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.
Manzella picked up leadoff hitter Peoples' bouncer and threw over first. Peoples moved up on a sacrifice and then used a nice slide at the plate to just beat center fielder Nathan Southard's strong throw after a bloop single by Seth Johnston.
Will Crouch and Carson Kainer singled to load the bases, and Taylor Teagarden delivered the Longhorns' fourth straight hit to score Johnston.
"They took advantage of any breakdown we had. We got outplayed," Tulane coach Rick Jones said.
Tulane is in its second CWS and first since 2001, but Jones said the Longhorns' experience didn't decide the game.
"I don't believe that was the difference," he said. "We just couldn't bunch enough hits. They played well defensively. A couple of the catches in the outfield were outstanding."
McCulloch gave up a pair of two-out hits in the first, a single by Manzella and a double to Owings before retiring Mark Hamilton on a fly ball in which Peoples and center fielder Drew Stubbs nearly collided.
Texas made it 4-0 in the fifth on David Maroul's two-out, two-run double past third.
The speedy Peoples beat out an infield hit to short in the sixth, moved up on another sacrifice and came home on Crouch's RBI single off the left field fence.
Bogusevic, a first-round pick of the Houston Astros, gave up 11 hits and five runs in seven innings as Tulane fell to 55-11.
Tulane (55-11), the top seed in the tournament, now faces an elimination game like it did after losing the super regional opener to Rice before bouncing back.
"You can't win with a zero," Jones said. "We have to come out and be productive offensively. We've won too many games not to rebound when we have a slip-up."
BAYLOR 4, OREGON STATE 3: Baylor extended its first College World Series appearance in 27 years by at least one day the 10-inning victory over Oregon State on Monday.
Mike Pankratz, batting .193, blooped an RBI single over first baseman Andy Jenkins and just out of the reach of second baseman Chris Kunda, ending the Beavers' first appearance in the CWS since 1952.
The Bears (45-23) advanced to a Tuesday matchup against the loser of Monday night's game between Texas and Tulane.
Jeff Mandel (4-0) got the win for Baylor after holding Oregon State (46-12) to one hit in 4 2/3 innings of relief.
Josh Ford reached base safely leading off the 10th against Kevin Gunderson (6-4) after Beavers shortstop Darwin Barney couldn't field a high-bouncing grounder. Ford advanced to second on a sacrifice before Reid Brees singled through the left side of the infield to put runners on first and third.
Pankratz, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning, then got the game-winning hit on an 0-1 pitch.
Gunderson was effective in his 4 1-3 innings of work, holding the Bears hitless until Ford's single in the 10th.
Baylor starter Trey Taylor couldn't make it out of the second inning after walking five of the 10 batters he faced.