Jason Munz/Hattiesburg American
BILOXI — Rice won the Conference USA tournament championship in dramatic fashion Sunday.
The Owls, facing Southern Miss in a rematch of last season’s title game, came from behind twice to tie things up 4-4 in the seventh inning. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Rice’s Ryan Chandler hammered a one-out, run-scoring, walk-off double to give Wayne Graham’s club the 5-4 victory.
Rice improves to 31-29, locking up the league’s automatic NCAA tournament bid.
No. 11 Southern Miss falls to 48-14. The Golden Eagles, likely to be named one of the 16 NCAA regional host sites after their big season, will find out for sure at 7:30 p.