From the first inning of the Austin Super Regional opener, the No. 6 Texas Longhorns looked the part of a College World Series contender.
They jumped out to an early lead against the No. 11 Oregon Ducks and never looked back. With a strong showing on the mound from Dylan Volantis and another offensive explosion, they cruised to an 11-3 win and took another step closer to reaching Omaha.
Of course, a blowout win in the opener far from guarantees the same result on Sunday evening. The Longhorns will need to bring their absolute best game against Oregon, with a win clinching the 39th College World Series berth in program history.
Starting pitcher –
- Ruger Riojas (5-2, 3.86 ERA)
There was never a doubt that Dylan Volantis would be the guy on the mound in the opener against the Ducks. However, there was room to wonder whether the Longhorns would turn to Ruger Riojas or Luke Harrison in the second game on Sunday.
Well, that question would be answered during the opener on Saturday. Harrison entered and tossed 1.1 shutout innings, getting the Longhorns out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning in the process.
This essentially confirmed that Texas would be giving the ball to Riojas on Sunday evening. And after his outing in the Austin Regional Final, it’s hard to fault the choice. Facing the Gauchos, the veteran returned to form with five innings and allowed only one run while striking out six in Texas’ 6-4 win.
If he can deliver a similar outing against Oregon, then a well-rested bullpen and even Harrison will be available to finish the job on the mound behind him.
Projected lineup –
RF – Aiden Robbins
C – Carson Tinney
LF – Anthony Pack Jr.
2B – Temo Becerra
SS – Adrian Rodriguez
DH – Ethan Mendoza
1B – Ashton Larson
3B – Casey Borba
CF – Dariyan Pendergrass
P – Ruger Riojas
Like we said ahead of the opener, if something isn’t broke then it doesn’t need to be fixed. That philosophy is still undoubtedly applicable to what you can expect to see from the Longhorns lineup on Sunday evening.
In three of their four postseason games, they’ve plated double-digit runs and are averaging a whopping 13 runs per game. To make matters even better, it has been a group effort from top to bottom.
While the trio of Aiden Robbins, Carson Tinney and Anthony Pack Jr. have led the way, the rest of the order has produced, too. Guys like Adrian Rodriguez and Temo Becerra especially have caught fire and are helping fuel a potent Texas lineup that now finds itself one win away from a trip back to the College World Series.
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