The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 27, 1999 Page: 13 of 20
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THE RICE THRESHER SPORTS FRIDAY, AUGUST
27, 1999
13
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TOMMY LAVERGNE/RICE UNIVERSITY
Head Coach Wayne Graham congratulates senior shortstop Damon Thames after his seventh-Inning solo home run
against the University of Alabama's Justin Smith. Thames added a three-run homer In the eighth, but the Crimson Tide
edged the Owls 6-5, eliminating them from the College World Series.
Thames' heroics not enough at CWS
by Jose Luis Cubria
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
Damon Thames didn't have to do
anything special to be remembered.
After all, in the short span of just two
years* the senior shortstop had been
named the National Player of the
Year, a first-team ail-American and
the Western Athletic Conference
Player of the Year.
In addition, he owned school
records in categories ranging from
RBIs in a season to career batting
average and had established himself
as one of Rice's all-time great players.
But in his final two at-bats as an
Owl, Thames ensured that no college
baseball fan could ever forget him.
Going into the seventh inning of
Rice's elimination game against the
University of Alabama June 16, the
Owls trailed the Crimson Tide 4-2 and
.seemed to be on their way to quietly
bowing out of the College World Se
ries just three days afte* the program's
first-ever win in Omaha, Neb.
Thames, however, had a differ-
ent idea. He turned on Justin Smith's
first pitch and ripped it down the left-
field line for a solo homer.
Though the Owls didn't add any
more runs during the seventh,
Thames' shot sent a message to his
teammates, many of whom seemed
to have been resigned to the fact
that it just wasn't their day.
In the top of the eighth, junior
Mitch Ackal drew a pinch-hit walk,
and junior left fielder Charles Will-
iams slipped in a walk of his own
between two strikeouts. And with
two outs and the Owls down 4-3, the
stage was again set for Thames.
Smith wasn't about to give in, and
he quickly got ahead of the Owl
shortstop 0-2. But Thames wouldn't
quit either, and after fouling off four
or five straight deliveries, he finally
made good contact, ripping a line
drive down the left-field line that was
ever-so-slightly hooking foul.
Thames, however, did his best
Carlton Fisk imitation the whole way
down the first-base line, using all the
body language he could come up with
to keep the ball fair. And shortly after
it bounced off the foul-pole screen for
a three-run homer, the rest of the
Owls mobbed Thames at home plate.
The emotional high, however, was
short-lived. Alabama proved to be at
least Rice's equal in pressure situa-
tions, and the Crimson Tide manu-
factured the game-tying run in the
bottom of the eighth.
In the bottom of the ninth, Ala-
bama did it again when Sam
Bozanich drove in the winning run
with a bloop single.
The loss eliminated Rice from
the CWS. But for a moment, Thames'
heroics had them on the verge of
accomplishing more.
"I was on top of the world there
for a second, but it came down pretty
quick,"Thames said. "My team gave
me a chance to do it, and luckily I
was the guy that stepped up. If it
hadn't been me today, it would've
been someone else, I'm sure ofthat."
The near-heroic display was a fit-
ting end to a storied career. But
quite predictably, Thames admitted
that only one thing could have made
the day better.
"I wouldn't need an exclamation
point to make me happy about my
two years at Rice because they've
been so great," he said. "Looking
back, I'll be really happy about the
way it happened. But I would've
traded it all for a win."
Rice digs deep to defeat Regional foes
by Jos£ Luis Cubria
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
For two straight NCAA playoff
weekends, the heavily favored Rice
baseball team lost its opening game
against a lesser team, leaving the
Owls just one defeat away from the
end of their season. -
But both times, first at the Re-
gional in Lubbock and then at the
Super Regional at the Astrodome,
Rice rallied its forces and advanced
to the next round.
And by the time the Owls reached
the College World Series, their abil-
ity to survive, if not excel, with their
backs against the wall became their
defining characteristic.
"I've always been fascinated by
the power of the human will," Head
Coach Wayne Graham said. "And
these guys showed, during those two
weeks, that they h^d the character to
do it. That was as tough as it gets."
The Owls' first chance to test their
mental mettle came during the Re-
gional held May 28-30 at Texas Tech
University. Rice, one of only eight
national No. 1 seeds, lost its first
game to little-known University of
Wisconsin at Milwaukee 84. And the
game probably wasn't even that close.
But it served as a wake-up call, and
with the unenviable task of having to
win four games in a row in less than
two days, Rice became a different team.
On May 29, the Owls eliminated
Rutgers University 6-1 behind junior
pitcher Mario Ramos' complete game
gem. That night, the Owls got their
revenge on the Panthers—and then
some — with a 27-1 explosion.
Junior center fielder Jason Gray
and junior right fielder Will Ford
combined to go ll-for-13 with five
doubles, 10 runs scored and 10 RBIs
to lead the attack that eliminated
Wisconsin-Milwaukee before the
Panthers even knew what hit them.
"It was a little more personal than
most games," Ford said. "The first
game really embarrassed us and thaf s
the way we had to face this game. We
really wanted to put it on them."
TTie next day, Rice defeated the
host Red Raiders twice — including
a classic 3-1 pitcher's duel and an
ugly 15-ll slugfest — to advance to
the Super Regional.
"I was proud of our team this
weekend," senior reliever Jesse
Kurtz-Nicholl said. "We wanted to
play our butts off to go to the Super
Regional. We didn't think for one
minute that we were going to lose."
Coming off such a difficult week-
end, Rice should have learned its
Jesson. Bufwhen thfe Owls hosted
the University of Southwestern Loui-
siana in the best-of-three Super Re-
gional June 4-6, they let a loss pi*t
them behind the eight ball again.
The highly touted pitcher's duel
between Ramos and USL's Phil Devey,
both all-American left-handers, never
materialized, and the Ragin' Cajuns
won the error-filled opener 12-8.
oBut sophomore pitcher Kenny
Baugh — one of Rice's heroes
againstTexasTech—came through
with a complete-game four-hitter in
a 10-1 Rice win to even the series.
In Sunday's finale, behind junior
* Jeff Nichols' pitching, a balanced
offensive attack and a highlight-reel
defensive effort led by Gray, the Owls
won 8-3, their sixth straight victory
when facing elimination.
And while many were shocked that
Rice advanced to the CWS under those
conditions, the Owls had faith in them-
selves — and each other — all along.
-I said from the beginning that we
could do it, and we're not at all sur-
prised we did," Gray said. "I'm just
proud to be a part of this team because
of how hard we worked all year. We
were scrappy and we never gave up."
Ten daysafterthey clinched aberth
in the CWS, Rice saw its national cham-
pionship hopes die in a Jpss to the
University of Alabama. It was the first
time in eight tries that the team had
not won an elimination game.
But when the Owls looked back
on their year, many pointed to the
Regional and Super Regional come-
backs as the highlights of the season.
"I'm most proud of coming back
from the two first-round losses," se-
nior pitcher Stephen Bess said. "Show-
ing that we could come back from that
twice shows how much heart this team
had. The fact that we faced all that
adversity, beat it and proved a lot of
people wrong is special."
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The Rice University Marching Owl Band
The Ultimate Musical Experience
* Come perform with us at home games and take a break
from Rice on our road trips too!
* Don't play the usual band instrument? Violins, electric
guitars,keyboards, and kazoos welcome!
* No musical experience? Help design and build props like
our 28-foot Titanic replica and spice up shows with whacky
antics as a Show Assistant! Sound like fun?
OPEN HOUSE: FRI., August 27 from 2 to 5 PM
WELCOME DINNER: SUN., Aug. 29 from 7 to 9 PM
FRESH. REHEARSAL: MON., Aug. 30 from 7 to 9 PM
mczTrii
E-mail: themob@rice.edu
Gall: 1-800-WHY-RICE (949-7423)
or in Houston (713) 527-6018
Web Site: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~themob
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McAlister, Jett & Tam, Mariel. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 27, 1999, newspaper, August 27, 1999; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246652/m1/13/?rotate=270: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.