The first base umpire has been at the center of controversy a couple times this afternoon, the latest in the favor of Rice. With the bases loaded and none out in the top of the eighth, Wilford White hit a hard grounder to a drawn-in Brian Friday at short. Friday threw home for an easy out, but catcher Danny Lehmann's throw bounced off the runner heading to first and into foul territory. The ump emphatically signalled interference, and Rice ended up recording two outs with the other runners returning to their original bases. Bryce Cox struck out Michael Richard to get out of trouble without allowing a run.

The Owls immediately capitalized in the bottom of the frame. Joe Savery drew a leadoff walk, and Aaron Luna set the school record with his 14th homer as a freshman. Joshua Terrell escaped further trouble that inning, but went right back to work after a 1-2-3 top of the ninth. Tyler Henley walked and Greg Buchanan was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Brian Friday reached on a bunt single, setting the stage for Josh Rodriguez's heroics. Prairie View brought in a new leftfielder with a better arm, but Rodriguez hit it over his head for a walk-off single.

Rice pitchers combined for fifteen strikeouts on the afternoon, while Prairie View struck out a single batter in the contest.

The game was witnessed by a largely subdued crowd of 3,726 for most of the afternoon. The 300 or so Panther fans had a blast throughout the game, while the Owl fans erupted late in the ballgame as the team evened the score in the eighth before walking off with the victory.

Bryce Cox (4-1) picks up the win for the Owls, who advance to tomorrow afternoon's winners' bracket contest against the winner of this evening's contest between Arizona State and Baylor. Joshua Terrell (5-5) picked up the loss for the Panthers, who will play in a high noon losers' bracket showdown tomorrow.