No. 2 Texas baseball and No. 5 Auburn battled this weekend like a pair of top-tive teams should have, but the Longhorns took the big SEC road series on Sunday’s 5-0 win at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.
The Longhorns (20-3, 4-2 SEC) took their second conference series in as many tries, though neither of the weekend wins over Ole Miss or Auburn have come easy. Sunday’s series finale — Auburn took Friday’s opener 4-3 and Texas answered with a 7-6 win Saturday — became a battle of the bullpens, and the Longhorns came out way ahead there.
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• Five Texas pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout. Longhorns starter Dylan Volantis (4 innings, 3 hits, 4 walks, 0 runs on 94 pitches) threw four shutout innings, though none of them came without drama.
MORE: How Texas baseball ate its way to early-season domimance this year
• Longhorns reliever Sam Cozart (2⅔ innings, no hits, no runs, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts) had things on relative cruise control for the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. From there. UT coach Jim Schlossnagle worked his bullpen to close things out.
• Cozart ended up getting the pitching victory. He improved to 4-0.
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• Texas first baseman Casey Borba (2-for-4, 3 RBIs) hit a two-run home run in the second inning and catcher Carson Tinney hit a two-run single in the fourth to power the Longhorns. An RBI groundout in the fifth inning was Borba’s 25th of the season.
Next up: a nonconference game at Houston on Tuesday, then a conference series with Oklahoma beginning Thursday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Here’s a replay of Sunday’s game:
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Texas Longhorns pitcher Dylan Volantis (99) throws a pitch during the NCAA D1 Baseball Tournament Regional against UTSA at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Saturday, May 31, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Auburn tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, chasing Texas relief pitcher Brett Crossland and putting the first two hitters on base with no outs, but Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle continued to work his bullpen and held off the Tigers 5-0 for No. 2 Texas.
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Eddie Madrigal, a pinch-hitter, led off with a shot to right field over Jayden Duplantier for an opening double and then catcher Taylor Belza walked. With runners on first and second and no outs, Crossland got a called strike on a 3-2 pitch to Cade Belyeu, but then was replaced by Max Grubbs, making his team high-tying 10th appearance after also throwing in Friday night’s loss and Saturday’s win.
Grubbs struck out Chris Rembert for the second out and ended the game on a Chase Fralick fly ball to right field.
Saxon Roberts, a redshirt freshman making his first appearance of the season, was Auburn’s seventh pitcher of the game. He opened the ninth and promptly walked the first two Longhorns, so left-hander Abe Chancellor became the Tigers’ eighth thrower. That became a runners on first and third with two outs and UT slugger Casey Borba at the plate.
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It also led to Auburn’s ninth pitcher — Garrett Brewer, the Michigan State transfer with three saves on the season — who got out of the inning by striking out Borba.
So Texas takes a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Texas reliever Brett Crossland will be facing pinch-hitter Eddie Madrigal, center fielder Bristol Carter (0-for-3 today) and second baseman Chris Rembert (0-for-4).
Texas’ bullpen continues to shine. Freshman reliever Brett Crossland zipped through the bottom of the eighth inning on a pair of strikeouts.
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They’re entering the top of the ninth in Auburn, Ala.
Auburn’s bottom of the seventh inning featured a Texas error, a couple of Tigers baserunners and a couple of UT pitching changes — and no runs to show for it.
A brilliant back-handed, across-the-infield play from Ethan Mendoza and Casey Borba got the Longhorns out of the inning without giving up a run. It was easily the play of the day for Texas, which would have given up Auburn’s first run and had runners on first and third had Borba not made that play. It came after right fielder Jayden Duplantier had provided the previous play of the day.
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Sam Cozart opened the inning by missing on a throw to first base off an inning-opening bunt by Lucas Steele. It was Texas’ second error of the weekend and the first since Friday night’s loss. But he chased Bristol Carter on strikes, got the second out on a beautifully played shot to right from UT right fielder Jayden Duplantier (who made a nice charging catch on a tailing shot from Chris Rembert).
But three pitches later, Cozart was working a 2-1 count against Auburn third baseman Chase Fralick when UT coach Jim Schlossnagle made his move. At that point, Cozart had thrown 46 pitches.
In came Ethan Walker (1-1, 0.00 ERA), who’s making his team-high 10th pitching appearance. But he lasted just one batter — he ended up walking Fralick — and Schlossnagle was back out there, turnng to Brett Crossland, a freshman from Phoenix, Ariz. It was Crossland who got the inning-ending groundout.
Adrian Rodriguez’s leadoff single to left field led to a pair of pitching changes for Auburn, but in the end the Tigers got out of the top of the seventh inning without sustaining further damage. Five Longhonrs batted and a pair of runners ended up stranded. Texas takes a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning.
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Sam Cozart is on the mound for his third inning of work.
This SEC series rubber game has become a battle of the bullpens. Sam Cozart has made things look fairly easy peasy for Texas, but Auburn is working with its fifth pitcher of the day in Connor Gatwood, who replaced Ethan Harden — who had replaced Jett Johnston, who started off the inning.
Harden, a left-hander who was a closer for Belmont last year, got past Casey Borba on a pop fly out to first before giving way to Gatwood, who’s making only his third appearance of the season.
Auburn’s Jett Johnston got the Tigers out of the top of the sixth inning unscathed for a change: the Longhorns had put up two runs in the second, two in the fourth and one in the fifth.
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Sam Cozart’s back on the mound for his second inning of work for Texas, which is nine outs away from taking the series.
Sam Cozart opened the fifth in relief of Texas starter Dylan Volantis, who battled through four shutout innings but also was approaching 100 pitches thrown. Cozart (3-0, 2.53) made efficient work of the Tigers’ batters, producing the first 1-2-3 inning of the day for the Longhorns.
Volantis’ pitching line: 4 innings, 3 hits, 4 walks, 0 runs on 94 pitches. If Texas prevails, he’d improve to 4-0 on the season.
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New pitcher, same pitching issues for Auburn.
Tigers reliever Christian Chatterton, who came in at the end of last inning, loaded the bases with two walks and a single to open the fifth. And with Casey Borba — who hit a two-run home run in the second inning — up to bat with no outs, that was it for Chatterton (one-third of an inning pitched, one hit, two walks).
In came Jett Johnston, Auburn’s third pitcher of the game. Johnston got Borba to hit into a double play, but not before scoring Adrian Rodriguez, who led off the inning with a walk. It was Borba’s 25th RBI of the season.
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Texas starter Dylan Volantis, who’s been pitching on the edge of trouble all afternoon, gave up a two-out single but otherwise breezed through the bottom of the fourth inning. Will he return for a fifth? (Sam Cozart is warming up in the UT bullpen.)
Through four innings, Volantis has given up three hits and four walks, but also critically no runs, and has thrown 94 pitches.
Texas doubled up its lead on a pair of singles, a costly walk and a two-out, bases-loaded, two-run single by catcher Carson Tinney, putting the Longhorns up 4-0 and chasing Auburn starter Alex Petrovic, who gave up seven hits, two runs and two walks in 3⅔ innings. He threw 78 pitches and struck out four.
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Christian Chatterton came on in relief of Petrovic and got the final out of the inning.
One of the two Texas runs was scored by Casey Borba, who got things started with a one-out single after hitting a two-run home run in the second inning.
Texas singled twice in the top of the third inning but was unable to do anything with those baserunners against Houston-area native Alex Petrovic. Auburn then gathered its first two hits of the afternoon during the inning’s bottom half before Texas starting pitcher Dylan Volantis got an inning-ending groundout with his 77th pitch of the afternoon.
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For the second straight inning, Dylan Volantis walked two batters. The left-handed sophomore, however, kept the shutout intact with an inning-ending shutout of Auburn leadoff hitter Bristol Carter.
Volantis gets his third K on the day, gonna need the bullpen with his pitch count at 58 through two innings
dead even 50% strikes thrown today pic.twitter.com/kkw4KsgoSo
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) March 22, 2026
Volantis’ pitch count might soon become a concern for Texas, though. After needing 30 pitches to get through the first inning, Volantis threw 28 pitches during the second session. Last week against Ole Miss, Volantis threw a career-high 102 pitches.
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Texas has struck first at Plainsman Park. With one out in the second inning, UT first baseman Casey Borba launched a baseball over the 37-foot wall in left field. That two-run shot was the eighth homer of Borba’s season, and that total ranks behind just Aiden Robbins’ nine on the Texas roster. Seven of Borba’s home runs have been hit over his past 11 games.
Texas starter Dylan Volantis labored through a long first inning, but a pop-out to catcher Carson Tinney stranded two runners on base. Volantis threw 30 pitches and walked two Tigers in the first inning.
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More: Why it’s so tough to beat Longhorns twice in one weekend
In the first inning’s top half, Aiden Robbins had a loud single off the wall in left field. That, though, would be the Longhorns’ only fit in the opening frame.
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Where: Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.
TV/radio: SEC Network+, 1300 AM
2B Ethan Mendoza
C Carson Tinney
CF Aiden Robbins
SS Adrian Rodriguez
3B Temo Becerra
LF Anthony Pack Jr.
1B Casey Borba
DH Ashton Larson
RF Jayden Duplantier
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CF Bristol Carter
2B Chris Rembert
DH Chase Fralick
3B Eric Guevara
LF Bub Terrell
1B Ethin Bingaman
RF Mason McCraine
SS Brandon McCraine
C Lucas Steele
LHP Dylan Volantis (3-0, 1.53 ERA)
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RHP Alex Petrovic (4-0, 2.03 ERA)