One of the best traits of the Texas Baseball lineup is the ability to draw and take advantage of walks and free bases given to them by their opponents.

[Sign up for Inside Texas and get 50% off Premium Access!]

It’s been a key to their success leading up to the Austin Super Regional, including 30 free passes in the Austin Regional, and with the Oregon Ducks coming into town, Texas kept the train rolling.

The Longhorns scored 11 runs on just eight hits, and took home a decisive 11-3 victory in Game 1 of the Austin Super Regional.

Texas struck early in this one, as Aiden Robbins and Anthony Pack each drew walks, and both came around to score on a double by Adrian Rodriguez to the opposite field gap.

One inning later, Casey Borba broke his cold streak with a solo homer to the opposite field on the first pitch he saw. The next batter, Dariyan Pendergrass, made it three walks in two innings, and came around to score one batter later on a sac fly, stealing both 2nd and 3rd.

Texas was up 4-0 with some cushion, and continued to abuse the free bases Oregon gave them.

The Longhorns didn’t record a single hit in the fourth inning, but came around to score after three walks and a balk in the relief pitcher’s first batter faced. Texas chased Oregon starter Cal Scolari after just 3 2/3 thanks to their patience.

Rodriguez came up big the very next inning with another RBI, and Texas followed it up with two hit by pitches and a walk, scoring on the second HBP on Pendergrass, who ended the day with two walks, a HBP and the two steals, only registering one official at-bat.

All while this was happening, Texas starter Dylan Volantis had one of his more frustrating starts, and yet the Ducks remained scoreless through five innings.

Volantis struggled with command, allowing more baserunners than Texas fans have become used to seeing from their ace, but those runners never came around to score.

Runners at the corners in the first? Strikeout.

Bases loaded in the third? Groundball to 2nd.

2 RISP in both the 4th and 5th? Two more outs, and no runs.

Volantis stranded 10 Oregon runners in those first five frames.

But on 96 pitches, sporting a seven-run lead, most expected him to exit the game. Instead, Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle kept him in, and things backfired.

A leadoff double, a walk and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with no outs, and despite getting the first out on a K, Volantis’ night was done with the bases loaded.

In came Thomas Burns, who struck out his first batter faced, but walked two runs in, another time Schlossnagle made a questionable decision in relief and thrust his bullpen arm into a high-intensity moment.

Burns’ night was done after the two walks, and surprisingly Luke Harrison, a potential Game 2 starter, entered the game.

It was a shocking move, but clinging to a five-run lead with the bases loaded, Schlossnagle wanted the arm that got them the final out of the Regional into the game.

Harrison delivered once again, striking out his batter on a 3-2 changeup. A record attendance at UFCU Disch-Falk Field erupted, as did Schlossnagle, who directed his anger towards the umpire who didn’t call a very close 2-2 pitch.

Texas was only up five now, but the bats weren’t finished.

Pack singled, Temo Becerra added another walk to the team’s slate and Adrian Rodriguez utilized a wild pitch to knock Pack in on a sac fly. It was a career night for Rodriguez, knocking in a career high five RBI thanks to a single, a double and a pair of sacrifice flies.

But wasn’t Rodriguez’s fly ball that people will remember from the sixth inning.

It will be Ethan Mendoza’s:

Mendoza, whom Schlossnagle had shouted out the day before for his impressive play the weekend before, knew the second he made contact that this ball was sailing out of the park. Texas had taken back their two runs, and added another.

Harrison would pitch another inning, allowing zero runs, before being relieved by Brody Walls, who would finish the final two frames allowing just one hit, a solo homer in the eighth.

Having thrown only 27 pitches, Harrison will be more than ready to pitch either out of the bullpen tomorrow night, or as a starter on Monday if need be.

Oregon would end the night leaving 17 runners on base, a nightmare result for a team that generated nine hits on the day, more than the Longhorns, but couldn’t get the big swing when needed.

It was far from a perfect game for Texas, both on the mound and from the top of its order, and yet they still left the Disch with a comfortable double-digit scoring victory.

The Longhorns and Ducks will face off tomorrow night at 8 P.M., with Texas now one win away from its first College World Series birth since 2022.