The No. 2 Texas Longhorns left Plainsman Park with a series victory over No. 5 Auburn, winning two of three games in a hard-fought SEC road contest. After dropping the opener 4-3 on a walk-off in Friday night’s series debut, Texas responded with back-to-back wins, including a 7-6 thriller on Saturday and a dominant 5-0 shutout on Sunday, which clinched their first road series win over a top-5 program since 2021. Jim Schlossnagle’s team now stands at 20-3 overall and 4-2 in SEC play.
Friday’s loss was a gut punch, as Texas came within two outs of a series-opening win before Auburn’s Bristol Carter delivered a two-run single on a defensive miscue to complete a 4-3 walk-off victory and extend the Tigers’ winning streak to 12 games. The silver lining came in the form of sophomore Aiden Robbins, who turned in his first career multi-homer game, going deep in the fourth to tie the game and adding a solo shot in the ninth for a brief lead. Starter Ruger Riojas was sharp, allowing just one run over 6 1/3 innings and retiring 20 of the 21 batters he faced after a shaky start.
Texas bounced back emphatically on Saturday in front of a record crowd of 8,037, jumping out to a 6-0 lead before holding off an Auburn rally to win 7-6. Robbins continued his torrid stretch, launching a leadoff homer in the third, his third home run in five at-bats over the series. Jayden Duplantier delivered his first career home run, which was a three-run blast over Auburn’s 37-foot left field wall. Maddox Monsour chipped in three hits, including a two-run single in his first career SEC start, while closer Thomas Burns slammed the door in the ninth, ending things with a bases loaded ground-out to snap Auburn’s 12-game win streak.
Sunday’s finale was all Texas, as five pitchers combined for the program’s first-ever shutout in SEC play, limiting one of the nation’s premier offenses to just four hits in a 5-0 win. Sophomore Dylan Volantis set the tone with four scoreless innings, and freshman Sam Cozart (4-0) followed with 2 2/3 hitless frames, while Ethan Walker, Brett Crossland and Max Grubbs handled the final eight outs to seal the deal. On offense, Casey Borba blasted a two-run homer in the second, his seventh in the last 11 games. Carson Tinney drove in two more with a clutch two-out base hit in the fourth to put the game firmly out of reach.
The series win at Auburn is one of the more impressive road performances Texas has put together in recent memory, headlined by Robbins’ emergence as one of the most dangerous bats in the country and a pitching staff that proved it can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the SEC. The Longhorns showed the ability to battle back from adversity, respond under pressure and close out games — all qualities that will matter come tournament time.
Texas now shifts focus to a midweek matchup at Houston on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Schroeder Park.
