The No. 22 Texas Longhorns got out to an early lead and never faltered on Wednesday night, easily beating the No. 23 Texas Tech Red Raiders, 8-3, in the opening round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City.
As has been the case much of the season for the Longhorns, senior outfielder Mark Payton lead the team to victory, registering two hits including a two-run double that blew the game open in the second inning.
Junior pitcher Lukas Shiraldi got the start for Texas and pitched very well, giving up just one run and four hits in five and a third innings of work.
The Longhorns will now take on Oklahoma St., the top seed in the conference tournament, tonight at 7:30 PM.
