{"id":712721,"date":"2026-05-30T11:51:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T11:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/712721\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T11:51:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T11:51:25","slug":"texas-baseballs-power-show-by-anthony-pack-jr-a-huge-sign-for-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/712721\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas baseball’s power show by Anthony Pack Jr. a huge sign for future"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Anthony Pack,\u00a0Jr. <\/a>went bang, bang, bang and Texas baseball<\/a>\u2019s Omaha itinerary is right on schedule.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Holy Cross, the Austin Regional’s No. 4 seed,\u00a0played its role in Friday’s\u00a019-1 blowout<\/a> at UFCU Disch-Falk Field and the hosts looked every bit the part of a team with College World Series aspirations.<\/p>\n

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Pack became the first Texas freshman to hit three homers in an NCAA postseason game. His third, a mammoth fifth-inning blast that landed on the school bus parked behind the right field wall on Comal St., accounted for his 10th homer, his 70th hit and his 50th RBI this season. All on one swing.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns outfielder Anthony Pack Jr. (6) celebrates a home run during the NCAA Baseball Regional game against Holy Cross at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, May 29, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s pretty good,\u201d said Holy Cross coach Ed Kahovec. \u201cHe\u2019s a guy who just makes you pay for your mistakes. \u00a0If you don\u2019t throw your \u2018A\u2019 pitch or your plus pitch, he\u2019ll make you pay for it. And that was really evident today. We left pitches up to him. He was really impressive. He\u2019s super athletic with tremendous versatility in terms of how dynamic he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns outfielder Anthony Pack Jr. (6) celebrates a home run during the NCAA Baseball Regional game against Holy Cross at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, May 29, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Sign up for\u00a0Ced’s Corner<\/p>\n

Sign up for Cedric Golden\u2019s newsletter<\/a> for hot takes and expert analysis each Tuesday on Texas Longhorns football and beyond. \u00a0It’s called Ced\u2019s Corner, from the mind of the American-Statesman\u2019s resident sports columnist who was named the NSMA’s 2025 Texas Sportswriter of the Year.<\/p>\n

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Pack, the reigning SEC freshman of the year, is one of the most emotional Longhorns. He didn\u2019t mind taking a school-record three curtain calls and sharing some some chest bumps while blowing kisses to the crowd in celebration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made a couple of different changes to my swing,\u201d Pack said. \u201cI actually made a change to copy (UT teammate Aiden Robbins\u2019) swing with my bat wiggle and my leg kick. I\u2019m just learning from these older guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And what about being the only Longhorn to drop three postseason bombs in one game?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really cool,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a great game. I think it\u2019s on to the next one. That was cool, but I think my mind is on the next game now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle chuckled to himself a couple of weeks ago when asked about staff ace Dylan Volantis, who’s expected to take the bump in Saturday\u2019s semifinal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get him for another year,\u201d Schlossnagle said.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/p>\n

The Texas Longhorns celebrtate a home run by outfielder Aiden Robbins (43) during the NCAA Baseball Regional game against Holy Cross at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, May 29, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Imagine how giddy Schloss must be knowing he’ll have Pack for another two seasons \u2014 that is, if he can keep the portal poachers off the kid\u2019s doorstep. Pack was the first SEC freshman in 10 years to hit .400 in conference play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this guy really a freshman?\u201d I asked Robbins.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. He proves me wrong every day,\u201d Robbins said. \u201cHe\u2019s just confident. He know his ability to just go out there and play free and he displays that every time he steps on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Pack was unstoppable for most of the day, but cramps invaded his legs after his third bomb. It was either a lack of proper hydration or all that jogging around the bases that caught up to him.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns head coach Jim Schlossnagle walks the dugout ahead of the NCAA Baseball Regional game against Holy Cross at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, May 29, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Things were going so well for the Horns that his replacement, Jayden \u201cGumbo\u201d Duplantier, smacked a five-run homer in the sixth to give the Horns a 16-0 lead. Fourteen of Texas’ 19 runs came with the two outs.<\/p>\n

It was an offensive fiesta as each Longhorns starter had at least one hit. The 19 runs were the most in a postseason game since a 19-8 win over Arkansas in the 2005 Austin Regional and the 18-point run differential tied for the biggest in program history with that 2005 team that beat Quinnipiac in that same regional.<\/p>\n

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The OG’s among us remember the Horns losing to the Hogs earlier in the 2005 regional before rallying for a pair of wins and a super regional berth where they beat Ole Miss in three games before going on to capture a sixth national title.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Why Texas grabbed that early time slot<\/p>\n

Schlossnagle informed the NCAA of his decision to take the noon game over Friday’s 5 p.m. slot and it was all about maximizing rest time if the Horns won.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s not an advantage unless the players take advantage of it,\u201d Schlossnagle said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we just had a quick conversation about. These guys need to get off their feet (and) hydrate, like, really hydrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

He took a glance at Pack for emphasis.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns infielders Temo Becerra (1) and Adrian Rodriguez (24) hold up the sign of the horns ahead of the NCAA Baseball Regional game against Holy Cross at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, May 29, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Friday could not have gone better, pitching wise. The Horns went with graduate lefty Luke Harrison and saved Volantis for a potential semifinal showdown with UC Santa Barbara ace Jackson Flora, who’s projected to be a top-five pick in next month\u2019s Major League amateur draft but the Gauchos ran into a Tarleton State buzzsaw, setting up a Longhorns-Texans rematch of a March 17 game, won 6-1 by TSU.<\/p>\n

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Big Luke didn\u2019t qualify for Friday’s win because he logged only four innings, but the goal was to get the Horns a no-drama outing, unlike the nail-biters some fellow SEC teams had to eke out. Florida and K\/entucky both won by one run while Tennessee and Auburn weren\u2019t so fortunate, losing to East Carolina and those unheralded Panthers of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, respectively. And UCLA, the NCAA’s top overall seed, lost to St. Mary\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Texas pitching coach Max Weiner used only four relievers and none were named Sam Cozart, Thomas Burns or Brett Crossland, a trio that\u2019s done the heavy lifting during weekend games.<\/p>\n

The Longhorns are still nowhere near to booking plane tickets to Omaha, but they’re right where they need to be.<\/p>\n

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