Southwest tries to keep breakout season intact

OMAHA, Neb. -- Southwest Missouri State isn't happy just to be at the College World Series for the first time.

The Bears were a surprise at-large selection to the NCAA's field of 64. That attitude ended when they went on the road and won the regional at Nebraska and then the super regional at Ohio State.

Coach Keith Guttin doesn't want his team to be this year's lovable underdog at the College World Series.

"We never beat that drum, and we're not going to start now," Guttin said Thursday. "We felt early on that we were going to be a good club. Like a lot of clubs, you have peaks and valleys. The peak is here, and it has been the last two weeks."

The CWS opens today with South Carolina (44-20) playing Stanford (46-15) and Cal State Fullerton (48-14) meeting Louisiana State (45-20-1).

First-round games Saturday pit Southwest Missouri State (40-24) against Rice (53-11) and defending national champion Texas (48-18) against Miami (44-15-1).

Southwest Missouri State is no stranger to college athletics' big stages.

The school has a 21-sport program that operates on roughly $10 million a year.

"We are a true mid-major," said athletic director Bill Rowe, who also is a member of the Division I baseball committee. "We're grateful for what we've got, but we also want to do the most we can with it."

The men's basketball team has been to the NCAA tournament six times since 1987, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 1999.

The women's basketball team has gone to the national tournament 10 times since 1991 and reached the Final Four in 1992 and 2001.

This is the seventh time the Bears have played in the NCAA baseball tournament.

Of all those times, this wasn't the year the Bears thought they'd make it to Omaha.

"Ohio State and Nebraska have those big budgets," Rowe said, "but when you step between the lines, all you've got is your 11.7 scholarships and your coaches. We'll take our chances."

While Guttin said his team will enjoy every minute it's in Omaha, third baseman Brooks Colvin promises not to get caught up in the new atmosphere.

"We've been the underdog the last two weekends," Colvin said. "Hopefully, the fans will adopt us."

South Carolina plays a Stanford team that is making its fifth straight CWS appearance.

The Gamecocks lost six of seven games in March, but since April 30 they are 16-3.

"In the middle of the season, we weren't sure we were going to play in our own conference tournament, but we were able to play pretty good baseball down the stretch," South Carolina coach Ray Tanner said.

Stanford, which lost five of its first eight games, has won 18 of its last 19 to earn its 15th trip to the CWS.

The Cardinal feature the nation's top catcher in Ryan Garko and pitchers John Hudgins (11-3) and Mark Romanczuk (12-0).

Fullerton opened the season with a three-game sweep of Stanford.

"Any time you can sweep Stanford, you know you have a pretty good ballclub," Titans coach George Horton said.

LSU is back at the CWS for the first time since 2000. It's the first trip for Smoke Laval as head coach. He took over in 2001 for college baseball icon Skip Bertman, who now is LSU's athletic director.

The Tigers have overcome a number of injuries to the pitching staff and the offseason death of third baseman Wally Pontiff.

"Following a guy named Skip Bertman, when you open up the season and it's a 3-2 count, the fans let you know about it," Laval said. "So when you start 6-6, it isn't a whole lot of fun in Baton Rouge. There have been a lot of obstacles for this young club."

Rice is in the CWS for the fourth time since 1997. The Owls lost the first game of their super regional against Houston before winning two straight.

Augie Garrido, who became the winningest coach in Division I baseball history last week, brings Texas to the CWS for the 30th time in program history. The Longhorns will be seeking their sixth national title.

Miami, the 2001 national champion, is back after a year's absence. The Hurricanes, who start two freshmen, five sophomores and two juniors, have only three players from the 2001 squad.