Texas Baseball Holds Off Late USC Upstate Rally to Take Game 2

What looked like a routine rout of the USC Upstate Spartans quickly turned into quite the lengthy ordeal.

For four innings, the Longhorns failed to generate consistent firepower. And after an up-and-down start from Luke Harrison and some costly errors, Texas found itself in a precarious spot with the game tied 3-3 in the top of the fifth.

But Texas’ bats came alive in the fifth inning, plating seven runs and blasting a two-run homer from Aiden Robbins to push the Longhorns ahead 10-3.

Then came an hour-and-20-minute rain delay — followed by a chaotic ninth inning that saw USC Upstate score six runs and expose some shaky relief pitching.

But the Longhorns held on to defeat the Spartans 11-9 in the second game of the series.

Bats Find Life in The Fifth

The Harwich Mariners' Aiden Robbins (Seton Hall) celebrates after hitting a home run. | Cameron Merritt/Taunton Daily Gazette / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At this point, it’s been a familiar story for the Longhorns, who often find themselves in tight games before suddenly breaking things open in a single inning.

Texas jumped out to an early lead in the first, putting three runs on the board while benefiting from a costly USC Upstate error. Robbins, shortstop Adrian Rodriguez and third baseman Temo Becerra each drove in a run.

But things slowed down from there.

USC Upstate answered in the second inning when second baseman Gage Griggs doubled, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a double to right-center from first baseman Wylie Waters to cut the deficit to two.

The Spartans tied the game in the fifth. DH Johnny Sweeney led off the inning with a solo home run to right field. Later in the frame, Texas turned to Brett Crossland with two outs, but an error by Becerra allowed another run to score, evening the game at 3-3.

Then everything clicked in the bottom half of the inning, per usual.

After catcher Carson Tinney singled, Robbins launched a two-run home run to put Texas back in front.

this man has us speechless 🤘#HookEm | @AidenRobbins43 pic.twitter.com/Gxv88aqV8F
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) March 7, 2026

And things kept on moving for the Longhorns, who took advantage of more USC Upstate defensive struggles. First baseman Casey Borba delivered a two-run single, and outfielder Ashton Larson added an RBI double. Texas later drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks from Tinney and Rodriguez to extend the inning and push the lead to 10-3.

passing the baton 🤝#HookEm | @CaseyBorba pic.twitter.com/sTCD7f0QsH
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) March 7, 2026

But the Longhorns failed to get much going after that, plating just one more run when outfielder Anthony Pack Jr. drove in Rodriguez with an RBI groundout in the eighth.

USC Upstate mounted a chaotic rally in the ninth, loading the bases and scoring six runs against multiple Texas relievers. The Spartans strung together several hits and walks to cut the deficit to two and bring the tying run to the plate.

Thomas Burns entered trying to extinguish the rally but recorded just one out before being lifted. Michael Winter finally secured the final out with the tying run on first base, allowing Texas to escape with the win after nearly four hours of game time.

“There's no clock in baseball. You have to get all 27 outs. There's no way for me to run the clock out, or for the team to run the clock out,” said head coach Jim Schlossnagle. “That's the beauty and the demonic nature of baseball.”

Harrison battles through uneven start

Starter Luke Harrison turned in another up-and-down performance. The left-hander struck out two in a clean third inning and escaped a fourth-inning jam after allowing back-to-back singles by striking out the next three Spartans.

But things unraveled in the fifth after Harrison allowed a home run — his first of the season — and two doubles. Harrison finished with 4⅔ innings pitched, allowing seven hits and two earned runs.

Texas leaned heavily on its bullpen the rest of the way, using nine pitchers in relief.

Barring any further rain delays, the Longhorns will return to UFCU Disch-Falk Field for the series finale Sunday at noon.