Realistically, the Longhorns (43-15), the No. 2 overall seed of the NCAA Tournament, couldn’t have started the Austin Regional any better. Against No. 4 seed Southern (20-29), the Austin Regional’s host team jumped out to a big lead early, to the delight of 5,447 in attendance, and received the exact start it hoped Tristan Stevens would deliver.

The weather also cooperated, at least for a day, and UFCU Disch-Falk Field created a scene and buzz missing since 2018. Texas Baseball was back to truly feeling like Texas Baseball again. The Longhorns moved into Saturday’s winner’s bracket game by beating Southern, 11-0.

“I didn't sense any kind of nervousness; just sensed the same kind of deal. And I mean, they don't know what to expect. We don't have any of them that really played in postseason,” said David Pierce about the team’s impressive all-around performance today from beginning to end. “So, for them to just go out there and just kind of go business as usual was pretty important for us today. And they did a nice job of handling that. But the energy was different. I'm telling you; the energy was definitely different. You could feel it. Just really proud of them getting that first one under the belt.”

Texas began the game with a sharp 1-2-3 inning, which included both Trey Faltine and Mitchell Daly making impressive defensive plays. Immediately, the Longhorns grabbed the lead in impressive fashion. Mike Antico walked, stole second, moved to third on an error and scored on Zach Zubia’s sacrifice fly.

Then, Ivan Melendez announced his presence, following a week to forget in Oklahoma City, by smashing a moon shot over the left field wall. The solo homer put Texas ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first and nearly hit cars in line waiting to get into the parking garage...

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