Luke Harrison Locks Down the Mound, No. 2 Texas Longhorns Splits Series

After falling for the first time this season last night and unloading six relief pitchers against Ole Miss, the No. 2 Texas Longhorns needed a big start from veteran pitcher Luke Harrison.

Harrison, who struggled numbers-wise compared to fellow starters Ruger Riojas and Dylan Volantis to open up his final season in Austin, had a vintage performance when the Longhorns needed him the most.

Harrison tossed for a career-high seven innings, striking out eight batters and allowing just five hits and two runs to pass him. The Longhorns responded, splitting the series in a dominant 11-2 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas.

“We all needed to see that kind of response after a tough one [last night],” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “[Those games], they keep me up at night, because when those kinds of things happen, you replay the whole game in your mind. Luckily, I don't think the players do that. I think the players do a much better job.”

Harrison Hot To Trot

our guy 💪#HookEm | @luke_harrison18 pic.twitter.com/eRHf4t8GuJ
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) March 14, 2026

It was an ugly night for the Texas bullpen in the series opener on Friday, and the late-game collapse depleted the bullpen for the rest of the weekend.

Harrison needed to make it to at least five innings on the mound for Texas this afternoon, and he delivered, adding two more for the longest start of his career.

“Max has done a good job with all of our pitchers, kind of just moving on to the next play, moving on to the next pitch and getting back in the strike zone,” Schlossnagle said. “[Harrison] did a really good job of that, especially in the first, kind of had him on the ropes, and he really made some good pitches to kind of give us a chance to score first.”

In the second inning, Harrison almost had an immaculate inning on the mound, but his first pitch of the inning was fouled off by Rebels left fielder Tristan Sirmans in the at-bat.

Still, the veteran pitcher was able to toss for three strikeouts with 10 pitches, closing up the inning swiftly.

Despite allowing the lead-off batter on base in five of his seven innings, Harrison was able to maintain composure, allowing the game's only runs in the third inning following a throwing error and wild pitch to put Ole Miss in scoring position.

“It’s all about the team, that's kind of what I do for you, go out there and do it for the guys,” Harrison said.

Ethan Walker, the Longhorns' only relief pitcher, came in the eighth inning and tossed for two strikeouts himself while allowing just two hits to secure the victory over the Rebels. With the big performance by Harrison, Texas is in a great position, bullpen-wise, heading into tomorrow’s rubber game.

Ole Miss Ace Injury Forces Rebels to Tap into Bullpen Early

The Rebels were stricken with bad luck in the form of starting pitcher Cade Townsen going down with an injury in the top of the second inning after he threw a high pitch against Ashton Larson.

After the pitch, Townsen paused the game, causing his coaches to meet with him on the mound. Townsen tossed a warmup pitch, but again, it sailed far outside the plate — he was pulled from the game, forcing Ole Miss to tap into its bullpen after just one full inning.

It was a decisive blow for the Rebels. Heading into Townsend’s start, he was riding an impressive 0.48 ERA and was one of the Southeastern Conference's most imposing pitchers to open up the season.

The Longhorns were able to flex another dominant performance at the place against the Rebels' relievers, jumping out to their eighth consecutive game, registering 10-plus hits.

Texas will look to clinch the series with Ole Miss tomorrow at 12 p.m. CT at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas.