Houston ? Josh Rodriguez homered and drove in five runs Monday, helping rally Rice to a 9-5 win over Oklahoma for a berth in the College World Series.

The Owls (55-11) took the deciding game of the best-of-three Super Regional series and will return to Omaha, Neb., for the first time since winning the national title in 2003.

The Owls turned a 4-3 deficit into an 8-4 lead with two swings in the sixth inning. Rodriguez, who had a two-run homer in the first, put Rice ahead 5-4 with a bases-loaded single, and Joe Savery followed by crushing a three-run home run just to the right of the 400-foot sign in center field to make it 8-4.

Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly in the seventh scored Rice’s final run.

“Yesterday, I was really impatient at the plate,” Rodriguez said, referring to Rice’s 11-5 loss Sunday in the second game of the series. “I just told myself to sit back, be patient, see your zone. The past two years, we’ve come so close. This year, we’re a lot more mature. We didn’t buckle under pressure.”

The Sooners (45-22) were looking to win an elimination game for the sixth time in this year’s NCAA tournament. Coach Sunny Golloway and assistant Andrew McGuire were ejected in the pivotal sixth inning. McGuire was thrown out for arguing balls and strikes, but Golloway said he never received an explanation for his exit.

“We had a lot of things to overcome today, and we couldn’t overcome them,” Golloway said.

Cole St. Clair (6-2) picked up the win in relief, allowing five hits and three runs with three strikeouts and no walks in 51â3 innings. John Brownell (5-1) suffered the loss.

“I’ve always had that stamina available,” St. Clair said. “It was fun to dig down today and be the pitcher I used to be.”

Starting pitchers Ryan Mottern of Oklahoma and Craig Crow of Rice didn’t make it out of the first inning, each allowing two runs.

OU loaded the bases with no outs in the first when leadoff hitter Chuckie Caufield was hit by a pitch, Russell Raley singled and Ryan Rohlinger walked. Kevin Smith’s sacrifice fly scored the first run, and Freddy Rodriguez grounded out to bring in Raley for a 2-0 lead.

Rodriguez’s opposite-field home run to right with two outs in the bottom of the first tied the score.

Oklahoma regained the lead at 3-2 in the third inning on Raley’s leadoff single and a run-scoring double by Smith.

Rice tied it again in the fourth on Aaron Luna’s leadoff home run. Raley answered with a solo homer in the fifth to put OU ahead 4-3, setting up Rice’s five-run sixth.