June 17, 2002

By DOUG ALDEN
AP Sports Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - J.D. Reininger drove in four runs - two on a fourth-inning homer - and Texas held off Stanford 8-7 Monday night in a winners' bracket game at the College World Series.

Jeff Ontiveros also homered and Tim Moss scored three runs for the Longhorns (55-15).

Texas, which is in the CWS for the 29th time and has won four national titles, can advance to Saturday's championship game with one more win. The Longhorns will play again Thursday against either Stanford or Notre Dame, which play in an elimination game Tuesday night.

Alan Bomer (11-3) went six innings and allowed four runs and six hits. The Iowa State transfer, who went to Texas after the Cyclones dropped their program last spring, left to a loud round of applause from the Longhorns fans.

Huston Street pitched the final two innings and picked up his second save of the CWS and 12th this season.

Chris O'Riordan and Ryan Garko each drove in two runs for the Cardinal (46-17), who got within one run on Sam Fuld's RBI single with two outs in the ninth, but Street struck out Garko on a checked swing to end the game.

Stanford starter Tim Cunningham (10-3) lasted just 3 2-3 innings, allowing seven runs and five hits.

Ontiveros hit a solo homer in the third to give Texas a 3-0 lead. After Stanford cut it to 3-2 in the fourth, the Longhorns scored four in the bottom of the inning.

Texas got two runs after two walks, a single and a throwing error by Fuld. Then, with one runner on, Reininger hit a line drive that hit the top of the right-field wall and was ruled a home run.

After falling behind 7-2, Stanford got two in the sixth on sacrifice flies by Jason Cooper and O'Riordan and two more in the seventh on a single by Garko that made it 8-6.

Cunningham struggled right away against the Longhorns. Moss lined Cunningham's second pitch to center, Omar Quintanilla walked and Reininger drove in Moss with a single. Cunningham hit Ontiveros to load the bases and Quintanilla scored on a fielder's choice.