In the opening round of the Austin Regional on Friday night, the Texas Longhorns delivered a statement win, riding a game-breaking fifth inning to a convincing 7-1 victory over Houston Christian University at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. With a five-run outburst in the bottom of the fifth, Texas seized control of the contest and never looked back, continuing its recent hot streak and taking the first step toward advancing out of the regional stage.
Early on, the game was a tense affair. Both starting pitchers settled in quickly, keeping hitters off-balance through the opening innings. For Texas, sophomore left-hander Ace Whitehead delivered a poised performance, working efficiently through the HCU lineup with a blend of fastballs, changeups, and breaking balls that kept the Huskies guessing.
Houston Christian’s starter, Jacob McMillan, showed early signs of being up for the challenge as well. Mixing in a lively fastball and solid command, McMillan allowed just one baserunner through the first two innings and kept Texas off the board through four, drawing weak contact and a pair of inning-ending double plays.
But then came the bottom of the fifth—a frame that changed everything.
Texas entered the inning locked in a scoreless tie, but that tension quickly gave way to momentum, and then a landslide. After back-to-back singles by Porter Brown and Jared Thomas, the crowd began to stir. The two hits ignited the Texas dugout and sparked a palpable energy that had been lacking through the early going. Next up was Dylan Campbell, who took a 1-1 fastball and drove it into the left-center gap for a stand-up double that scored both runners, putting Texas on the board and flipping the pressure onto the visiting Huskies.
From there, the floodgates opened.
Mitchell Daly followed with a sharp single to right, bringing Campbell home and making it 3-0. Then, after a walk to Jalin Flores and a sacrifice bunt that moved both runners up a base, Texas catcher Kimble Schuessler delivered the knockout punch—a laser-beam double to left field that plated two more and sent the Longhorn faithful into a frenzy.
In a matter of minutes, the game had gone from a tense pitchers’ duel to a 5-0 Longhorns advantage. The Huskies never recovered.
Whitehead, given a comfortable cushion, only got stronger as the night progressed. He finished the evening with six strong innings, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out seven. His only blemish came in the top of the sixth when HCU’s standout junior first baseman, Blake Frazier, crushed a solo home run to left field, momentarily stopping the bleeding and putting the Huskies on the scoreboard.
But Texas answered right back.
In the bottom half of the sixth, Jared Thomas reached on a walk, stole second, and came home on an RBI single by Campbell—his third RBI of the night. Daly followed with a deep sacrifice fly to center, bringing in Campbell again and stretching the Texas lead to 7-1.
From that point on, it was about maintenance and preservation. Texas head coach David Pierce turned to his bullpen, calling on junior right-hander Gage Boehm to handle the seventh and eighth. Boehm did his job, retiring six of the seven batters he faced and adding two strikeouts of his own. In the ninth, redshirt freshman Andre Duplantier II came on to close it out. After issuing a leadoff walk, Duplantier got a double play and a flyout to right to end the game and seal the win.
The Longhorns finished with 11 hits on the night, including multi-hit efforts from Thomas, Campbell, and Daly. Schuessler and Brown also chipped in key contributions, while Flores reached base three times with a hit and two walks.
Offensively, Texas showed patience and power, drawing six walks and hitting with authority once they had runners in scoring position. The fifth inning wasn’t just productive—it was clinical, showcasing the blend of aggressive baserunning, timely hitting, and smart situational awareness that has come to define this Longhorns squad over the past month.
After the game, Pierce praised his team’s ability to adjust mid-game and seize momentum in a critical moment.
“We had some chances early that didn’t go our way, but we stuck to our approach and stayed locked in,” Pierce said. “Once we got that first big hit from Dylan, it kind of broke the ice. From there, the guys fed off each other and kept the pressure on. That’s what you want to see in a regional—you want your team to respond and stay aggressive.”
Pierce also had high praise for Whitehead’s poise on the mound.
“Ace was tremendous,” he said. “He pounded the zone, attacked hitters, and gave us exactly what we needed. That’s what he’s capable of, and it sets the tone for the whole team.”
For Whitehead, it was another step in what has become a breakout campaign. The sophomore has now posted back-to-back quality starts, and his ability to command the strike zone and limit damage has made him one of the most dependable arms in the Texas rotation.
“It felt good out there,” Whitehead said postgame. “I just tried to keep it simple and trust my defense. Once we got those runs in the fifth, I knew I just had to keep pounding the zone and let the guys behind me do their thing.”
For Houston Christian, the loss was a sobering reminder of the level of play needed to compete on the regional stage. The Huskies battled gamely through four innings but couldn’t recover from the tidal wave Texas unleashed in the middle innings. Head coach Lance Berkman, whose team reached the regional stage after a spirited run through the Southland Conference tournament, acknowledged the challenge of facing a team like Texas on its home turf.
“They’re a great team, and they made us pay for every mistake,” Berkman said. “You can’t give them free bases or leave pitches up in the zone—they’ll take advantage, and that’s exactly what they did in that fifth inning.”
Despite the loss, Berkman expressed pride in his team’s resilience and vowed they would come back ready to compete in the elimination bracket.
“We’ve got another shot tomorrow, and we’re not going to hang our heads,” he said. “This group has fought all year. We’ll bounce back.”
Meanwhile, Texas moves into the winner’s bracket, where the Longhorns will face the victor of the nightcap between Texas State and Louisiana. A win there would put Pierce’s team one step away from advancing to the Super Regionals—a goal that feels increasingly attainable given the way the Longhorns are clicking.
With a potent mix of seasoned hitters, emerging stars, and a pitching staff that’s peaking at the right time, Texas is showing signs of a team built for a deep postseason run. The offense has scored at least seven runs in four of its last five games, while the pitching staff has allowed just two runs or fewer in three straight.
