The Texas Longhorns are the first team to advance to the College World Series. After beating the Cougars 4-2 on Friday night, they shut them out in a game that was difficult. Parker French deserves a lot of credit for the Longhorns, going 6 innings and only allowing 5 hits and 2 walks. Oddly enough, the Longhorns didn't strike anyone out for the Cougars today. But they kept them off the board well enough, as the Cougars stranded 13 runners in the game. They even had the bases loaded in the top of the 8th inning, but then centerfielder Ashford Fulmer grounded out to shortstop, ending that rally.
Offensively, the Longhorns got all 4 runs in the bottom of the 4th inning. Shortstop C.J. Hinojosa helped by hitting a 2 RBI single, and then he stole 2nd base. Rightfielder Collin Shaw hit a sacrifice fly scoring Madison Carter. Hinjosa then scored on a RBI single by first baseman Kacy Clemens, the son of former MLB great Roger Clemens.
In Omaha, the Longhorns are probably going to be the traditional power that arrives. They have won 6 National Titles in baseball, most recently in 2005, and have also been runner-up 6 times. This is their 35th time to make it to the College World Series, and even though they came into the tournament as a #2 seed, already over half of the 1 seeds have been eliminated, and they have to be considered a strong threat to win it all in Omaha.