Memphis thought the had Rice right where they wanted them. They knocked Owl starter Craig Crow out after six innings, and trailed the game 6-4 at the stretch. But the Rice bullpen did what they've been doing all season long, shutting down the Tiger bats over the final three innings to knock Memphis out of the tournament. Bryce Cox gave up two singles in his two innings of work, and Cole St. Clair recorded his tenth save of the season by facing just three Tigers in the ninth.

Rice had more chances throughout the game, scoring seven runs on fourteen hits but stranding fifteen runners. The Tigers also carried potent bats, pounding out ten hits but stranding ten runners in the contest. Michael Murray had the key hit for Memphis in the fifth, driving a three-run triple to the rightfield corner. Bill Moss went 3-for-4 with two runs for the Tigers, whoe finish their season with a 32-28 record.

Josh Rodriguez led the Owls with four hits, while Joe Savery drove in three runs in the first four innings. Craig Crow struck out a career high nine hitters, while allowing just one earned run (and three unearned) in his six innings. Bryce Cox and Cole St. Clair finished their three innings with a scant 28 pitches, all but three of those were strikes.

The Owls improve to 49-10 on the season, and will meet 39-19 Houston in the championship game tomorrow at 1:00 PM. Joe Savery will start for Rice, while the Cougars will counter with Matt Farrington. The two clubs met at Reckling Park two weeks ago. Brad Lincoln shut out the Owls 3-0 in the opener, but Rice captured the series by winning the final two games 7-4 and 13-3.