A one-swing turnaround
The Texas Longhorns trailed late with a regional title on the line, and Aiden Robbins provided the swing that changed everything.
His two-run home run to right-center field in the seventh inning put Texas ahead for good, and the Longhorns held on to beat UC Santa Barbara 6-4 before 7,884 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, clinching the Austin Regional and a spot in an NCAA Super Regional.
How it unfolded
UC Santa Barbara struck first when Rowan Kelly homered to right-center in the opening inning. The Gauchos carried that 1-0 lead into the sixth, when Texas finally answered: Robbins scored on a sacrifice fly by Rodriguez to tie it, and Carson Tinney came home on an RBI single by Mendoza to put the Longhorns up 2-1.
The lead did not last. UC Santa Barbara responded in the bottom of the sixth, pushing across two runs on a bunt single and a pair of Texas miscues to retake a 3-2 edge.
That set the stage for Robbins. His blast to right-center in the seventh, scoring Borba ahead of him, swung the game back to Texas at 4-3. The Longhorns added insurance in the eighth on Mendoza's RBI double and a throwing error, opening a 6-3 cushion before the Gauchos managed a single run in the bottom of the inning.