June 18, 2005
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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Texas snapped a four-game losing streak to Big 12 rival Baylor on Saturday night, getting seven strong innings from pitcher Adrian Alaniz and a two-run homer by Seth Johnston in a 5-1 victory over the Bears in the College World Series.
The Longhorns, 0-4 against Baylor this season, avoided becoming the first Texas team to lose five times to an opponent in the same year.
Texas (52-16) advances to a Monday night game against Tulane, which defeated Oregon State 3-1 early Saturday. Baylor (44-23) plays the Beavers in an elimination game Monday afternoon.
Baylor swept a three-game series from the Longhorns in March, then beat them again last month at the Big 12 tournament.
But the Longhorns, in the CWS for a record 32nd time, combined strong pitching and timely hitting to defeat a Baylor team that's in Omaha for only the third time overall and first time since 1978.
Alaniz (7-3) allowed only seven singles, retiring 10 of the last 11 batters he faced before turning the game over to J. Brent Cox in the eighth. Alaniz struck out three, gave up one run and walked two in his 120-pitch outing.
Cox allowed only a double to Zach Dillon in two scoreless innings.
Texas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against St. Louis Cardinals first-round draft pick Mark McCormick (8-4). Nick Peoples led off with a single before Johnston hit his ninth homer of the season.
Johnston, who went 2-for-5, was 10-for-20 (.500) in the five games against Baylor.
McCormick went six innings, allowing five hits and four runs, two earned. He walked three and struck out four.
The Bears used a two-out rally to score their only run in the fourth. Kevin Russo started things with a check-swing single, and Seth Fortenberry followed with a base hit. Paul Witt's single between the shortstop and third baseman drove in Russo.
After Jeff Mandel walked to load the bases, Alaniz ended the threat by getting Michael Griffin to fly out to the warning track in left.
A throwing error by McCormick allowed two runs to score in the sixth, breaking the game open.
With two out and runners on first and second, Robby Hudson's swinging bunt pulled McCormick off the mound to his right. McCormick made a nice play to field the ball, but he overthrew Mandel at first, allowing Carson Kainer and Taylor Teagarden to score.
Hudson's RBI single made it 5-1 in the eighth.
