Austin, TX
Texas sweeps Oregon, advances to Men’s College World Series for record 39th time
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Adrian Rodriguez provided another big hit, and then Sam Cozart slammed the door shut on Oregon to send Texas to the Men’s College World Series.
Texas topped the Ducks 6-5 in the second game of the Austin Super Regional late Sunday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, completing a sweep and booking a 39th trip in program history to college baseball’s mecca.
Austin Super Regional: No. 6 Texas 2, No. 11 Oregon 0
It’s the first time since 2022 that the Longhorns have made the MCWS field. The Longhorns will face Southeastern Conference foe No. 3 Georgia in the opening round at Charles Schwab Field either Friday or Saturday.
Rodriguez lined a clutch 2-run double down the left field line in the eighth inning to give Texas the lead, and then Cozart mowed down the Ducks for his ninth save of the season.
Cozart struck out four of the six batters he faced, getting the other two to ground out. He threw 28 pitches in two innings, 22 for strikes, and didn’t allow a hit. He lowered his season ERA to 1.65 with the scoreless innings.
Oregon appeared to seize momentum after taking the lead 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh with a Brayden Jaksa RBI groundout. Even though the game was in Austin, the Ducks were the designated home team for the second game of the super regional series.
Texas put together an eighth-inning rally with two outs to regain control. Toby Twist walked Tinney, and then Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski went to the bullpen for Derek Bell. He hit Anthony Pack Jr. with a pitch, and then Temo Becerra chopped an infield single in between the third baseman and shortstop to load the bases for Rodriguez.
Rodriguez provided his sixth and seventh RBIs of the series, sending a sizzling line drive down the third-base line past a diving Drew Smith. The ball caromed off the short wall in foul ground, allowing Tinney and Pack to touch home for the lead.
Cozart then took care of the rest with elite command of his fastball and two breaking pitches, a curveball and slider. Thomas Burns struck out two of the three batters he faced in the seventh, becoming the pitcher of record for his second win of the season.
The game started with a bang, two, in fact, for the Longhorns. Aiden Robbins and Carson Tinney hit back-to-back home runs off of Oregon ace Will Sanford to start the game, and then Texas tacked two more on in the second on a Robbins bases-loaded walk and Tinney RBI single.
The Ducks responded with three runs combined in the second and third frames off of Texas starter Ruger Riojas, and then tied the game 4-4 in the fifth on a Burke-Lee Mabeus bases-loaded groundout.
Sanford labored through 3.2 innings, throwing 98 pitches with seven strikeouts and five walks. He allowed four runs on six hits. Reliever Tanner Bradley did a tremendous job to keep the Ducks in the game, utilizing a terrific changeup to baffle the Longhorns’ lineup through 3.1 innings. Bradley struck out five with a walk, allowing one hit before Twist entered.
Smith and Ryan Cooney had two hits for the Ducks.
Texas outhit Oregon 9-7, and Tinney finished 3-for-4 with a homer, two singles and two RBIs. Rodriguez was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, and Robbins’ lone hit was the lead-off homer.
Texas (45-13) joins fellow Southeastern Conference members Ole Miss in the MCWS. Troy and No. 16 West Virginia will make their first-ever MCWS appearances after sweeping their super regionals. No. 5 North Carolina needed a third game to dispatch Southern California and advance to Omaha.
Bad weather forced two Game 2s to be suspended until Monday. Oklahoma leads No. 15 Kansas 8-1 in the bottom of the third, and No. 7 Alabama leads St. John’s 7-2 in the bottom of the eighth. The Sooners and Crimson Tide will advance to Omaha with wins.
Austin, TX
Austin Super Regional Game 2: Oregon vs. Texas live updates
QuickTake:
Follow along for updates throughout Oregon’s game against Texas in the Austin Super Regional.
Click here to jump to the latest update
We’re back at Disch-Falk Field here on the University of Texas campus for Game 2 of the Austin Super Regional between Oregon and Texas.
The Longhorns took Game 1 Saturday, 11-3, on a night filled with missed opportunities for the Ducks. Facing elimination tonight, Oregon turns to its ace, Will Sanford, to try to push this series to Monday.
We’ll be providing live updates throughout the game as the Ducks fight to keep their season alive.
First, here’s what you need to know:
Oregon Ducks (43-17, 20-10 Big Ten) vs. Texas Longhorns (44-13, 19-10 SEC)
How to watch: ESPN
How to listen: KUGN 590 AM
Probable pitchers: Oregon RHP Will Sanford (9-2, 3.46 ERA) vs. Texas RHP Ruger Riojas (5-2, 3.86 ERA)
Stories to read:
Live updates
Bottom of 2: Drew Smith led off with a double and scored on a two-out RBI single from Naulivou Lauaki. It had to be Lauaki’s softest hit of the year — a 72 mph squib shot off the bat that found a hole in the right side of a shifted infield.
It’s 4-1 Texas.
Top of 2: It’s not getting any better for Sanford. After getting the leadoff batter, he allowed a single, walked a pair, let a run score on a wild pitch and then another when Tinney ripped a ball toward third base that Drew Smith couldn’t corral. It’s 4-0 Texas now.
Bottom of 1: A breezy 1-2-3 inning for Rojas in his first half inning against the Ducks. He’s sitting at about 95-96 mph with his fastball and has already shown a change of arm angle slot on a few different pitches. It’s still 2-0 Texas after 1.
Top of 1: It’s a meltdown of a first inning here for the Ducks. Will Sanford allowed back-to-back home runs to the game’s first two batters, then walked the three-hole hitter. Sanford was able to get out of the jam with a strikeout followed by a strikeout-throw-out double-play, but not an ideal start at all for the Ducks.
Pre-game
5:45 p.m.:
We have lineups.
5:30 p.m.:
Alrighty, let’s fire these updates up again. It’s about 30 minutes away from first pitch here at Disch-Falk Field and the Ducks are finishing up warm-ups. I’ve noticed the group completes their workout before every game by forming two lines and going through and hugging each other, one by one.
Will they get to do it again?
Green is the color of the day for Oregon, Jersey Mike’s is the press meal up here in the box and don’t let that mild 83-degree temperature reading fool you — it’s downright soupy out there.
Here’s hoping for a closer — and quicker — game than last night.
Austin, TX
Oregon Baseball vs. Texas: Starting Pitchers, How to Watch Elimination Game
The Oregon Ducks baseball team is facing elimination vs. the Texas Longhorns in the Austin Super Regional. Will the Ducks’ shot at the College World Series end on Sunday night?
The No. 11 national seed Oregon Ducks fell flat in game one vs. the No. 6 national seed Texas at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. In prime time on Saturday night, Oregon stranded a season-high 17 runners while going 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position in a 11-3 loss to the Longhorns.
Oregon Faces Elimination vs. Texas
The rowdy Texas crowd grew louder and louder as Oregon could not bat in their runners, the Ducks left at least one runner on base in each of the first six innings. Longhorns coach Jim Schlossnagle started his ace Dylan Volantis and then surprisingly elected to bring in his No. 2 starting pitcher, Luke Harrison, in relief. It was clear just how aggressively the Longhorns were managing game one.
Meanwhile, Texas jumped out to a 7-0 lead in front of a record-setting 8,550 fans. At the plate, the Longhorns were led by Adrian Rodriguez, who finished with a career-high five RBI. Oregon starting pitcher Cal Scolari (5-1) was charged with the loss and allowed five runs on two hits with six walks and four strikeouts in 3.2 inning.
Will Oregon baseball be able to turn it around in time to save their season? Schlossnagle feels confident in his Texas team, who is looking to clinch their first trip to Omaha in four years.
“I felt like there were a lot of awesome bats all the way through the lineup,” Schlossnagle said. “Again, we scored 11 runs without two of the best players in the country getting a hit, so if we can get them going tomorrow, I like our chances.”
Only eight teams will advance to the College World Series in Omaha and there are three teams who have already earned their way in by winning their Super Regionals: West Virginia, Troy and Ole Miss.
If Oregon wins on Sunday night, it will force a game three on Monday. Then, the Ducks will be only one win away from punching their ticket to the CWS for the first time since 1954.
Sunday, June 7: 6:00 p.m. PT, ESPN
Monday, June 8: TBD – if necessary
Fans can also tune into the Ducks’ radio broadcast to listen to the series on the Oregon Sports Network.
Starting Pitchers For Oregon and Texas
For Sunday’s game, Oregon starter Will Sanford will be on the mound. Sanford is fresh off a career performance, striking out a career-high 14 batters vs. Washington State in the Eugene Regional, while surrendering just one hit across 6.1 scoreless innings and earning the tournament’s MVP.
The Ducks feed off his infectious energy and Oregon will need every bit of it on Sunday.
For Texas, on the mound will be Ruger Riojas, who is an Austin native. The veteran right-hander did battle an injury earlier in the season but helped the Longhorns clinch their regional, limiting UC Santa Barbara to three hits and one run in five innings of work while striking out six.
What Oregon Said After The Loss
Oregon infielder Maddox Molony hit the nail on the head with his breakdown of the defeat.
“We did a good job of setting the table,” Molony said, “But the moment got too big a couple times. We need a better job of staying within ourselves and trusting in our abilities.”
Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski was dissappointed in the game one loss but remains optimistic the Ducks can right the ship.
“I think we’re a whole lot better than what we showed tonight, but what we showed tonight was what we all saw, and that wasn’t reflective, in my opinion, of how we got this far,” Wasikowski said after the loss.
“I thought we kind of shot ourselves in the foot tonight and that’s why we came out on the wrong side of the scoreboard…. We’re 0-1 and it’s the first team to win two,” Wasikowski said. “It’s like a regular conference weekend where you have to win two of three. Nothing got won tonight and nothing got resolved tonight in terms of who goes to Omaha.”
The Ducks have a great challenge in from of them: beating the Longhorns on a hot Texas evening, with their season on the line.
The College World Series begins on Friday, June 12, at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.
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Austin, TX
No. 6 Texas blasts No. 11 Oregon, 11-3, to open Austin Super Regional
In front of the largest crowd to ever watch the burnt orange and white at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, the No. 6 Texas Longhorns delivered an impressive performance, thrashing the No. 11 Oregon Ducks 11-3 to open the Austin Super Regional behind 10 strikeouts from sophomore left-hander Dylan Volantis and five RBI supplied by sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez.
Oregon out-hit Texas nine to eight, but the Horns were patient at the plate and delivered timely execution, drawing eight walks, getting hit by three pitches, and driving in three runs on sacrifice flies, adding home runs by junior third baseman Casey Borba and junior designated hitter Ethan Mendoza.
Clutch pitching mattered, too, as Volantis battled persistent command issues, but combined with three other Texas pitchers to strand 17 base runners as Oregon went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-20 (.100) with runners on base. Two Ducks — right fielder Angel Laya and catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus — each stranded six runners.
“I didn’t think he was sharp tonight, compared to a lot of the other outings that we saw, and yet he gutted it out. He showed the makeup that a true warrior shows when he needed to in the big spots,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said of Volantis.
After Volantis retired the Ducks in the first with a strikeout to strand runners on first and third, walks drawn by junior right fielder Aiden Robbins and freshman left fielder Anthony Pack Jr. set the Horns up to strike, and Rodriguez took advantage with two outs and two on when he lashed a 2-1 cutter into the left-center gap. With the Oregon outfielders playing shallow, the hit got to the fence and Pack scored from first to make it 2-0.
In the second, an opposite-field approach by Oregon designated hitter Junior Lauaki produced a bloop double down the field, but Lauaki was too aggressive trying to take third on a chopper to Volantis and got caught in the run down. Another softly-hit ball challenged Pack and Rodriguez with the Texas left fielder getting a good jump to make the catch and avoid a collision.
With one out in the bottom of the inning, Longhorns junior third baseman Casey Borba extended the lead to 3-0 with a 395-foot blast to right-center on a 97-mph fastball, a rare opposite-field shot for the pull-heavy slugger who took focused work in batting practice to that direction on Thursday.
A walk issued to redshirt senior center fielder Dariyan Pendergrass also came back to haunt the Ducks when Pendergrass stole second and third, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Robbins.
Up 4-0, Volantis dealt with a massive jam in the third, giving up an 0-2 single to lead off the inning before briefly losing his command, issuing one-out and two-out walks, then falling behind 3-1 with the bases loaded before beating Brayden Jaska swinging on a fastball and the type of big-time curveball expected from Volantis. The Texas ace left the bases juiced by inducing an inning-ending groundout to second.
Through the first three innings, Volantis held Oregon scoreless despite issuing three walks and throwing three wild pitches by stranding six runners. The Californian dealt with more traffic in the fourth after allowing a leadoff single up the middle by Lauaki and a double down the left-field line to put runners on second and third with no outs.
But Volantis’ curveball got him out of two more at bats, his fourth and strikeouts with a runner in scoring position, and a groundout to first to end the inning sparked a rare explosion of emotion from the lanky lefty.
One-out and two-out walks drawn by the Horns put runners on first and second for Robbins in the fourth, who worked a full-count walk to bring up junior catcher Carson Tinney. For the big at bat, the Ducks brought in seldom-used lefty Jonah Barkoff for his sixth appearance this season. After throwing a first-pitch strike to Tinney, Barkoff’s balk sent Borba home from third, but a 3-2 breaking ball in the dirt was enough to get Tinney to offer and end the inning.
After retiring the first two batters in the fifth, Volantis looked like he was finally at cruising speed before consecutive singles increased the stress again before another big-time curveball stranded two more runners by retiring Lauaki for the first time.
With Oregon out-hitting Texas 7-3 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Longhorns put one-out hits together with Becerra doubling to right center and Rodriguez singling to left center to make it 6-0.
Texas scored another run after Mendoza was hit by a pitch, junior first baseman Ashton Larson drew a walk, and Pendergrass was hit by a pitch to force in Rodriguez.
At 96 pitches, Volantis came out for the sixth, but his command faltered again by allowing a leadoff double down the right-field line, a full-count walk, and spiking a first-pitch curveball off the foot of the next batter. For a final time, Volantis recovered, striking out Laya with three swings before departing to a deserved standing ovation as junior right-hander Thomas Burns came on in relief.
Burns got three swings and misses for the second out, but couldn’t find the zone on back-to-back walks on some pitches wildly out of the zone, ending his outing in favor of redshirt senior left-hander Luke Harrison in his second consecutive relief appearance. Despite getting squeezed on a 2-2 curveball, Harrison left no doubt with a swing and a miss on a cutter to strand three and leave the Horns with a 7-2 lead.
A single by Pack and a walk by Becerra put runners on first and second for Rodriguez in the sixth before both advanced on a wild pitch. Rodriguez made the Ducks pay after Pack was nearly picked off on a pitch out, hitting a sacrifice fly to center. And then Mendoza caught a hanging breaker up and over the plate, launching it 438 feet to left center for his 10th home run of the season.
Harrison went 1-2-3 in the seventh to end his effective outing and remains available to start on Monday if necessary or appear out of the bullpen again on Sunday. Freshman right-hander Brody Walls came for the eighth and worked around a solo home run.
In the ninth, Texas added a run on a sacrifice fly by Rodriguez, whose execution at the plate followed a single by Pack and a double by Becerra.
The Longhorns can advance to the College World Series on Sunday with first pitch at 8 p.m. Central on ESPN with senior right-hander Ruger Riojas (5-2, 3.86 ERA) set to take the mound against Ducks right-hander Will Sanford (9-2, 3.46 ERA).
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