With two outs in the ninth inning of a 16-2 win over Tarleton State on Saturday night, Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle made a pitching change.
The decision to insert senior right-hander Connor McCreery into the game drew cheers from the Texas dugout and bullpen and likely a few groans from fans who had been at UFCU Disch-Falk Field for nearly four hours. McCreery, though, made everyone happy by striking out Tarleton State’s Mason Kirk on four pitches to end the contest.
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With its successful Saturday, the Longhorns seized control of the Austin Regional. In order to advance to a super regional for the first time since 2023, Texas (42-13) now needs just one win over UC Santa Barbara (39-19) or Tarleton State (38-20).
Texas Longhorns head coach Jim Schlossnagle greets his players ahead of the NCAA Baseball Regional game against Holy Cross at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, May 29, 2026 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
So, why did Schlossnagle make that late call to the Texas bullpen? Following the 14-run win, Schlossnalge gave a lengthy explanation as to why McCreery made the first appearance of his senior season. For Texas, the move had more to do with emotions than analytics.
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“When we got the job here, it was obviously a tumultuous time,” Schlossnagle said in reference to when Texas hired him away from Texas A&M following the 2024 season. “A lot of negative things were being said about our staff and everything that went down after the World Series in ’24, and Connor was one of those guys that wanted to be here. He was a commodity on the transfer market and had options at other places and had some success at South Carolina, and he had enough trust and faith in us to come here.
“(He) had a great fall, and looked really awesome going the (2025) season, and started getting hurt, getting banged up, and went through a really, really tough surgery that not a lot of people come back from. We told him there were no guarantees. If he wanted to come back, he’s welcome to be on the team, but there was no guarantee. And his quote to me was, ‘I don’t care if I ever pitch again. If I just get one more opportunity on the mound to help this team and help this program, that’s what I’m doing.’ And he came back here to do that.
“Man, he’s been awesome. I think these guys will tell you what kind of teammate he is. He leads the pregame prayer down the right field line. He’s been doing that for two years. One of the main reasons we still travel him is because of his impact in the dugout and with the team, and so the game rewarded him tonight. And he pitched well. When I brought him in, I said, ‘This isn’t a charity case.’ Obviously, I wanted to give an opportunity to fulfill that dream of throwing at least one more time, but he threw really well. You never know what you have until you get it out there. Crazy things can happen in baseball, and Connor’s an elite human and a great teammate.”
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A New York native, McCreery spent the first two years of his college career at South Carolina. He appeared in three games with the Longhorns last season.
On Saturday, he was among the reserves who got playing time while Texas emptied its bench at the end of its lopsided win. McCreery, Hudson Hamilton and Michael Winter pitched the final two innings as the Longhorns saved their top arms for the regional final. Position players Blake Peterson and Andrew Ermis also made their sixth and 14th appearances of the season.
Texas Longhorns pitcher Dylan Volantis (99) celebrates a third out with catcher Carson Tinney (8) during the NCAA Baseball Regional game against Tarleton State at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Saturday, May 30, 2026 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
On Saturday, Texas sets pitching record and plan for regional final
McCreery wasn’t the only pitcher worth talking about after Texas thrashed Tarleton State. Texas ace Dylan Volantis started and allowed three hits and one earned run over 6 ⅔ innings. Volantis (seven), Winter (one) and McCreery (one) combined for nine strikeouts on Saturday night, which upped UT’s strikeout total for the season to 620 and surpassed a school standard of 618 that had been set during the 1985 season.
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Golden: Well-rested Dylan Volantis leads well-tested Texas pitching staff in CWS quest
Schlossnagle also announced after the game that senior right-hander Ruger Riojas, who has thrown just five pitches since May 10 while dealing with shoulder tendonitis, will start for Texas in a regional final that is set to begin at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Texas will advance to the super regionals if it beats UC Santa Barbara or Tarleton State, who will face each other in an elimination game at noon on Sunday. If UT loses to either UC Santa Barbara or Tarleton State on Sunday, a winner-takes-all game will take place the following day.