Savery caught the final out, a pop-up in foul territory down the first-base line, and Savery said the main thought on his mind was giving the ball to a loud-mouthed Texas A&M fan in the right-field stands.
"I was like, 'Don't drop it, one, and two, find her and throw it to her as a token,'" Savery said. "I've had about enough of that. ... There were a lot of Philadelphia jokes, and those kinda ran dry. Like why am I hitting if I get paid to pitch, and that stuff. Then she asked me to sign the ball after the game, which I couldn't believe."
Savery was then asked if he obliged her with his signature, and his wry "I did" caused the room to break up in laughter.

But not surprisingly, the real story of the weekend was the Rice pitching staff, which allowed just two runs in each game.
"They had an incredible two games. They pitched extremely well and didn't give our offense a chance to get rolling," A&M head coach Rob Childress said. "They just keep coming at you. It almost suffocates you. We didn't even see St.Clair until the 15th or 16th inning, and we didn't even see Savery."
Childress and his Aggies were classy in refusing to blame the first-inning interference call that cost A&M two runs and an early lead.
"We're not going to make excuses. The game didn't come down to that," Childress said. Blake Stouffer, whose slid was deemed illegal, said he was very surprised by the call.
"I was going in to make an aggressive slide, and you don't really think in that situation, it's just reaction," Stouffer said. "It was a questionable call, but we had so many opportunities, you can't pin it on any one play that cost us."

For Rice, which played error-free defense in the series and won despite struggling at the plate, bigger things lie ahead.
"We won a super regional last year, and I think that we all understand that winning a super regional against a great team like A&M is huge, but ultimately we all want rings that say 'National Champions,' not 'Omaha' or 'World Series' like the ones we already have," centerfielder Tyler Henley said of the team's rather business-like celebration.
Savery spoke at length about the dividends he expects on Rice's College World Series experience from last year.
"I've said this over and over, but I think our experience is the biggest thing for us," Savery said. "If you look at Oregon State last year and UT a few years ago, they were all teams that had played in Omaha the year before and come back. That experience, along with the talent level and the expectations - it's all a winning combination."
Rice went 0-2 in Omaha in 2002 before winning the 2003 national championship, but Savery said the Owls' offensive struggles - Rice was shut out in back-to-back games in Omaha last year - are a concern.
"I think the same things we were struggling with last year are the same things we're struggling with now," Savery said. "We managed to put up five runs today, but it could have been a lot better, and we really got lucky in some instances. I don't think we're hitting the ball very well as a team."

As for today's game, Rice starter Matt Langwell, like many of the players in this series a graduate of A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, said his performance in front of a large, bi-partisan crowd was especially gratifying.
"That's probably the biggest ovation I've ever had," Langwell said of his seventh-inning exit. "It was an awesome feeling coming off and hearing the crowd like that. ... I've been waiting a long time to throw against [A&M] on a start, and I just wanted to be successful today."
In addition to the pitching, Graham said Rice's defense was a big key to the series victory.
"Before we ever started this series, we said one of the keys was going to be defensing the short game," Graham said. "I thought we had extraordinary defense of the bunt."

Graham said he might start Savery in the opening game of the College World Series on Friday. Savery usually pitches on Sunday because his back stiffens up after pitching and affects his hitting, but with a day off between games at the CWS, he could get the start in the opener. Graham made a similar decision in 2003, starting ace and Saturday starter Jeff Niemann in the opening game.