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Longhorns Notebook: Texas Dominates Kansas State, Avoids Elimination

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Connor Zimmerlee | Last updated Jun 1, 2025 6:43 PM ET

One game at a time was the mantra the Texas Longhorns (44-13) adopted following their disappointing loss to the UTSA Roadrunners on Saturday night. That loss sent them to the loser's bracket and meant they'd need to rattle off three wins in a row to avoid losing the Austin Regional.

Well, they brought themselves one step closer to that goal with an absolutely dominant performance against the Kansas State Wildcats (32-26). It was all Longhorns from the jump, as they blasted out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first and never looked back, cruising until the final out and securing a 15-8 win to set up a rematch against UTSA in the regional championship.

Now, here are three key takeaways from the Longhorns’ win over the Wildcats.

Hello, Casey Borba

Postseason play is when players make a name for themselves and establish their place in school lore. Looking to do just that, Casey Borba was scorching hot for the Longhorns in their first two games. Against the Huskies on Friday he collected a hit, a walk and drove in one. Then against the Roadrunners he added two more doubles, another walk and another RBI.

That was just the warm up, though. Against the Wildcats he drove in seven runs in the first three innings. No, that isn’t a typo. He blasted a grand slam in the first and a three-run shot in the third, recording his first career multi-homer game. Finishing strong, he added another two singles and an RBI, bringing his total to a whopping eight for the day.

Ruger bounces back

Things had not been going well for Ruger Riojas entering his start against the Wildcats. Down the home stretch of the regular season he was tagged up on more than one occasion, looking far from the dominant ace that he had been for the Longhorns in the wake of the injury to Jared Spencer.

And it looked like that was what was going to happen again, as he gave up a three-run home run in the first inning. From there he buckled down. The right-hander made lightwork of the Wildcats’ lineup the rest of the way, gutting out a sensational 7.1 innings and only allowing four more runs, saving the Texas bullpen ahead of the regional final against UTSA.

Forget about Saturday

After dropping an absolute gut punch of a game to the Roadrunners on Saturday night it would have been easy for the Longhorns to roll over and give up on Sunday. Instead, they came ready to play and were firing on all cylinders from the very first batter en route to a insert here victory to avoid elimination.

Now, they must do it again. A win over the Wildcats was only the first step for the Longhorns, as they must beat the Roadrunners twice to avoid an early end to their season. They’ve shown they can put up runs in bunches, now they just need to to keep firing on all cylinders against UTSA on Sunday night.