Dramatically, Texas Is Back

Texas earned a spot in the championship round and Arizona State stayed alive Wednesday in the College World Series at Omaha, Neb.

Chance Wheeless homered leading off the bottom of the ninth inning to give Texas a 4-3 victory over Baylor.

“When he hit the home run, I thanked him and his mother and father and their mothers and fathers and anybody who had anything to do with Chance being on this planet,” Texas Coach Augie Garrido said.

The loss eliminated the Bears (46-24) and kept the Longhorns (54-16) undefeated in three CWS games, including two victories over Baylor.

Arizona State rode the pitching of Erik Averill, who threw a five-hitter in a 6-1 victory over Florida (47-21).

The Sun Devils (42-24), who entered the CWS with the fewest wins of any team in the field, have won three in a row after losing in the first round, and are 5-0 in NCAA tournament elimination games.

The teams meet again today, with the winner advancing to the best-of-three championship series against Texas, scheduled to begin Saturday.

Averill’s complete game helped a relief corps that had worked 16 1/3 of Arizona State’s 26 previous innings.

Averill, selected in the 20th round of the major league draft by Detroit, had thrown 76 pitches in 5 2/3 innings of the Sun Devils’ 4-2 victory over Tennessee on Sunday. He threw 113 against the Gators, striking out seven and not giving up a walk.

“I was a little tired the first five innings, but then I got a second wind,” Averill said. “You never really know how much your body will give you until you ask it.”

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If Coach George Horton leaves Cal State Fullerton, it won’t be for Texas A&M.;

The Aggies have hired Nebraska pitching coach Rob Childress, Texas A&M; Athletic Director Bill Byrne announced.

Childress, 36, accepted the job after the Cornhuskers were eliminated from the CWS. He replaces Mark Johnson, who coached the Aggies for 21 seasons before being fired last month.

Horton, 51, had been considered a candidate for the job, although Fullerton officials are working to renegotiate his contract and increase the program’s staff and budget.

Horton said that getting help with “day-to-day chores in different areas” to allow him to concentrate on coaching was his top priority.

“We just need more bodies and more resources,” he said. “We need more help like many of the other Division I programs have.”

Horton said Oklahoma had also asked Fullerton for permission to speak with him about its coaching vacancy but that he had not been contacted by Sooner officials.

Clemson Coach Jack Leggett removed himself from consideration for the Oklahoma job on Wednesday. Sooner assistant Sunny Golloway is reportedly among the remaining candidates.

Childress guided a Nebraska pitching staff that had a 2.69 earned-run average, which was second in the nation behind Long Beach State.

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USC sophomore right-hander Ian Kennedy and junior catcher Jeff Clement were named to the Baseball America first team.

Kennedy was 12-3 this season with a 2.54 earned-run average. He struck out 158 in 117 innings.

Clement, selected third by Seattle in the major league draft, batted .348 with 15 home runs and 54 runs batted in.

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Schedule

Wednesday’s results and today’s game at the College World Series (time PDT):

WEDNESDAY

* Arizona State 6, Florida 1

* Texas 4, Baylor 3

TODAY ON ESPN

* Florida vs. Arizona State, 4 p.m. (winner advances to title series)