The postgame conversation naturally centered around Rice's late-inning rallies, especially junior leftfielder Jordan Dodson and junior catcher Danny Lehmann. Dodson had a leadoff single in the ninth against Kyle Nicholson and scored the tying run, then drove in the winning run against reliever Gary Campfield in the 10th.
Of his break to score on Diego Seastrunk's bloop single in the ninth, Dodson said, "When he hit it, I thought it was going to drop just behind the shortstop. That was our only real chance, because you might not get another hit, so I was just going." Of his game-winning single, Dodson said he got the pitch he was looking for. "They kept pounding me inside, so I was looking for a fastball in," Dodson said.
Danny Lehmann's two-out bunt single in the 10th led to the winning run thanks to the element of surprise.
"Our pitching held us in there. It's nice that Lehmann worked on his bunting," he finished with a sideways grin. Lehmann said it was a spur-of-the-moment decision made when he saw third baseman Brian Ruggiano playing back.

On the A&M side, Rob Childress pointed to missed opportunities in the sixth and seventh innings and the unearned run Rice scored in the fifth as the difference in the game. The ninth-inning rally was somewhat a bi-product of A&M's no-doubles defense (a late-game mainstay) and some well-placed hits.
"Newmann got me the ball with a lead, and I was unable to close, it's as simple as that," Nicholson said. "We were no-doubles to start the inning. I made a good pitch, and the guy did his job. Dodson had a great at-bat."
Childress rued his team's baserunning as well, especially the failure of Luke Anders to advance to second base on his leadoff single in the seventh.
"In a game like that, whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins," Childress said. "The unearned run cost us, but good teams are going to take advantage of errors."

The starting pitchers were largely lost in the postgame shuffle, but the frantic finale did not overshadow another strong outing from Berry and a gutsy effort from Newmann.
"It was ugly, no doubt," Newmann said of his effort, which included four walks and a hit batter. "The best pitchers find a way to get out of trouble situations without their best stuff. I was hanging by a thread really, and I had a bit of luck and some good defense."
Berry struck out 10 batters and allowed just two runs in 7.1 innings. He really settled down after A&M went ahead 2-0 in the third, allowing only a single and two walks the remainder of the day.
"About the fourth inning ... I found my curveball, which they weren't swinging at early in the game," Berry said. "Just getting ahead of hitters allowed me to get strikeouts. ... When you go out there in a pressure situation - it's my first time out there, I guess, you got half Aggies yelling at you ... I couldn't find the location of my fastball. But then after getting ahead of hitters, I just found a groove and started throwing my curveball for strikes."

Junior lefthander Bobby Bramhall - an unsung hero all season as the middle reliever who held the bullpen together with closer Cole St.Clair out most of the season - got his time in the limelight as well. A graduate of A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, Bobby's father, J.P. Bramhall, is the A&M team doctor and has performed surgeries on 10 A&M players. Bramhall was all business on the mound, however.
"It's always fun to play your home-town team, but I go to Rice University, and I play for these guys," Bramhall said. "It's just another team on the mound. ... It seems like we always find a way. I did my job, and [the hitters] did their job."
Rice improved to 36-4 since its March 20 loss to Texas A&M at Reckling Park.

Atmosphere-wise, the game was hard to beat. Although the fans were lulled to sleep a bit by the pitching during the middle innings, they roared to life late in the game. A&M fans probably outnumbered Rice fans, dominating the outer chair-back sections, the bleachers down the outfield lines and the left-field hill. But Owl fans made their presence known as well, starting a memorable cheering war before the bottom of the ninth and cheering their team on to victory. This never gets old, truly, and I can't wait for tomorrow night.

I think my favorite fact of the day, however, is that there were 14 Rice players drafted today (and eight from A&M), but Jordan Dodson's name was not called. He admitted it was a disappointment but stepped up his game in a big way to help Rice get the early edge in the series.