Longhorns Country

Longhorns Notebook: No. 11 Texas Stays Red Hot, Sweeps Mississippi State

The Longhorns extend their winning streak to an amazing 17 straight victories.

Connor Zimmerlee

Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While one series does not a season make, you would be hard pressed to find a fanbase happier than the No. 11 Texas Longhorns (17-1, 3-0) after the opening weekend of SEC play.

First up on the schedule was a trip into the hostile environment that is Dudy Noble Field to face a solid Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-7, 0-3) squad. After taking game one on Friday and game two as part of a double-header on Sunday, the Longhorns looked for the sweep in the finale.

They got the job done with an outstanding performance from the entire squad, as both the pitching staff and offense did what was needed to secure a 4-1 win and a sweep to open up SEC play.

Now, here are three key takeaways from the Longhorns' three-game sweep of the Bulldogs.

Ethan Mendoz
Texas Longhorns infielder Ethan Mendoza (5) runs to third during the game against Dartmouth at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Pitching staff rolling

At this point in the season it is evident just how big of a hire it was when the Longhorns brought in Jim Schlossnagle. He alone is a drastic improvement over most coaches across the country. However, perhaps the biggest win in the process was pitching coach Max Weiner coming with him.

Over the weekend the Longhorns kept the Bulldogs' potent offense in check. They held a team that had scored 141 runs in 17 games to a mere 11 runs in three games. Both the starting arms and the bullpen were magnificient.

As the road through conference play continues to unfold, Texas getting outings like this weekend from the pitching staff will go a long way toward a potential deep postseason run.

Clutch hitting continues

Not all at-bats are created equal. Coming up with no outs and no one is significantly different compared to stepping to the plate with men aboard, two outs and your team in need of a big hit. Unless you're the Longhorns, that is.

It seemingly doesn't matter what the situation is, you can expect the Longhorns to deliver. Each game of the sweep saw an inning with the bats coming up clutch. Game one was a five-run seventh inning, game two was a Max Belyeu two-run blast in the seventh and then the finale saw two in the seventh as well.

All three occurrences led to the Longhorns holding a lead late in the game, which the bullpen then came in and protected to prevent a loss.

One game at a time

That has been the mindset for the Longhorns as they've stacked up win after win en route to an impressive 17-game winning streak. Of course, the excitement is high as the latest three in that stretch of dominance powered them to a 3-0 start in SEC play.

However, they cannot afford to look too far ahead. They now return home to face a strong UTSA squad, and one that can easily pull an upset if they're not careful. The Longhorns undoubtedly have the talent to be a dangerous team as long as they continue to grind out their brand of baseball.

What's next for Texas?

The Longhorns will be back in action on Tuesday evening as they return home for a midweek clash against the UTSA Roadrunners at 6:30 p.m. CT, kicking off a five-game homestand.

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Connor Zimmerlee
CONNOR ZIMMERLEE

Connor Zimmerlee is a writer and reporter for the FanNation network. Zimmerlee received his Bachelor's of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism with a Master's of Science in Journalism with a Specialization in Sports Media. 

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