A six-run third inning fueled the No. 3 Texas Longhorns on the way to a 9-1 win over the UC-Davis Aggies at UFCU Disch-Falk Field to complete the sweep of the weekend series to open the 2026 season.
After Texas left the bases loaded in the first and second innings, managing only a sacrifice fly by junior second baseman Ethan Mendoza in the second, assistant coach Troy Tulowitzki made a dugout demand for someone to clear the bases. In the hole, sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez responded, “I got
you, Tulo. Watch this.”
Batting from the right side, Rodriguez swung at the first pitch he saw, a fastball up and out over the plate, driving a double to the wall in left-center field and bringing home all three runners for a 5-0 lead.
“I think my injury even helped my right-handed swing out more than it hurt in coming back. I feel looser now, my swing is more whippy, and I can get to a lot more pitches,” Rodriguez said.
Texas had already received another sacrifice fly that inning, from junior left fielder Ashton Larson, and added two more runs on RBI singles from junior center fielder Aiden Robbins and junior first baseman Casey Borba.
In the seventh and eighth inning, the Horns added two more runs, each unearned, for the final score.
At the top and bottom of the order, Texas continued to receive strong production from Mendoza, who had two hits, a walk, and two runs scored in addition to the sacrifice fly, and freshman right fielder Anthony Pack Jr., who also had two hits and scored a run. Pack finished his sensational debut weekend on the Forty Acres hitting .545 with six hits, two walks, and five runs scored.
On the mound, sophomore left-hander Dylan Volantis made the second start of his career and came through with an efficient performance, allowing one run on one hit with eight strikeouts over seven innings. Volantis was able to induce nine groundouts thanks to an effective sinker while also introducing his new changeup in the third inning.
“Dylan did a really nice job getting us to off to a good start. He had full control of the game. Felt like once he kind of found his breaking ball there in the second inning, he really looked like himself from last year,” Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle said.
Schlossnagle believes that the changeup will be key for Volantis to maintain his effectiveness in SEC play by complementing his devastating knuckle curveball.
The goal for Volantis was to throw about 75 pitches, so he gave way to freshman right-hander Michael Winter after throwing 78 pitches through seven innings, and the big power pitcher from Kansas struck out two while working around a hit and two walks in his two scoreless innings of work.
“Really happy to get Michael Winter in the game. He’s going to be a really good pitcher for Texas for a really long time, so excited to have him get his first opportunity,” Schlossnagle said.
Texas remains at the Disch for a challenging game against Southland Conference favorite Lamar on Tuesday with first pitch at 5 p.m. Central on SEC Network+.
