So Texas baseball won’t go 51-0 before Omaha.
The Longhorns are human after all, painfully so in some areas more than others.
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We saw as much in8 Friday night’s tough 9-8, 11-inning loss to the unranked Ole Miss Rebels at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, who looked every bit as formidable as the more ballyhooed No. 2-ranked Longhorns (16-1) during an electric final four innings that featured 10 runs and a ton of huge plays on both sides.
Texas Longhorns catcher Carson Tinney (8) celebrates a third out by pitcher Haiden Leffew (12) throws a pitch during the game against Ole Miss at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, March 13, 2026 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Texas’ 16-game winning streak is no more — gone just like the mustache above coach Jim Schlossnagle’s lip that he quickly shaved before speaking to reporters postgame. Several players and coaches have been growing facial hair and weren’t going to shave until a loss.
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“We didn’t win the ballgame, but we certainly learned more about our team,” Schlossnagle said.
He learned that Texas is capable of rallying back after taking a gut punch, as evidenced by the Horns blowing a 7-3 lead powered by freshman Anthony Pack’s three-run homer after coming within one out of the win, and then tying it in the ninth on Temo Becerra’s two-out single.
Loss No. 1 stung, but this is March and the Horns know any championship won’t be decided for another couple of months minimum.
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“We’re not going to go undefeated the whole season,” Becerra said. “It’s really hard to do that. As long as we come back (Saturday), we’ll be ready to play.”
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Schlossnagle also learned the Horns will have to step it up on short relief. Thomas Burns felt like the suitable choice as the closer, but control issues showed up when he loaded the bases with two hit batters and a walk in the ninth, setting the unfortunate stage for Ole Miss cleanup hitter Tristan Bissetta’s mammoth grand slam over the school bus in right center field off Cal Higgins.
Texas pitching issued nine freebies — five walks and four hit batters — and against a team that has its share of lumberjacks, the Horns were just asking for it. And they got it. Worse yet, seven passes came in the final three frames, which more times than not represents the separator between evenly matched teams. Five of the seven scored.
Texas Longhorns head coach Jim Schlossnagle takes pitcher Ruger Riojas (13) out of the game against Ole Miss at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, March 13, 2026 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Schlossnagle knows wins are hard to come by in this league, but when a pitching staff gets too generous, disaster can occur.
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“Sometimes you have to experience it yourself,” he said. “I mean, they’re not trying to walk the guys or hit the guys.”
Similarities to the 2005 champs
The Horns have a lot in common with their 2005 forefathers. Both started the season with 16 straight wins, thanks to elite hitters and a pitching staff that was nails in non-conference.
Texas baseball historians remember that glorious season of yesteryear when the Horns went to Ole Miss for the super regional and took a heartbreaking 6-4 loss in Game 1 before winning two straight to advance to Omaha, where they eventually captured the program’s program’s sixth College World Series title.
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TEXAS A&M BASEBALL: Aggies lose conference opener
Texas Longhorns infielder Adrian Rodriguez (24) celebrates a home run by infielder Ethan Mendoza (5) during the game against Ole Miss at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, March 13, 2026 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
The stakes weren’t as high in Friday’s SEC opener, but the loss produced varied emotions from players and the head coach who emerged in the postgame interview sans the mustache he had been wearing during this epic winning streak.
“It stinks to lose a ballgame, and the challenge is to get back up (Saturday),” Schloss said. “That’s when you have a sour feeling in your mouth. You got to be able to get off the bat and be ready to go.”
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His Horns entered league play with a ton of confidence before an enthusiastic crowd of 7,782 eager to put the disappointment of last season’s early playoff exit in the rear view.
If anything, the Horns have shredded that growing air of invincibility aka the hype machine that accompanies a winning streak of such magnitude. The truth can be seen from both sides. Before Friday, Texas hadn’t faced a team the caliber of Ole Miss, which would be ranked if not for a subpar weekend in Houston where the Rebels dropped two of three games.
Like Schlossnagle indicated, experience is the best teacher. Sometimes the hardest lessons can prove most beneficial when adversity strikes again.
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And in this league, it will.