For TCU (48-14), the loss brought to an end the best season in school history. The Horned Frogs advanced farther in the tournament than they ever had before, and head coach Jim Schlossnagle was certainly proud of his troops.
"I think we're an Omaha club, even though we're not going there this year, and we just fell short to a very good team tonight," Schlossnagle said. "TCU and Rice were both outstanding, and I couldn't be more proud."
Schlossnagle said Rice's pitching was the key to the tournament and paid tribute to Rice head coach Wayne Graham's ability to develop pitchers. The Owls allowed just four runs in the three games.
"The difference is depth of pitching," Schlossnagle said. "I don't know if it's Coach Graham or if they put something in the water here. Every guy they throw does something unique. I do know that if I was a major league club, I'd pay Wayne Graham whatever he wanted to be a roving pitching instructor, because every guy does something special."

Rice (52-13) advanced to the super regionals for the seventh time in the nine years super regionals have been contested. The Owls are 4-2 all-time in the super regionals. Naturally, post-game discussion centered on Joe Savery's outing and the unhittable change-up of Bobby Bramhall.
"Joe's still searching for command," Graham said. "His fastball hit 96 tonight once, and I think his velocity allowed him to stay off the fat of the bat."
Savery pointed to the double play he induced with the bases loaded in the fourth inning as the turning point in the game.
"The big inning has hurt me lately, so getting out of that was huge," Savery said before referencing his ongoing rehab from offseason surgery. "Going through this arm thing is new to me, and I don't know what to expect. I threw some curveballs for strikes tonight, and obviously the velocity was there."
Bramhall said Rice's trip to Omaha last year, in which the Owls finished tied for third, has served as a motivating point this season.
"Last year we all learned how sweet Omaha is," Bramhall said. "But all we can do is play the game in front of us, and it's good to get this one under our belt and move closer to Omaha."
Rice advances to face either Texas A&M or Louisiana-Lafayette in the super regionals next weekend.

All-Tournament Team
C-Danny Lehmann, Rice
1B-Joe Savery, Rice
2B-Shaver Hansen, Baylor
3B-Steven Trout, TCU
SS-Beamer Weems, Baylor
OF-Jared Gayhart, Rice
OF-Tyler Henley, Rice
OF-Austin Adams, TCU
DH-Matt Sodolak, Baylor
P-Matt Langwell, Rice
P-Randall Linebaugh, Baylor

Outstanding Player - Joe Savery, Rice

Thanks for reading, and I'll be back next weekend.