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Rice to play for title Defending champs sent packing; Stanford stays alivePosted: Wednesday June 18, 2003 5:16 PMUpdated: Thursday June 19, 2003 12:43 AM
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Rice's Justin Ruchti knew what pitch was coming from Texas closer Huston Street and where it was going to be. All Ruchti had to do was get his bat on it. He did. Ruchti's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Rice a 5-4 victory Wednesday night and sent the Owls to the College World Series championship round. Rice (56-11) eliminated the defending national champion Longhorns (50-20), and will play the winner of Thursday's Stanford-Cal State Fullerton game in a best-of-three series starting Saturday. Rice will be playing for its first national title in any sport. Street (8-1), last year's CWS Most Outstanding Player, lost for the first time in 12 decisions dating to March 8, 2002. Street threw four straight sliders before Ruchti lined the fifth into center field to drive in pinch-runner Matt Cavanaugh. "I knew that was his 'out' pitch, and I figured he'd stay away," Ruchti said. "He happened to leave it up, and I got it pretty good." Rice's Jeff Blackinton led off the ninth and reached on an error when his grounder rolled up second baseman Tim Moss' left arm and off his chest. Cavanaugh took second on Dane Bubela's sacrifice and scored after Ruchti hit Street's 2-2 pitch. Texas center fielder Joe Ferin tried to charge the ball for a possible throw to the plate, but it got past him and Cavanaugh easily scored the winning run. "I was going after him with my best stuff," Street said. "I got ahead of him with my slider. I didn't think he'd expect five in a row, but he was right on it." Ruchti, the Owls' catcher and No. 9 batter, was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. He also threw out two Longhorns stealing. "It was one of the more memorable games of my life," he said. "To put us in the championship series, that's what you dream of as a little kid." Rice won in spite of its three pitchers combining to walk nine and hit four batters and its defense committing three errors. "That shows the heart of this team," Rice coach Wayne Graham said. "I couldn't be prouder of them." Texas left 15 runners on base, two in the top of the ninth. "There were opportunities to score that were missed opportunities," Texas coach Augie Garrido said. "It came down to a line drive that didn't find its way into a glove, and a runner was on second base. That's what separated the teams -- that line drive." David Aardsma (6-3) got the win after getting four outs in relief of starter Philip Humber and Josh Baker. Rice used a four-run fourth to take a 4-3 lead against Texas starter J.P. Howell, who was working on three days' rest after a 115-pitch, six-inning outing in a 13-2 win over Miami. Enrique Cruz scored to make it 3-1 when Street, playing third base, couldn't handle Blackinton's grounder. Another run came in on Bubela's ground-rule double, and two more scored on a single by Ruchti. Texas tied it at 4 in the fifth against Baker on a controversial play at second. Baker walked Michael Hollimon, who then stole second. Umpire Randy Bruns called Hollimon safe on the play even though television replays clearly showed shortstop Paul Janish had tagged him well before Hollimon reached the base. Graham darted out of the dugout to argue the call. Hollimon later scored on Omar Quintanilla's single up the middle. The Longhorns threatened in the ninth, but Aardsma, the Owls' ace closer, worked out of the jam. With one out, he hit Taylor Teagarden with a pitch and Street reached on Janish's error one out later. But Aardsma struck out Moss to end the inning. "I knew I had to beat him with something," Aardsma said. "I just reared back, and he went chasing my fast ball." Moments later, Moss committed the error that led to Rice's winning run. "I can't let Tim or any individual player take the hit for this," Garrido said. "We could have had 12 runs and that hit wouldn't have meant anything. It's not about one guy. We don't hold Huston Street responsible for giving up the hit. We don't hold Tim responsible for making the error. At this point, this team isn't capable of pointing a finger at anyone and saying, 'It's your fault.' "
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Stanford pitcher John Hudgins was cruising against Cal State Fullerton in the late innings Wednesday, but Cardinal coach Mark Marquess was nervous anyway. Carlos Quentin brought instant relief with two outs in the eighth, hitting his second home run of the game in Stanford's 5-3 victory at the College World Series. The victory -- Stanford's first in five games this season against the Titans -- forces a rematch Thursday to determine which team will represent its side of the bracket in the best-of-three championship final that starts Saturday. "I was happy I could contribute because we needed a run at the time," said Quentin, who has 12 homers this season. "I got the green light from coach on a 3-0 pitch. When you can contribute like that, it makes you feel good about yourself." Hudgins turned in a second straight strong performance, allowing five hits but only one after the third inning in a complete game. As good as Hudgins was, Marquess said Quentin's eighth-inning homer was a welcome sight. "There is a huge difference between a one-run lead and two-run lead when you go into the ninth inning," Marquess said. Quentin hit a two-run homer in the first inning to open the scoring for the Cardinal (49-16). By going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, Quentin raised his four-game CWS batting average to .500 (7-for-14). Hudgins was pitching on four days' rest after giving up two hits in eight innings of Stanford's 8-0 win over South Carolina in its CWS opener last Friday. Hudgins (13-3) issued two walks, hit three batters and struck out seven. Two of the three runs against him were earned. "I'm proud of John for throwing a complete game against one of the best teams in the nation," Marquess said. "We were hoping for that, which is a lot to ask for in a game of this magnitude. He was masterful." The key point in the game for Hudgins came in the third, after Shane Costa had given Fullerton (50-15) a 3-2 lead with a two-run double. The next batter, Kyle Boyer, drove a high fly ball down the left-field line that third-base umpire Joe Burleson ruled foul. Boyer ended up grounding out, and Hudgins got out of the inning. "That could have gone either way," Fullerton coach George Horton said. "It was a tough call for Burleson. It was hooking, and it was well foul when it landed. But it was tough to tell where the ball was when it went over the fence." Hudgins was relieved when he saw the umpire wave his arms to signal foul. "I threw a change-up on that pitch to Boyer, and I was hoping he got out in front of it enough that it wouldn't stay fair," Hudgins said. "From there, I just loosened up." Hudgins, who threw 135 pitches, seemed to get stronger after the close call. After Costa's third-inning double, he didn't give up another hit until P.J. Pilittere's single in the ninth. "I don't care what the pitch count was, nobody was going to be up in the bullpen," Marquess said. "We were going to win or lose it with John Hudgins." Chris Carter scored the go-ahead run in the fifth on a wild pitch by Fullerton starter Wes Littleton (7-4). Jed Lowrie and Carter singled leading off the inning. Brian Hall singled in Lowrie for the tying run, and then Littleton threw a pitch into the dirt past catcher Kurt Suzuki, allowing Carter to come home for a 4-3 lead. Littleton got out of the inning when Jonny Ash grounded into a double play. Stanford led 2-0 after Littleton's fourth pitch of the game. Ash singled to right, and then Quentin homered over the left-center field wall. Littleton left after walking Lowrie to start the seventh. He allowed six hits, walked two and struck out two. Costa said he's not concerned about the possibility of Stanford stealing momentum from the Titans for Thursday's bracket final. "We must come out with confidence just like Stanford will," he said. "It's all about one game right now."
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