Right fielder Max Belyeu launched a clutch three-run homer in the ninth inning, propelling No. 3 Texas to a 7-4 victory over Oklahoma and securing the Longhorns’ Southeastern Conference regular-season title on Thursday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
Texas (41-10, 21-7 SEC) became the first team to win the SEC in its debut season since the league’s inception in 1933.
Locked in a 4-4 tie with the Sooners (32-18, 13-15 SEC), Belyeu stepped up with runners on the corners and no outs, making a triumphant return after a 26-game absence due to a thumb injury.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound slugger wasted no time, crushing the first pitch he saw from Oklahoma closer Dylan Crooks (2-1) and sending it soaring off the batter’s eye in straightaway center.
After going hitless in his first four at-bats, Belyeu’s mammoth 418-foot blast sealed Texas’ 21st comeback win of the season.
Left-hander Dylan Volantis (4-0) closed out the historic victory with a flawless bottom half, securing Texas’ 81st regular-season conference championship.
The Longhorns fought through adversity to claim the title, overcoming multiple deficits throughout the game.
Oklahoma struck first, grabbing a 1-0 lead before Texas responded in the third to even the score.
Trey Gambill reclaimed the lead for the Sooners with a solo homer, and catcher Easton Carmichael tacked on an RBI double two innings later.
Texas answered in the seventh when Tommy Farmer IV—who recorded a game-high three hits—delivered a game-tying two-run single.
First baseman Kimble Schuessler followed up with an RBI single in the eighth, briefly giving Texas the lead before Oklahoma countered with a run-scoring hit of its own.
That set the stage for Belyeu’s dramatic blast.
Texas’ bullpen was dominant down the stretch, allowing just two runs on two hits over the final 7 1/3 innings.
Right-hander Grayson Saunier relieved starter Kade Bing and tossed 3 1/3 frames of one-run baseball, retiring nine of the 11 batters he faced while striking out three.
Righty Thomas Burns breezed through the seventh before handing the ball to Volantis, who notched the final six outs.
The Longhorns aim to clinch their third consecutive series win in Norman on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
