OMAHA, Neb. -- Just when Fresno State seemed to be reaching a stage too grand to own and its element of surprise too old to work again, the Bulldogs pulled off yet another shocker.

Domination.

Against another nationally ranked foe.

At the College World Series, where no team from the field of eight has looked as imposing as the underdog Bulldogs.

Fresno State throttled No. 6 national seed Rice for a 17-5 win Sunday at Rosenblatt Stadium as if the Owls were lower-level Western Athletic Conference competition.

The 10-run mercy rule would have been in effect had this been a WAC contest this year, and the two met as they once regularly did before Rice left the conference in 2005.

Within four innings and before an announced crowd of 18,108, Fresno State had built an 11-0 lead. When it was over, the Bulldogs had scored the most runs in a CWS game since Tennessee rang up 19 in 2001 and the most runs allowed against Rice this season.

"You're always shocked when a team hits that well and scores runs against a good pitching staff," said Rice coach Wayne Graham, whose Owls had entered Sunday with a 3.63 earned-run average and were 5-0 in the postseason. "Fresno State did an incredible job of hitting today. It's hard to hit the ball that well in batting practice.

"Every time we made a bad pitch, they drove it. When we made a good pitch, they fought it off. They were able to capitalize on everything we did."

Now, the Bulldogs move to the winner's bracket of the four-team, double-elimination portion of the CWS and will face No. 2 national seed North Carolina (52-12) at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

As if facing the two-time reigning national runners-up wasn't enough, the Bulldogs have been dealt yet another blow with No. 2 pitcher Clayton Allison (3-5, 4.07) scratched from his start Tuesday because of tendinitis in his shoulder.

The Bulldogs already have been getting by without ace Tanner Scheppers, whose absence has made Fresno State's run all the more astonishing.

Scheppers, out with a shoulder injury the past six weeks, is not on Fresno State's 25-man active roster and will not pitch in the CWS.

Fresno State simply seems to be on a tear despite the obstacles -- helped and hardened by its difficult path to reach the CWS after facing elite pitching against Long Beach State and San Diego in regional play, then elite hitting against No. 3 national seed Arizona State in the Super Regional.

"This is our fifth week in a row on the road, and each week has gotten a little more difficult," Fresno State coach Mike Batesole said. "We saw the Pac-10 pitcher of the year, the Big West pitcher of the year, the [West Coast Conference] pitcher of the year. ... So we've seen some great pitching."

Then Sunday, the Bulldogs met Rice starter Ryan Berry, who had been 8-4 with a 3.31 ERA, pitched for Team USA at the Pan Am Games and is considered one of the nation's best pitchers.

Fresno State lit up Berry for nine runs (five earned) on seven hits and three walks before forcing his removal after 31/3 innings.

The Bulldogs hit four home runs -- including three-run homers from Danny Muno, Jordan Ribera and Alan Ahmady -- in taking a 4-0 lead after two innings, an 11-0 lead after four, and a 16-2 lead after six.

And they did it all despite an 0-for-4 outing from cleanup hitter Steve Susdorf, who along with second baseman Erik Wetzel are the Bulldogs' only drafted position players.

Muno, the leadoff hitter, finished 2 for 6 with five RBIs and two runs. No. 3 hitter Wetzel was 3 for 5 with an RBI and two runs. No. 5 hitter Ahmady was 2 for 4 with three RBIs and three runs. And No. 9 hitter Ribera was 2 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs.