No. 3 Texas' Bullpen Delivers Gutsy Performance in Baylor Win: Longhorns Notebook

The No. 3 Texas Longhorns (10-0) continued rolling through their early part of the schedule when they opened the Bruce Bolt College Classic on Friday with an 8-1 blowout victory of the No. 9 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

It would've been easy for them to then look past their next opponent, the Baylor Bears (6-4). Especially with the Bears entering the game with plenty of momentum. Fortunately, that was not the case for the Longhorns in this one.

From the first inning it was all Texas, as a three-run single from Anthony Pack Jr. put the Longhorns ahead. They'd plate two more two innings later in the third, giving their bullpen all the run support they needed and doing their job in an outstanding 5-2 victory to remain undefeated on the season.

Now, here are three key takeaways from the Longhorns' 5-2 victory over the Bears.

Texas Longhorns second baseman Ethan Mendoz — Texas infielder Ethan Mendoza (5) makes the turn on a double play against Tennessee in the SEC Baseball Tournament. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Longhorns did their thing once again against the Bears

Coming out swinging

Over their first eight games, the Longhorns showed they can strike in an instant and put up a crooked number on the scoreboard. However, there had also been multiple slow starts as the bats took until the middle innings to wake up. That has not been the case so far in Houston.

They were hot out of the gate once again on Saturday evening and wasted no time jumping all over the Baylor starter. Putting up three runs in the bottom of the first and then two more in the third, they chased him from the game after just three innings of work.

Starts like this are exactly what the Longhorns will aim for consistently, and if they can get them? Then the potential is there to do some serious damage as the season develops and conference play arrives.

Harrison struggles with command

While Luke Harrison emerged as one of the best pitchers in the SEC in 2025, he was not without his struggles. One of the areas which he had issues more than any other was his penchant for issuing free passes. He led the Longhorns in both walks issued (24) and hit batters (21).

Those same issues were on full display in his brief outing against the Bears on Saturday. Harrison lasted only 3.1 innings and his command was never quite there. Issuing five walks, the veteran southpaw allowed two runs to score and exited with his shorting out of the season so far.

That being said, there is no need to panic quite yet. Bad outings are bound to happen, and Harrison has shown he can bounce back with the best of them in the past.

Bullpen dialed in, again

It may feel like cheating to pick the bullpen to highlight for the second straight game, but their performance against the Bears was especially notable. Harrison did not have his best stuff and as a result, only went 3.1 innings -- leaving the game having given up a pair of runs.

Those would be the only two runs scored by Baylor, though. From there it was an absolute dominant performance from the Longhorns' bullpen, starting with Max Grubbs and ending with Thomas Burns recording his second save after recording the final four outs.

Games like this are huge for the Longhorns, as they show that even when their typically reliable starters struggle the bullpen will be right their to shoulder the load and lead the way to another victory.

What’s next for Texas?

The Longhorns will look to sweep their way through the weekend against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday afternoon from Daikin Park at 2 p.m. CT.