"I was about to faint out there, coming in in the eighth with the bases loaded against a team like that," said Yokley. "I caught a couple breaks, and got out of it."

Yokley surrendered only one hit in 1 2/3 flawless innings.

"It felt great," Yokley said of the feeling after he picked up his ninth save of the season. "This is a huge, huge win for our program, to beat a team like Rice. We've played them close four times in a row, we just finally got them."

Memphis coach Daron Schoenrock said he will pitch Neil Schenk in the rematch with Rice later today. Rice will be forced to pitch 2-way star Joe Savery.

Schenk hasn't started a game all year. Savery has a 8-1 record and 2.41 ERA in 15 starts.