Jonah Williams should still be a senior in high school.
Instead, the dual athlete committed to Texas for football and baseball, giving up his last semester at Galveston Ball High School to get an early head start as a Longhorn.
Now, at only 17 years old, Williams played a role in securing No. 1 Texas’ 8-3 win against No. 8 Auburn, claiming its sixth series win against a Southeastern Conference opponent.
“Right before the game, I looked at the lineup sheet, saw my name and I was ready to go,” Williams said. “Age is a number. I mean, if you know what you want to do, stay determined to that. When we’re on the field, everybody’s the same age. It doesn’t matter, just have to be a ‘dawg’ and compete.”
In his first career start, Williams played in the left field position and batted eighth in the order. It was not until the third inning that Williams found himself on home plate for his first at-bat of the night.
He struck out. It would not be until the following inning that he would get another chance to take a swing at the ball.
When Williams stepped back up to the plate, he made sure to make the most of the at-bat.
With two outs on the count, Williams hit the ball towards left field, and with junior shortstop Deric Fabian unable to make the catch, Williams made it to first. The hit also resulted in an RBI as sophomore right fielder Tommy Farmer IV made it back home.
“We knew (Williams) would be super competitive,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “But to have a guy who’s supposed to be in high school right and he’s 17 years old in that setting, tells you what a special, competitive athlete he is.”
Again in the sixth inning, Williams was on home plate for his third at-bat on the night. In a similar fashion, the freshman was sitting on two outs and saw another pitch worthy of a swing. This time, Williams hit it to center field, allowing graduate first baseman Kimble Schuessler and sophomore third baseman Casey Borba to run home.
Williams grounded out in his last at-bat of the night and finished 2-4 on the night with three RBIs. In left field, with tailgating fans behind him, Williams recorded one putout.
“(The fans cheering) feels amazing,” Williams said. “I’m grateful to be put in this opportunity and in this position. The fans are great and are always amazing, even when bad things are going, I can’t ask for a better crowd.”
With the first pitch scheduled for noon, Texas will return to UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Saturday to finish its series against Auburn. After winning the series and leading 2–0, the Longhorns will aim for their fourth SEC sweep.
