Following a frustrating 2-1 loss Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth, Sunday presented the biggest game, to this point, for the No. 6 Longhorns (38-12, 15-6) this season. With a chance to win a critical series against in-state rivals, keep their Big 12 title hopes alive, and give their postseason resume a big boost, Texas delivered its most emphatic statement of the season. The Longhorns are a true threat to reach Omaha and stay there a while.

Pete Hansen tossed a gem and Texas used the longball early to dominate No. 3 TCU (34-12, 16-5). The game, a 9-3 beatdown, never felt close. What was a truly electric, dynamic home atmosphere Friday night and some of Saturday turned into a bunch of empty seats by the seventh inning on Sunday. The Longhorns silenced TCU by being the mentally tougher, more confident and better baseball team in the series-deciding game, which is quite the statement considering TCU looked every bit of an Omaha contender for much of the weekend.

Perhaps the best representation of why these Longhorns are so good and so mentally tough was Zach Zubia’s performance today. The veteran slugger was caught looking on an inside fastball to end yesterday’s 2-1 Texas loss. Today, his first at-bat resulted in a solo bomb to left field when he smashed a hanging 2-2 breaking ball...

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