The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Texas Baseball's Win vs. Michigan State in Series Opener

The No. 3 Texas Longhorns were dominant at the plate and on the mound Friday night at homejumping out to an 8-1 victory over the Michigan State Spartans, who were coming off a top-10 series victory over the Louisville Cardinals.

Texas senior pitcher Ruger Riojas proved for the second time why he was chosen as the Friday starter. Riojas lasted six innings, tying his career high in strikeouts with 10, and allowed just one earned run in his second start of the season.

Longhorns second baseman Ethan Mendoza, first baseman Casey Borba, and freshman standout Anthony Pack Jr. all fired home runs in an offensively dominant night. Texas relinquished control in the second inning and never allowed Michigan State to build momentum.

The Good - Up on the Board Early

you'll always remember your first 🤘#HookEm | @theeantpack pic.twitter.com/NKRM9UiajY
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 21, 2026

In their run-rule victory over the Lamar Cardinals, the Longhorns found themselves on the other side of the scoreboard, trailing early. Tonight, Texas flipped the script, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the second frame.

“You have to score to win the game. So scoring first obviously gives you a chance to win, a better chance to win the game than scoring second,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said “I think we've put together good at bats, and we've had really good starting pitching to this point.”

The Longhorns jumped on the board with an Ashton Larson RBI single to send two-sport athlete Jonah Williams home for the game’s first run. Mendoza put the second run of the inning on with a sac-fly.

The Longhorns fired three home runs in consecutive innings to take full control of the game. Mendoza shot a two-run homer to put the Horns up 4-1. Borba matched Mendoza in the fifth with his own two-run home run, his first of the season, to make it 6-1.

Pack Jr. also got his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth inning.

The Bad - Temo Becerra and Aiden Robbins Left out of the Fun

Texas Longhorns head coach Jim Schlossnagle stands in the dugout ahead of the Lone Star Showdown. | Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Out of the starters for the Longhorns on Friday, only Becerra and Robbins were held hitless, going 0-4 and 0-5 at the plate respectively.

As one of the best hitters in all of college baseball at Seton Hall last season, in five games this season, Robbins has registered at least one hit, but failed to do so tonight against Michigan State. Robbins was still able to bring in a run in the bottom of the sixth inning on a groundout to the second baseman, bringing Mendoza home.

Beccera, while not the most offensively productive hitter to open up the season, had a nice 2-3 performance on Tuesday against Lamar. His defensive ability at third base far outweighs his poor plate performance tonight.

The Ugly - Michigan State Offense Come Back To Reality

double-digit punchies 🥊#HookEm | @RugerRiojas_19 pic.twitter.com/RZz4ctlxpN
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 21, 2026

The Spartans were one of the hottest teams in college baseball heading into their three-game series with the Longhorns. Michigan State notably took down the Louisville Cardinals, one of the eight teams to make it to the College World Series last season, on the road.

A key factor was their offensive explosion at the plate, with two dominant performances last Friday and Saturday. Against the Longhorns, the Spartans hitters came back down to earth from another thrilling mound performance from Texas Friday starter Ruger Riojas.

That's a team that they like to swing, and they don't swing and miss a ton, especially the guys at the top,” Schlossnagle said. “And so I think (Ruger Riojas) managed the bottom of the order well, we didn't set the table much for those guys at the top to hurt us.”

Michigan State managed just five hits and scored a single run while striking out 14 times on Friday.