Longhorns Notebook: Pitching Shoves, Bats Wake up in 6-0 Win Over Incarnate Word

Entering their midweek contest against the Incarnate Word Cardinals (7-2), the No. 15 Texas Longhorns (6-1) were flying high. They'd won five straight games with the pitching staff firing on all cylinders.

Well, safe to say that trend continued with their showing against the Cardinals. After he was staked to a 1-0 lead freshman Jason Flores proceeded to absolutely deal. He gave the Longhorns three shutout innings in his first college start and stifled a potent lineup.

Behind him came the bullpen tandem of Max Grubbs and Ruger Riojas, who combined to throw five shutout innings themselves. Then the bats came to life late, pushing across five runs in their final two trips to the plate to give Texas a 6-0 lead and the victory.

Texas Longhorns infielder Ethan Mendoza (5) slides home to score the first point of the game for the Longhorns in the first inning as the Texas Longhorns take on the University of Incarnate Word Cardinals at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Feb. 25, 2025. | Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now, here are three key takeaways from the Longhorns' 6-0 win over the Cardinals.

Flores impresses in debut

The freshman was slated to make his college debut last Tuesday against Houston, but would see the game cancelled due to inclement weather. Fast forward a week and you can see exactly why the Longhorns' coaching staff was so high on him coming into the 2025 season.

His first two innings were perfect, as he didn't allow a single baserunner and tallied his first career strikeout in the third. He did run into some trouble in the third when he allowed the first two men to reach safely. Bouncing back, though, Flores tallied his second strikeout and induced a double play to escape the jam unscathed.

If he can continue to provide solid midweek outings, then Flores has the potential to develop into a premier arm for the Texas pitching staff.

Bats explode late

For most of this game it was an all-out pitcher's duel. The two potent offenses were held in check, as the Longhorns clung to a 1-0 lead heading into the seventh inning with only four hits to their name. Then the bats finally came to life.

Rylan Galvan smoked a two-run blast and then right behind him Ethan Mendoza joined the party, quickly pushing the lead to 4-0. Then the eighth inning was an extra base hit party as a Jalin Flores double, Casey Borba triple and Tommy Farmer IV double plated two more runs to put the Longhorns ahead 6-0 for good.

Mendoza stays red hot

Mendoza was one of the stars of the show at the plate for Texas during its three-game sweep of Dartmouth over the weekend. His bat came to life in a big way, with the second baseman recording his first home run as a Longhorn.

The Longhorns certainly hoped he'd carry that momentum into Tuesday's game, and he delivered. Unstoppable in the batter's box, he went 3-for-3, inclduing his second home run of the season, and drew two walks to reach safely every time he came to the plate.

On the year he is now hitting .421, trailing only Max Belyeu's .536, giving the Longhorns a bat that can hit both leadoff and in the nine hole to drive the lineup.

What's next for Texas?

The Longhorns will be back in action once again on Friday night, as they kick off the Las Vegas Classic against the Washington Huskies at 8 p.m. CT.

Join the Community:

Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE

You can follow us for future coverage by subscribing to our newsletter here. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @LonghornsCountryOnSI & follow us on Twitter at @LonghornsSI

Other Texas Longhorns News:

MORE: No. 15 Longhorns Blank Incarnate Word in 6-0 Shutout Win: Live Game Log

MORE: Longhorns Notebook: No. 16 Texas Rides Pitching to Dartmouth Sweep

MORE: Longhorns Baseball Climbs Into D1Baseball's Top 15

MORE: Texas Longhorns DT Bill Norton Confirms Departure for 2025

MORE: Texas Longhorns Closing in on New RB Coach