on Tyler Henley's leadoff single in the bottom of the inning. Two outs later, Josh Rodriguez blasted a two-run homer down the line in right. Joe Savery and Aaron Luna followed with consecutive singles and both scored on Adam Zornes' double to right-center. Jordan Dodson followed with an RBI triple past a diving Kevin Sevigny down the right-field line.
That was more than enough run support for Savery (5-1), who held the Bears to three runs on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 5.0 innings.
Baylor starter Tim Matthews (6-5) was saddled with the loss; he was touched for five runs on 10 hits and a walk with one strikeout in 3.0 innings.
Rice tacked on a run in the fourth and another in the fifth, stretching its lead to 7-3. Beamer Weems' had a two-out RBI single up the middle in the top of the seventh, but the Bears could get no closer.
Kevin Russo and Seth Fortenberry both extended hitting streaks to 14 games and eight games, respectively; Russo's was a career long. Jake Weghorst pitched the final 3.0 innings scorelessly and closed the season with a 24.0-inning scoreless streak.
Dillon, Russo, Weems and Ryan LaMotta earned all-tournament honors.
Baylor reached a regional championship game in each of the past six seasons, save the 2004 campaign in which the Bears did not participate in NCAA Tournament play.
NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series 125-84-1, the fourth most-played series in Baylor baseball history. Rice has won 13 of the last 15 meetings, and the Owls hold a 49-44-1 advantage in games played on the Rice campus. Baylor is 1-4 against Rice in NCAA Tournament meetings.
