Texas advances at College World Series

OMAHA, Neb. — Baseball is a passion at Texas and the Longhorns have long been a powerhouse at the college level, well before heralded coach Augie Garrido arrived eight years ago.

So when the Longhorns beat Tulane 5-0 behind solid pitching and stellar defense Monday night for their record 75th College World Series win, Garrido refused to take much of the credit.

"I didn't have a lot to do with the first 70-something, the groundwork was laid long before I got there," Garrido said.

"My reaction to that is that it's a record for the school and it's my responsibility to try to uphold the tradition."

In its fourth straight appearance under Garrido and record 32nd overall at the CWS, Texas passed Southern California's mark of 74 victories.

The Longhorns, unbeaten in two games so far this year, advance to a tonight's game at Rosenblatt Stadium against the winner of Tuesday night's Tulane-Baylor elimination game.

At 2-0, some would think the Longhorns are assured of a berth in the championship round beginning Saturday. Hold on, says Garrido, the winningest coach in Division I history.

"Our position now is kind of a sneaky one. You start to listen to people who think you have it made and if you do, you will lose your competitive edge," he said.

"Expectations are the biggest single demon in the game. Don't expect anything and you'll get disappointed less when you play baseball."

Kyle McCulloch (11-4) pitched out of a first-inning jam and allowed six hits in seven shutout innings with three walks and seven strikeouts. J. Brent Cox pitched the final two innings to complete just the sixth CWS shutout since 1994.

It was also Texas' first shutout at the CWS since 1983 when Calvin Schiraldi blanked James Madison.

"It was unbelievable some of the plays they were making tonight," McCulloch said.

"Anytime you have the defense making plays like that, you just throw it over the plate and let the other team put it in play and the defense makes plays. And you get outs."

Texas (53-16) scored two in the first off Tulane's top lefty, Brian Bogusevic, added two more in the fifth and another in the sixth, while collecting 12 hits.

The Longhorns wasted little time in jumping on Bogusevic (13-3), with a first-inning error by shortstop Tommy Manzella leading the way.