OMAHA, Neb. -- Cal State-Fullerton got a taste of Omaha long before the College World Series.

When coach George Horton wanted a sample of dirt from Rosenblatt Stadium last winter, he recruited Omaha native April Vanderhook, the wife of assistant coach Rick Vanderhook.

Mrs. Vanderhook was going home before Christmas and was going to get a jar of dirt and bring it back for the Titans for the upcoming season. She ran out of time on her trip, so her teen-age nephews climbed the fence, dug through about eight inches of snow and got the sample.

A jar was shipped to Fullerton and the Titans got a look at it on the opening day of practice. It didn't come out again until Fullerton beat Mississippi State in the super regionals last week.

"I don't know if it was so much a superstitious thing," Rick Vanderhook said. "Your goal is to come here and play on Saturday -- the last day here. It was just a little symbol of where we want to go and what we want to do."

The dirt is back in Omaha for each of the Titans' CWS games.

"We keep it in the dugout, just in case someone wants to rub a little on himself for good luck," left fielder Louie Lamour said.

The Titans could have used a little more on Wednesday, when they were knocked out by Stanford 4-1.

Vols ritual
Before each game at Rosenblatt Stadium, the Tennessee Volunteers jog out to center field, jump up and touch the 408-foot marker at the top of the fence.

It's the same ritual they do at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, where there is a sign on the center field fence commemorating Tennessee's only other CWS appearances, in 1951 and '95.

"We don't have that here, so we touch the 408," coach Rod Delmonico said. "It's just sort of a symbolic thing of 'Hey, that's where we want to go. That's where we want to end the season.' "

On Tuesday, the Vols made an additional jog to the left field fence after beating Southern California 10-2. A group of fans, some painted in orange, had been cheering on left fielder Jeff Christensen throughout the series. Christensen came through with a two-run homer and four RBI against USC.

"I just told the guys to go out there and shake their hand -- give them some energy back, because they certainly did give us some energy," Delmonico said.

Theft alert
The catchers in Thursday's Tennessee-Miami game may be a little tired when it's over.

The Volunteers and Hurricanes like to run the bases -- a lot.

Miami leads the nation in stolen bases with 219 in 261 attempts. Tennessee is second with 159 in 199 tries.

Timing is everything
It's a good thing Stanford pitcher Jeremy Guthrie is an optimist.

The Cardinal right-hander, who got the win Wednesday night as Stanford beat Cal State Fullerton 4-1, scheduled his wedding for June 20, a date that would give him a few days after the CWS and before he starts in a summer league.

Stanford clinched a spot in the championship game and will be in Omaha through Saturday.

Guthrie's future got a little more complicated last week when Pittsburgh unexpectedly took him early in the third round of the draft with the 84th pick.

Guthrie still has two years of eligibility remaining.

Extra bases
According to official scorer Lou Spry, the winning team through the first 10 games averaged 17.6 pitches per inning and 158 per nine innings. The losing team threw 18.8 pitches an inning and 170 per nine. ... Tuesday's Cal State Fullerton-Tulane game was the 750th since the CWS came to Omaha in 1950. The first 11 CWS games were played in Kalamazoo, Mich., and Wichita, Kan. ... The home team for Saturday's championship game is still up in the air. If both teams are unbeaten or have one loss each, it will be decided by a coin flip. If one team is unbeaten and the other has a loss, the unbeaten team gets the last at-bat.