How Texas Baseball Beat Baylor to Stay Unbeaten

This weekend was widely considered the first true test for No. 3 Texas Longhorns, who traveled to Houston for the Bruce Bolt College Classic to face three Power 4 opponents.

Texas passed its first test Friday with an emphatic 8-1 win over No. 9 Coastal Carolina, highlighted by an exemplary outing from ace Ruger Rojas and an absolute show from the Longhorn offense. But tonight presented a new challenge against a strong Baylor team fresh off its own ranked victory over No. 25 Ole Miss.

But the Bears couldn’t find that same magic tonight, as the good times keep on rolling for the Longhorns, who remain undefeated with a 5-2 victory — a game that was briefly tightened following some late pressure and uneven pitching from the Longhorn staff.

The win marked career victory No. 1,000 for head coach Jim Schlossnagle, making him the seventh active coach to reach 1,000 Division I wins.

Texas survives rocky pitching behind timely offense

Texas infielder Ethan Mendoza makes the turn on a double play in the third round of the SEC Baseball Tournament at the Hoover Met. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Texas didn’t need a barrage of offense Saturday night.

After Friday’s home run-heavy performance, offense came at a premium. Instead, Baylor’s defensive struggles proved decisive. The Bears committed four errors at Daikin Park, opening the door for two crucial unearned runs.

Texas broke through in the bottom of the first after loading the bases with two outs. Anthony Pack Jr. lined a single through the right side to plate Ethan Mendoza and Adrian Rodriguez, and a misplay in right field allowed Temo Becerra to score as well, giving Texas a quick three-run advantage — all unearned.

The Longhorns added on again in the third inning, once more taking advantage of Baylor defensive trouble. Rodriguez reached on an error, stole second and later scored on Pack Jr.’s RBI single, his third run driven in of the night. Casey Borba followed with a perfectly executed safety squeeze to push the lead to 5–0.

The pitching performance wasn’t as stellar for the Longhorns tonight as in previous outings, as the staff issued a season-high nine walks.

Starter Luke Harrison opened the game steadily, working three scoreless innings with two strikeouts.

But trouble arrived in the fourth, when some struggles with command caught up to him. The left-hander issued a career-high five walks, and Baylor finally broke through after multiple free passes helped manufacture two runs.

Harrison exited after 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit but being charged with both runs.

“I think he's better pitcher than what he showed tonight in terms of commanding the baseball,” Schlossnagle said. “The whole game felt uphill. Think Baylor had a lot to do with that.”

Reliever Max Grubbs stabilized the game, limiting the damage and tossing 1.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts to earn the win.

From there, the bullpen took control.

Michael Winter flashed upper-90s velocity during a scoreless sixth before Haiden Leffew struck out three straight batters to escape a seventh-inning jam. Ethan Walker and Thomas Burns combined to shut the door late, with Burns recording the final four outs for his second save of the season.

Baylor threatened multiple times, but stranded 11 runners and finished just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Redshirt senior Tyce Armstrong, one of the Bears’ most dangerous hitters entering the weekend, was held hitless and struck out three times.

Offensively, Pack Jr. led Texas with two hits and three RBIs, while Presley Courville added a double as part of a seven-hit night for the Longhorns.

Texas will look to continue its strong start Sunday at 2:05 p.m. against Ohio State.