Longhorns Notebook: No. 12 Texas Stays Red Hot, Sweeps Santa Clara

The good times just keep on getting better for the No. 12 Texas Longhorns (13-1). Entering their weekend series against the Santa Clara Broncos (7-7), they found themselves on a 10-game winning streak and aimed to extend it to 13 games.

After the first two games ended in a win, the Longhorns headed into Sunday's contest eager to complete their second sweep of the season. Playing excellent baseball all around helped them accomplish this feat.

A remarkable outing from Dylan Volantis in his first career start led the way. The freshman southpaw was excellent on the mound for the Longhorns, tossing 5.1 innings of one-run baseball while striking three and limiting the Broncos to four hits.

Offensively, the Longhorns came up with clutch hits in multiple situations and continued their ability to win games in a plethora of ways as they did their job in the 6-1 win to get the sweep and Texas' 13th straight win.

Texas Longhorns catcher Rylan Galvan (6) walks to home plate at the start of the game against Dartmouth at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. | Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now, here are three key takeaways from the Longhorns' three-game sweep of Santa Clara.

Third starter identified

Texas' first two starters in the rotation have been established from the season's opening weekend, as both Jared Spencer and Luke Harrison have shined on the mound. However, the third spot was up for grabs after Kade Bing struggled to find consistency in his outings.

That opened the door for freshman Dylan Volantis, who made his first career start in the series finale against the Broncos. And he delivered an absolute gem. Keeping Santa Clara off balance, the southpaw delivered 5.1 innings while allowing only one run.

If Volantis can repeat that success in conference play then the Longhorns have a strong rotation that can keep them in a game.

Diverse offense

No one will deny how exciting it is to watch as hitters come to the plate and bash home runs way over the outfield fence. It's one of the most thrilling viewer experiences in sports. However, an over reliance on the longball can be detrimental to an offense and what it wants to get done.

The Longhorns, though, have shown that they are not one of those teams. Sure, they have sluggers up and down the lineup capable of going deep at any moment. They can do more than just that, though.

Sunday's finale showed this as only one of the six runs came via the long ball. Four of them coming on a pair of two-run singles from Tommy Farmer IV and Ethan Mendoza. Overall, this lineup is deep and capable of putting up runs in a plethora of ways -- which only makes this squad dangerous.

Home sweep home

Through eight games at UFCU Disch-Falk Field the Longhorns have yet to lose, sporting a perfect 8-0 record. They have outscored their opponents 50-17 in those contests, making sure to leave no doubt in any of their wins.

Yes, the competition has been teams that Texas should win. In college baseball, though, anything can happen this early in the season. Teams drop games of these caliber all the time. Managing to dominate their way to an undefeated record at home so far is a good thing and bodes well as the Longhorns prepare themselves for conference play.

What's next for Texas?

The Longhorns are back in action on Tuesday evening as they wrap up their five-game homestand against the UT Arlington Mavericks (4-8) at 6:30 p.m. CT.

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