Texas’ Bats Wake Up Early, Riojas Slams Door on Michigan State

There were no questions about early momentum for Texas’ bats Friday night. Or questions regarding the offense at all, really.

The Longhorns cruised to an 8-1 win over Michigan State in another convincing performance at the Disch.

The night saw three home runs from three separate hitters and an excellent outing on the mound from Ruger Rojas.

Texas Baseball Fires on All Cylinders Against Spartans

there’s hot and then there’s whatever @_EthanMendoza is rn 🔥#HookEm pic.twitter.com/o15itMXALT
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 21, 2026

Coming into tonight, Michigan State was riding high after a road series win over then-No. 8 Louisville, creating a potential upset watch. But that concern didn’t last long.

Texas rolled to its fifth straight victory behind Riojas, who set the tone early and never relinquished control. The veteran right-hander struck out 10 over six innings, allowing just one run on three hits. He capped off his night by striking out the side in the sixth inning.

“He’s throwing harder than he has in his career,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “All the stuff he put in this summer has really shown itself on the field.”

Michigan State’s lone breakthrough came in the third inning when Ryan McKay delivered a two-out RBI single, but Riojas settled back in and kept Spartan hitters off balance the rest of the night.

After routine slow starts earlier this season, Texas finally broke through early. RBI production from Ashton Larson and Ethan Mendoza helped the Longhorns take an early 2–0 lead, and the lineup remained disciplined against Michigan State starter Aiden Donovan by consistently using the right side of the field.

“Luckily, we have a lot of guys who can really do that well,” Schlossnagle said.

Ethan Mendoza had himself a night after launching a a two-run homer in the fourth — his third home run of the young season. He finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.

But the power surge didn’t stop for the Longhorns. Casey Borba added a two-run homer to left-center, and freshman Anthony Pack Jr. followed with the first home run of his collegiate career in the sixth. Texas totaled 11 hits and scored in four different innings.

After Riojas exited, Michael Winter, Brett Crossland and Brody Walls combined for three scoreless innings to close the game.

“You saw how talented Winter, Crossland, and Walls are,” Schlossnagle said. “Those guys are going to be really good pitchers for us for a really long time.”

Michigan State finished with five hits and struck out 14 times as Texas delivered one of its most complete performances of the season.

The Longhorns will look for a similar result Saturday when Luke Harrison takes the mound for Game 2 at 2 p.m. at Disch-Falk Field.