Texas baseball lives to fight another day and extend its stay in the Midwest, avoiding elimination from the College World Series.
The Longhorns took the field against the Alabama Crimson Tide, staring at the possible end of their 2026 season after losing their first game in Omaha to the Georgia Bulldogs. In the elimination game against the Crimson Tide, the Longhorns needed a big response; they accomplished that and then some.
Texas pummeled the Alabama pitching staff throughout the ballgame’s nine innings, cruising to a 14-2 victory with multiple big scoring frames and 13 hits on the day. No player contributed more to the scoring outburst than sophomore infielder Adrian Rodriguez.
Rodriguez ended the day by making history at the College World Series, becoming just the third player to hit for the cycle at the famed tournament. The sophomore ended his afternoon, a perfect 5-5 from the plate, accounting for half of the Longhorns’ runs with seven RBIs and a two-run home run.
“Adrian (Rodriguez) was awesome,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “And (I’m) so happy for him, considering all the things he has been through this year.”
Since the season’s calendar flipped to the NCAA Tournament, Rodriguez has been one of the hottest bats in the Longhorns’ lineup. Since the Austin Super Regional, Rodriguez is 11-16 at the plate with 14 RBIs and a home run across the last four games.
The Longhorns did not find their first run against the Bulldogs until the fifth inning, but Texas would not wait that long to move the scoreboard against the Crimson Tide.
Junior infielder Ethan Mendoza opened the scoring with an RBI-double in the first inning, which was followed by Rodriguez’s historic start to the day with a two-RBI double.
Texas came right back in the second inning and added to its early 3-1 lead with a four-spot in the frame. Freshman outfielder Anthony Pack Jr. and Mendoza added to the advantage with RBI singles, and Rodriguez delivered the final two runs of the inning with a two-RBI triple.
Rodriguez picked up the third part of the cycle with a single in the fifth inning, and in the very next inning, he secured one of the toughest feats to accomplish in baseball.
With the Longhorns already cruising 7-1 in the sixth inning, Pack Jr. added more to the scoreboard with a two-run home run. Two at-bats later, Rodriguez would leave the yard himself with a two-run blast of his own.
“It’s definitely been up and down throughout the season,” Rodriguez said. “So I really owe it to all the guys (who’ve) had my back throughout the whole year, and especially all the coaches who’ve had my back. … It’s been a grind, but I’m happy that we’re doing it right now in the College World Series.”
The Longhorns continued to pile it on against the Crimson Tide, scoring another three-spot in the eighth inning.
With two runs already scored in the frame, Rodriguez headed to the plate for the fifth time that afternoon and added the finishing touches to his big day with an RBI double to push the Texas lead to 14-2.
The Longhorns now stay alive, at least for a little bit longer, at the College World Series and await their next opponent in another elimination game. Texas will take on the loser of the Georgia Bulldogs and the Oklahoma Sooners on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN.
