The Key Factor in Texas Baseball's Win Against Holy Cross in CBB Regional

The Texas Longhorns have to be feeling pretty good about themselves after their opening performance in the 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament.

Much of the sentiment heading into the matchup against No. 4 seed Holy Cross was relatively simple: play like the better team and stay out of the losers bracket. The Crusaders entered the tournament with a losing record and an RPI outside the top 200.

Anything less than a comfortable Texas victory would have understandbly raised some eyebrows.

Well, that won’t be a concern for Texas, as the Longhorns utterly thwarted Holy Cross in a 19-1 offensive explosion to advance into the winners bracket of the Austin Regional.

And one particular bat had quite the day for himself.

The Postseason Looks Good on Anthony Pack Jr.

Texas' Anthony Pack Jr. (6) celebrates after hitting a double to right field. | MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At this point, it almost goes without saying: Anthony Pack Jr. is a star.

The freshman outfielder delivered one of the greatest NCAA Tournament performances in Texas baseball history, blasting three home runs in his postseason debut in just four at-bats.

Pack finished 3-for-3 with three home runs, five RBIs, four runs scored and a walk. The reigning SEC Freshman of the year could have had a chance for a fourth — or even a fifth — if not for cramping that led to his exit in the sixth.

But by the time he exited, the contest was already out of reach.

It was a dramatic turnaround from Texas’ ugly offensive showing in Hoover, where the Longhorns struck out 14 times against Arkansas in an 8-1 SEC Tournament loss and watched the top of the lineup disappear entirely. But Friday looked nothing like that.

Holy Cross’ starter Jaden Wywoda quickly retired Texas’ 1-2 in Aiden Robbins and Carson Tinney, but Pack had no interest in following them back to the dugout quietly. On the second pitch of his first NCAA Tournament at-bat, Pack demolished a 417-foot solo homer to right field to give Texas an early lead.

Then he somehow topped it.

Pack launched a two-run homer to the Yeti Yard in left-center during the third inning before crushing another two-run blast in the fifth to become the first Texas player in program history to hit three home runs in an NCAA Tournament game. Remarkably, Pack entered Friday with only seven home runs on the season.

But his performance was not to overshadow an overall outstanding offensively for the entire lineup.

The Longhorns added three more home runs, including two from Robbins — bringing his season total to 21, the fourth-most in program history — and a grand slam from Jayden Duplantier. Those six home runs tied a school record.

In total, Texas scored 19 runs on 21 hits while striking out only twice. Every player in the lineup recorded at least one hit.

Now, the Longhorns will turn their attention toward Saturday’s winners-bracket matchup against the winner of Friday night’s game between UC Santa Barbara and Tarleton State.

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