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Led by a sharp start from Ruger Riojas and timely hitting from SEC Newcomer of the Year Aiden Robbins, the Texas Longhorns defeated the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 6–4 Sunday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field to advance to the Super Regionals for the first time under head coach Jim Schlossnagle.
Riojas surrendered a home run to Rowan Kelly in the first, but bounced back to keep the Gauchos off the board for the rest of his outing. He finished with five innings of one-run ball and six strikeouts, reaching 300 career strikeouts with his sixth and final K of the evening.
rare air 🤘#HookEm | @RugerRiojas_19 pic.twitter.com/wsj73hXF0d
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) May 31, 2026Following Riojas’ exit, six arms combined to cover the final four frames. This included lefty Luke Harrison, who recorded the final out two days after tossing four shutout innings in a start against Holy Cross.
The Texas offense was largely silenced by UCSB starter Kellan Montgomery, who retired 15 of the first 18 batters he faced. But the Longhorn bats broke through in the top of the sixth, tallying three hits and two runs to take a 2–1 lead. After two costly Texas errors in the bottom half of the inning led to a pair of runs for UCSB, Robbins answered the call in the top of the seventh with a go-ahead two-run home run to right-center:
ROCKIN' ROBBINS 💣#HookEm | @AidenRobbins43 pic.twitter.com/mVOF9arHl1
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) June 1, 2026The Longhorns then tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth, before UCSB answered with a run of their own in their half of the inning. The Gauchos threatened one last time and loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth before Harrison induced a popout to secure the victory:
SEE YA IN THE SUPERS 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/6FJwzVFYrI
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) June 1, 2026Last year, the Longhorns failed to advance out of their home regional in Schlossnagle’s first season in Austin after falling to the UTSA Roadrunners twice. This time, the story was different. Texas swept all three games, defeating Holy Cross 19–1 and Tarleton State 16–2 before Sunday’s victory against the Gauchos.
Next, the No. 6 Longhorns will host the No. 11 Oregon Ducks in the Austin Super Regional. Schlossnagle is seeking his eighth College World Series appearance. The 55-year-old previously led TCU and Texas A&M to Omaha five and two times, respectively, before arriving in Austin. The Longhorns are looking to add to their record 38 College World Series appearances as they pursue their first national championship since 2005.
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