OMAHA, Neb. -- Keith Moreland remembers the last time Texas played South Carolina in the College World Series.

Moreland, a member of the 1975 Texas team that beat South Carolina 5-1, is one of the Longhorns Sports Network's radio voices.

"I'm more nervous now than I ever was as a player,'' Moreland said before the first pitch of Texas' 12-6 victory Saturday. "That was something special. I've told our kids to absorb everything they can absorb because they'll remember it the rest of their lives.''

Moreland, who played 12 years in the majors, played in Omaha in 1973, '74 and '75. He led the tournament in hitting the next year and still holds the CWS record for career hits with 23 and made the all-tournament team in 1973 at third base.

"I've been waiting for somebody to break it,'' he said of his record. "There have been a lot of great players come through here.''

In Moreland's first year with the Longhorns, his team lost to eventual champion Southern California in the first round, but battled back in the loser's bracket until Arizona State beat Texas 6-5 in the semifinals.

In 1974, Texas again lost to USC in the first round, but battled back to Game 12 again, only to lose to the champion Trojans 5-3.

"USC had a tendency to send a lot of teams home during those years under coach (Rod) Dedeaux,'' he said. "When we came here in '73 and '74, we thought we could play with anybody in the country.''

In 1975, Texas overcame a second-round loss to Arizona State, battled back through the losers' bracket to beat South Carolina twice, 17-6 for the Gamecocks' first loss of the tournament in the semifinals, then 5-1 for the title.

"That was something special, something I will never forget,'' said Moreland, who was a member of the Philadelphia's 1980 World Series team.

"I've played in the World Series, the big one, and walked away from it with a ring and that's the only thing that would compare to it ... that and walking down the tunnel of a Texas-OU football game when I played football. That rates right there.''

Stars shine
Huston Street, who set a CWS record with four saves, led five Texas players on the all-tournament team.

Longhorns second baseman Tim Moss, third baseman Omar Quintanilla, outfielder Dustin Majewski and pitcher Justin Simmons joined Street on the team, which is selected by the media.

Runner-up South Carolina had catcher Landon Powell and outfielder Justin Harris named to the team.

Others selected were Clemson first baseman Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech shortstop Victor Menocal, Stanford outfielder Sam Fuld and Notre Dame outfielder Steve Stanley was picked as the designated hitter.

Love 'em or hate 'em
One thing coach Augie Garrido learned about Texas is the passion fans have when it comes to Longhorns sports.

Garrido says the thing about passion is that it results in either love or hate.

"There's no indifference,'' he said.

He said the best advice he received in learning how to deal with that passion came from the wife of former Texas football coaching great, Darrel Royal. He said she told him to not read his e-mails. None of them.

When reminded he also would miss the good ones, he joked: "I already have enough self-esteem. It's just a matter of how long I hold on to it.''

Welcome to Omaha
The College World Series brings a lot of tourists to the Omaha area, and one small church just a few blocks south of Rosenblatt Stadium has special reason to enjoy the tournament.

St. Rose Catholic Church offers its 200-space parking lot for CWS fans. At $5 per game, half what the city asks for stadium parking, the St. Rose spaces are full throughout the CWS.

The parish raised a record $13,000 last year and figured that total would be surpassed this season.

One of those directing traffic has been 81-year-old Kathryn Weathers. She has been attending the church for 55 years and helping with parking lot duty at the CWS the last 10.

If you build it ...
This year's College World Series broke a number of tournament attendance records, thanks to home-state Nebraska qualifying for a second year and expanded seating in the bleachers.

The title game Saturday drew 24,089, bringing the 14-game total to a record 223,762. The tournament average of 22,376 also was a record.

In the 53-year history of the event in Omaha, 5,153,985 fans have attended the CWS.