2 weeks Ago By Austin American-Statesman
Ahead of the fourth inning of a baseball game against Auburn on Saturday, the door to the Texas bullpen opened.Since Texas freshman Jason Flores emerged from the bullpen at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, that meant starting pitcher Ruger Riojas' day was done. Was Riojas injured? Was he getting some rest since he had thrown a career-high 14 pitches the previous Sunday?The good news for Texas is that Riojas' early exit was part of a plan.
The bad news for Texas could also end up being that Riojas' early exit was part of a plan.MORE: Texas baseball could win the SEC in its debut year. Jim Schlossnagle has bigger goalsAfter his team recorded a run-ruled win over Auburn and secured a series sweep of the Tigers, Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle explained that he had only wanted Riojas to pitch a little in what turned out to be a 14-2 victory.
Riojas was working with a pitch count since the future availability of staff ace Jared Spencer and the makeup of UT's weekend rotation remains in limbo.Spencer was pulled from Thursday's 3-2 win over Auburn after 43 pitches because of what Schlossnagle described as a sore arm. Schlossnagle didn't offer any significant updates on Saturday, but he reiterated that Spencer is "going through all the testing, trying to get different opinions on what's going on with him.
""We won't know what's going on with Jared for a while," Schlossnagle said. "I can't envision him pitching next weekend (against Texas A&M), so we wanted to have options for Friday and Saturday. Since we have a little bit of extra time, then we can make those choices.
But if we left (Riojas) out there for a while, then we wouldn't have many choices."New pitch working out well for Texas relieversTexas scored seven runs over Saturday's first two innings, so Schlossnagle could afford to make an early pitching change. Flores then allowed two hits and a run over a 3 2⁄3-inning appearance that matched his season high.
During the fourth inning, Flores threw a splitter that was called for a third strike on Auburn slugger Ike Irish. During this series, Irish had homered off of four of Flores' teammates."It was gross," Flores said of his strikeout pitch.
we like this pup 🐶#HookEm | @JPF2481pic.twitter.com/VR3dfEw7Os— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) April 19, 2025Flores began throwing a splitter this season and is still getting comfortable with the pitch, but he did use it four or five times against the Tigers.
If the story of a Longhorn adding a splitter to their pitching arsenal sounds familiar, it's because junior Max Grubbs told a similar story after he pitched in Thursday's series opener."Actually, Grubbs, he got that splitter grip from me. We were talking about it and we just kind of came up with it, and then (pitching coach Max Weiner) told me about it, and then I just started throwing it.
Max wanted me to start throwing it and it became a really good pitch."More: Texas baseball: Is it time for Jonah Williams to occupy left field for the Longhorns?Flores and Grubbs, who relieved the injured Spencer on Thursday, were both credited with wins in this series. As a staff, Texas held an Auburn team that was averaging 7.
3 runs per game to seven runs. Take out the Irish homers, and Auburn scored just once.Texas now boasts a 2.
94 ERA this season. No other team in the Southeastern Conference has a sub-3.00 ERA.
MORE: Freshman Jonah Williams has the look of Texas' next great two-sport star | GoldenKimble Schuessler has a career day as Texas tames TigersTexas was led offensively on Saturday by Kimble Schuessler, who hit two three-run homers and added a two-run double. Those eight RBIs were a career-high total for Schuessler, a fifth-year senior who had never before driven in more than three runs in a game.Schuessler's second homer triggered the mercy rule in the seventh inning and ended the game.
Adrian Rodriguez and Casey Borba also homered for the top-ranked Longhorns, who improved to 33-5 with a 16-2 mark in SEC play after they swept No. 9 Auburn (27-13, 9-9). Texas has also swept Mississippi State, Missouri and Georgia this season.
Texas will return to the field on Tuesday when it travels to Texas State and tries to avenge one of its few losses this season, a 5-3 setback to the Bobcats on April 1. The Longhorns will then host rival Texas A&M next weekend in a series that gets underway on Friday.Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more.
Your subscription makes work like this possible. Get access to all of our best content with this tremendous offer.This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Ruger Riojas, Texas pitchers deliver in sweep against Auburn.
