McCutchen was the story of the game, retiring fourteen batters in a row between the fourth and ninth innings. AftAller throwing two games in the Norman regional last weekend, he sailed through the final five frames today on a scant 55 pitches. He allowed nine hits (only one after the fourth) and struck out nine batters on a humid Houston afternoon, and controlled the plate for most of the game.

All nine starters recorded at least one hit and were involved in a scoring play for the Sooners, with Ryan Rohlinger leading the way on a 3-for-4 performance that included his thirteenth home run of the season. Kody Kaiser (2-for-5) also went deep for Oklahoma after the Owls had hit the first six home runs of the Super Regional.

Rice's pitching staff struggled for the second time this season against the Sooners, as they were battered for sixteen hits and eleven runs (ten earned) after allowing fifteen in a game at Norman earlier this season. Bobby Bell was knocked out after allowing 5 runs in 3 1/3 innings. Bobby Bramhall pitched effectively in relief, but an unearned run saddled the lefty with the loss. After the lead grew to five runs against Will McDaniel, Kurt Pessa (first appearance since May 18th) and Kyle Gunderson (first appearance since March 15th) mopped up the game for the Owls.

Designated hitter Kenny Ford was the offensive star for Rice from the nine-hole, hitting his first collegiate homer in the third before driving in two additional runs with a fourth inning double. Joe Savery added a solo home run for Rice, while Tyler Henley drove in the final Owl run of the game.

Today's crowd was smaller than last night, with 4,120 fans in attendance. The Sooner faithful saluted the team from behind the dugout after the victory, and were definitely more lively as the team responded on Sunday.