COLLEGE BASEBALL / GARY KLEIN : This Longhorn Has Come a Long Way

Cliff Gustafson had a modest goal when he became coach at Texas in 1968.

“I just wanted to do well enough to hold on to the job and not get run out of town,” he said.

Twenty-seven years later, Gustafson is on the verge of becoming the winningest Division I baseball coach in history. Texas’ 6-5 victory Tuesday night over Houston Baptist was No. 1,332 for Gustafson, equaling the record set by former USC Coach Rod Dedeaux.

Gustafson, 63, has guided his teams to two national titles and a record of 1,332-325-2 in 26-plus seasons. Dedeaux won a record 11 national championships and was 1,332-571-11 in 45 seasons.

Gustafson can break the record tonight when the Longhorns open a three-game series against Grand Canyon at Austin, Tex.

“I never thought about personal goals at the outset of my coaching career,” said Gustafson, whose teams have made a record 17 College World Series appearances. “Somewhere along around 1986, when I was creeping up on 1,000, I became conscious of the number. I thought it would be nice to be the third guy after Dedeaux and (former Miami Coach) Ron Fraser.

“But to even talk about the Dedeaux mark was a little absurd.”

Ironically, Gustafson will break the record during a season in which the Longhorns will probably eclipse the school mark for most defeats. Texas is 31-16, two shy of the record of 18 lost by the 1989 and 1991 teams.

“We haven’t been playing very well as of late, but we could still be a good ballclub if each of our players elevates his game to his ability level,” Gustafson said. “As for how long I plan to coach, well, as long as my health stays good and they want me to continue, I’ll be out there.”

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Trivia time: Which two major league general managers played on national championship teams at USC?

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Freshman sensation: Not since 1977, when Bill Bordley went 14-0, has a USC freshman pitcher been as successful as Randy Flores has this season.

Flores, a walk-on from El Rancho High in Pico Rivera, is 7-0 with a 1.23 earned-run average for the fourth-ranked Trojans. The 5-foot-11, 151-pound left-hander has pitched three shutouts and four complete games, including a 9-0 Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division victory over 10th-ranked Arizona State last weekend.

“When I came here, my goal was just to make the traveling team,” said Flores, who decided to attend USC on an academic scholarship after visiting Princeton, Air Force Academy and Oklahoma. “Developing a consistent third pitch, a changeup, has probably been the biggest key to the success I’ve had.”

Flores has struck out 38 and walked only 16 in 66 innings. He is one of the main reasons USC is 30-12 overall and leading the Southern Division with a 16-8 record.

The Trojans play host to UCLA on Friday night in the opener of a three-game conference series and conclude their conference schedule next weekend at California. Stanford (14-7) is in second place with nine conference games left. Arizona State is 13-8 with nine conference games remaining.

“I really haven’t had much time to think about being undefeated or things like that because we’re in such a tight conference race,” Flores said. “The team is playing really, really well behind me. So I’m just going to try to keep doing the things that have been working.”

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Southwest slugger: While traditional powers such as Texas and Texas A&M; have struggled this season, 10 players from California have helped No. 25 Texas Tech position itself for a run at its first Southwest Conference title since joining the league in 1968.

Randy DuRoss, a six-foot, 180-pound junior first baseman from La Verne, is batting .313 with a team-high 10 home runs and 38 runs batted in for the Red Raiders, who are 35-12 and 9-3 in the SWC heading into this weekend’s series against Rice.

DuRoss, who hit three homers during his first two years in Lubbock, homered in four consecutive games earlier this season. Batting second in the lineup, DuRoss also has 13 sacrifices, one shy of the school record.

“My coach and I agree that I should stay where I am in the order because I’m not really a No. 3- or 4-type hitter,” DuRoss said.

DuRoss and pitcher Jason Whittle, a junior transfer from Riverside Community College who is 8-3 with a 2.66 ERA, will probably help Texas Tech gain its first NCAA playoff berth. Last season, the Red Raiders finished 43-15 but were passed over because of a weak schedule.

“We’ve played much better teams this season and think we can get to the regional,” DuRoss said. “We want to show people there are more than a couple of good baseball schools in Texas.”

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Production line: With a 13-26 overall record and 6-12 mark in the Pacific 10 Southern Division, UCLA is having one of its worst seasons since Gary Adams became coach in 1975.

UCLA, however, led the nation in the number of former players on opening-day major league rosters.

Eleven former Bruins started the season in the majors. Arizona State and Stanford each had 10 players in the majors, followed by Michigan with nine, Florida State with eight and Arizona, Minnesota and Oklahoma State each with seven.

USC had six. Fullerton, Louisiana State and Wichita State each had five.

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Trivia answer: Pat Gillick of the Toronto Blue Jays (1958) and Larry Himes of the Chicago Cubs (1961).

All-Time Victories

A look at the winningest coaches Division I college baseball history:

Coach Years Victories Rod Dedeaux 45 1,332 Cliff Gustafson 27 1,332 Ron Fraser 30 1,271 Bill Wilhelm 36 1,161 Bobo Brayton 33 1,151 Al Ogletree 37 1,143 Jack Stallings 33 1,089 Jim Brock 23 1,086 Chuck Hartman 35 1,052 Augie Garrido 26 1,033

Note: The all-time record for coaching victories is held by Gordie Gillespie of St. Francis (Ill.), an NAIA school, who has 1,363 victories.