Notebook: Texas Longhorns Cruise Past Louisiana, Set Up Matchup With Rival Aggies

The Longhorns took care of their business against the Ragin' Cajuns on Friday night.

Dustin Safranek-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Longhorns (36-22) came into the College Station Regional as the No. 3 seed thanks to a disappointing showing in the Big 12 Tournament in Arlington. Going 0-2 did them no favors, and as a result, they were placed in a tough regional.

It didn't get any easier when they drew the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (40-19) as the No. 2 seed, featuring one of the best offenses in the nation. That didn't faze them, though, as they came out and handled business in dominant fashion to the tune of a 12-5 blowout win.

Now here are three key takeaways from the Longhorns' win over the Ragin' Cajuns.

Texas Longhorns infielder Jared Thomas (9) makes it safe to second base against Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. / Dustin Safranek-USA TODAY Sports

Grubbs delivered

Coming into Friday’s game against the Ragin’ Cajuns, the Longhorns sorely needed Grubbs to deliver a strong performance and shut down a potent lineup. Well, he did just that as he gave his team a much-needed solid outing. He gave up an early pair of solo home runs but buckled down after that.

Aside from those two mistake pitches, Grubbs only gave up two other runs in his five innings of work. Striking out four, the starter worked himself out of a couple of jams to leave in line for the win. And thanks to the offense's performance, he got the win to push Texas into the winner's bracket.

Offense showed out

Of course, it helps your starter when the offense takes them to an early 10-2 lead. That is exactly what the Longhorns did for Grubbs as they came out firing on all cylinders. Trailing 2-0 entering the fourth, they put up three runs to give Texas the lead.

The true show came one inning later in the fifth, however. Keeping the bats red hot, the Longhorns exploded for a whopping seven runs. Four of those came on one swing, with Jalin Flores launching a grand slam (his third of the season) to break the game open. They eventually tacked on two more runs, cruising to the 12-5 victory.

Saving Boehm

While the Longhorns have been inconsistent at times out of the bullpen this season, they have had a stable of reliable arms. Chief among them were Andre Duplantier II and Gage Boehm, with the former seeing action in the win over Louisiana. He gave Texas a solid 2.2 innings of shutout baseball, striking out four and giving up just one hit.

Meanwhile, Boehm was not needed in this win as it was never close after the fifth inning. For Texas, that is almost as big of a win as the win itself. A proven commodity in the later innings, Boehm's ability to shut down opponents in tight games has been massive for the Longhorns.

Having him fresh if needed against Texas A&M on Saturday evening is a bonus for the Longhorns and something that could be the difference between a win and a loss.

What's next for Texas?

After another strong showing in a regional opener under David Pierce, the Longhorns are in the winner's bracket. They will take on the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday night at 8 p.m. CT for a shot at the regional final.