No. 3 Texas Baseball Secures Top 10 Win Over Coastal Carolina: Longhorns Notebook

All eyes were on Houston on Friday night, as one of the most anticipated early season matchups took place between the No. 3 Texas Longhorns (9-0) and the No. 9 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (6-3) When two elite teams clash, there is certain to be plenty of attention as a result.

For the Longhorns, it was business as usual against their toughest opponent so far this season. Getting another stellar outing from staff ace Ruger Riojas and riding a whopping four home runs from the bats, they cruised to an 8-1 victory in this one -- continuing to look like one of the nation's premier teams.

Now, here are three key takeaways from the Longhorns’ blowout win over the Chanticleers.

Texas Longhorns Outfielder Jonah Williams — Texas Longhorns outfielder Jonah Williams at the plate | Texas Longhorns Athletics

The Longhorns easily took care of business against the Chanticleers

Ruger deals again

Through his first two starts, Ruger Riojas left no doubts that he was the man for the job to lead the weekend rotation for the Longhorns. He’d racked up an impressive 19 strikeouts, including a career-high 10 in his outing against the Michigan State Spartans.

Awaiting him on Friday, though, was his toughest yet of the young season. And again it proved to be no issue for the veteran right-hander. Mowing through the Coastal Carolina lineup without breaking a sweat, Riojas twirled five shutout innings and bested the mark he’d set the weekend before with a new career-high of 11 strikeouts.

It was another dominant showing from Texas’ Friday night man, as he continues to start the season scorching hot.

Transfers continue to shine

One of the key storylines following Texas’ abrupt end to the 2025 season was the resulting aggression by Jim Schlossnagle and his staff to revamp the roster. Especially their willingness to attack transfer portal. So far, that has proven to be a huge success.

Shocking no one, Aiden Robbins got the party started for the Longhorns in absolutely bonkers fashion – a mammoth 466-foot, two-run blast in the third. Following up with his first as a Longhorn, Temp Becerra then went deep to left in the fourth and then again in the eighth for his second on a two-run shot.

Ashton Larson also got in on the homer bonanza, too, as he went back-to-back with Becerra in the eighth for, you guessed it, his first as a Longhorn. Even Carson Tinney made sure he wasn’t left out and recorded a pair of singles as well. It’s still early, but through nine games the Longhorns’ stacked transfer class continues to live up to the hype.

Bullpen

Having someone of Riojas’ caliber on the mound is a blessing for any staff. However, not even the best pitchers can go toss a complete game each time. That is why it is crucial for a team to have a bullpen ready to come in and finish the job when their ace puts up an absolute gem.

Fortunately for the Longhorns, that was once again the case in this one. After Riojas exited with five shutout innings they were able to pick up where he left off. As a unit, the bullpen for Texas allowed only one run on two hits and a walk, striking out six themselves and frustrating the Coastal Carolina lineup.

There will be games where the starter deals and games where he struggles. For Texas, the bullpen this season has shown its up for the job no matter what happens.

What’s next for Texas?

The Longhorns will be back in action on Saturday looking to keep it rolling against the Baylor Bears at 7 p.m. CT from Daikin Park in Houston.