NCAA BASEBALL Texas coach reaches milestone with win; 'Horns return to CWS

Florida State has been eliminated in three straight super regionals.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Texas Longhorns earned a return trip to the College World Series and made Augie Garrido the winningest coach in Division I history in the process.
Garrido, who has won four national championships, passed former Longhorns coach Cliff Gustafson with his 1,428th victory -- 6-5 over top-seeded Florida State in the super regionals Monday night.
"It's about a number and a moment in time," said Garrido, who won three titles with Cal State Fullerton and another with Texas last year. "When you dig into it, it's about relationships."
Consecutive-pitch HRs
Taylor Teagarden and Curtis Thigpen homered on consecutive pitches in the third inning as the Longhorns (48-18) took a 5-2 lead, on their way to a two-game sweep of the Seminoles (54-13-1).
Huston Street, last year's CWS Most Outstanding Player, struck out three of the first five hitters he faced and got Tony Richie to ground back to the mound with two runners on for his 12th career postseason save.
"It was a championship-type of game," said Garrido, in his 35th season as a college coach.
"Street needs to have a street named after him," Florida State coach Mike Martin said. "What a great display of competitiveness."
Richie homered and drove in three runs for the Seminoles, who have never won a national title. They have also been eliminated in three straight super regionals, including the last two at home as the tournament's top-seeded team.
Matt Lynch (13-4), who came in with a 42-7 career record at Florida State, had been bothered in recent days with a blister on his pitching hand but told coaches he was OK to make the critical start.
He ended up making his earliest exit of the season after allowing five runs and five hits in 2 2/3 innings.
J. Brent Cox (6-0) pitched three innings of relief after taking over for starter Justin Simmons.
Stephen Drew, the Seminoles' leadoff hitter, did not play because of a hamstring injury suffered in Sunday night's game when he slipped rounding second base.
"I feel bad about their injuries," Garrido said. "It made it seem like it just wasn't meant to be for them."
Texas, making its NCAA-record 30th College World Series appearance, will play Miami on Saturday in its first-round game at Omaha, Neb. The Longhorns and Hurricanes join Rice, Southwest Missouri State, Louisiana State, Cal State Fullerton, Stanford and South Carolina in the College World Series.
Rice 5, Houston 2
HOUSTON -- Wade Townsend struck out nine, and Dane Bubela's two-run single helped Rice (53-11) advance to the CWS for the fourth time in seven years.
Townsend (10-1) worked eight innings and allowed four hits, including an RBI single by Travis Tully in the first inning. He walked two and retired 11 straight during one stretch.