PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE

Monday, May 26, 1997

Rice blasts way to first World Series

By Al Carter

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

LUBBOCK - Rice's oh-for-the-century baseball team found its way to Omaha on Sunday with one of the meanest displays of physical might in the school's meek athletic history.

Slugger supreme Lance Berkman blasted two more homers as the Owls battered Southwest Missouri State, 25-6, at Dan Law Field to win the Central Regional and advance to the College World Series for the first time.

"This changes the mentality of your whole program," Rice coach Wayne Graham said. "Now people know you're not just talking anymore. You've done it. And that's critical."

Ranked eighth nationally, the Owls will join an eight-team field that will compete for the NCAA Division I national championship beginning Friday in Omaha, Neb.

"I think we have as good a shot as anybody," Berkman said.

Said Owls' outfielder Bubba Crosby: "We're just now making a name for Rice University sports."

The Owls' run explosion was the second-highest for any NCAA regional championship game. Rice pounded out 25 hits in handing the Bears their worst loss ever.

The victory was Rice's eighth straight in the post-season, a streak that includes a four-game sweep of the Western Athletic Conference tournament. That conference title was the first in Rice history.

The Owls left the Southwest Conference last year after failing to win a single league title in 77 seasons of competition. Rice did depart the SWC on a high note. The Owls won the final SWC tournament last May, also at Dan Law Field.

Rice had coughed up trips to Omaha the past two seasons in regional finals losses. The Owls' breakthrough ended a three-year drought for Texas schools trying to qualify for the CWS. Rice also became the first WAC school to qualify for Omaha since Hawaii in 1980.

"Because of our experience in the last two regionals, we didn't want to mess around," Graham said. "We wanted to win the first game."

With two chances on Sunday to beat the Bears, the Owls erupted for seven runs in their first at-bat. After four innings, Rice had a 14-4 lead. Southwest Missouri State threw eight pitchers into the fray. The Owls, in addition to their 25 hits, drew 17 walks.

Berkman hit his 40th homer of the season in the second inning and his 41st, a two-run shot, in the third. With four RBIs, the junior from New Braunfels hiked his season total to 134, the second-highest in NCAA history.

Berkman hit five homers in the Owls' regional sweep. He drove in 10 runs, scored 10 more and was named the tournament's outstanding player.

Berkman will head to Omaha seven homers short of the NCAA mark of 48 set by Oklahoma State's Pete Incaviglia in 1985. Still, Berkman said, he's not thinking about records.

"If I do that, I'll start to overswing," he said, "and that will hurt the team."

Justin Berg and Will Ford also hit homers for the Owls. Berkman, Berg and Joseph Cathey had four hits each. Ford, Joseph Baker and J.J. Savarino had three each as Rice reached the 20-hit mark for the second straight game.

Cathey drove in six runs. The Owls' shortstop contributed a pair of RBI singles in the seventh as Rice scored eight runs.

Now 47-14 for the season, the Owls will head to Omaha with victories in 21 of their past 22 games.

(c) 1997, The Dallas Morning News.

Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/

Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: