What a start to the Texas Longhorns' postseason.
With a 19-x win over the Holy Cross Crusaders, the bats were undeniably hot for the Horns, but none more fired up than that of star freshman Anthony Pack Jr.
Sure, Aiden Robbins had two home runs to his name, and Jayden Duplantier hit a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth to put Texas up 16, but Pack hit three home runs in his four at-bats, being walked in his other trip to the plate and earning six runs and five RBIs.
Pack has been a star all season, earning his place as the SEC Freshman of the Year, but his dominance was out of the park (literally) in the Longhorns' first game of their home Regional.
Texas wheeling and dealing on both sides of the plate
Beyond the obvious success of earning 19 runs on 21 hits and holding their opponent to just one run, the pitching was truly out of this world for Texas.
Between starting pitcher Luke Harrison, who completed four innings, relief pitchers Cody Howard and Ethan Walker, who combined for three innings, and closers Hudson Hamilton and Jason Flores, who threw for the final two innings, the Horns gave up just eight hits and racked up 10 strikeouts.
If you're curious why Pack only had four at-bats with the Horns going through the rotation about a half a dozen times, it was because he had to exit the game due to cramping after his third home run. Duplantier entered the game in his place, which clearly didn't slow down the offensive charge.
Simply put, Texas is looking like it's peaking at the perfect time as the Horns look to punch their ticket to the Super Regional, for the first time since 2024, and eventually the College World Series, for the first time since 2022.
This game not only earned the Longhorns another notch in the win column, but it was the most runs scored by the Horns in a postseason game in over two decades, a good nod in the direction of Schlossnagle's hitting staff.
With the win, the Longhorns move on unscathed, advancing to the second game of the Regional, where they will face the winner of the Tarleton State-UC Santa Barbara matchup, and sending the Crusaders to the elimination game, where they will face the loser of the second matchup.
Texas's second post-season
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