All good things must come to an end, apparently leads do too. The Longhorns could not seal the victory to open the Jim Schlossnagle era, falling to the Louisville Cardinals 4–3 in extra innings Friday night.
Sophomore outfielder Will Gasparino got Texas cruising with a 2–0 lead, hitting a home run and RBI double at the top of the second inning.
It seemed as though Texas would get its first win of the season with the way Louisville was playing. The Cardinals struggled to make contact in the box with the Longhorns’ rotation preventing any offensive movement.
Clawing their way back, the Cardinals started to find their groove late in the game. On the mound for the first time since 2023, senior pitcher Will Mercer replaced UTSA transfer junior pitcher Ruger Riojas in the bottom of the ninth after Riojas let up a double.
With the game on the line, Louisville senior outfielder Garrett Pike stepped up to the plate. Pike singled towards right field, allowing his two runners on base to trot to home for the game-tying runs and forcing the game to head into extra innings.
“You’re one out from winning the ball game, two-nothing and having a shutout,” Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Those are the margins we’re playing in.”
After going 0–3 in his Texas debut, freshman infielder Adrian Rodriguez came up big when it mattered the most. Getting the right pitch, Rodriguez found right field to put Texas up by one in the 10th inning.
“Tough balls hit off left-handed bats, those are really tough plays,” Schlossnagle said about Rodriguez. “(He came) out there, struck out three times and then went ahead and hit the go-ahead homer.”
Louisville did not wait long to get on base with senior infielder Kamau Neighbors hitting a lead-off double in the bottom of the 10th. Sophomore infielder Alex Alicea bunted on his attempt, sacrificing himself to advance Neighbors to third.
The possibility of a Texas victory in the 10th inning started to look bleak as Louisville sophomore outfielder Zion Rose singled to bring Neighbors home, tying the game up at 3–3.
With runners on first and second, Schlossnagle had enough, retiring Mercer and sending senior pitcher Andre Duplantier II to the mound to finish the job.
The Cardinals quickly shifted bases after Duplantier II’s pitch was tipped off the top of junior catcher Rylan Galvan’s glove. Adding to the tough situation, Duplantier II hit Louisville junior infielder Jake Munroe with the pitch, setting up the Cardinals with loaded bases.
Sophomore outfielder Lucas Moore sealed Louisville’s comeback with a single bringing Rose home for the game-winning score.
“We are trying to learn about our team, a lot of guys in a lot of different roles,” Schlossnagle said. “We’re in the early stages of building something special.”
Texas returns for game two of the Shriners Children’s College Showdown Saturday night at 7 P.M. when they face the Ole Miss Rebels at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
