9 Baseball advances to regional finals with 5-2 victory over La Tech

AUSTIN, Texas (KTRK) - No. 9 on the list At the NCAA Austin Regional on Saturday, Texas Baseball defeated Louisiana Tech 5-2 in front of a program-record crowd at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

The Longhorns (44-19) will face either Louisiana Tech or Air Force in the regional final on Sunday at 7 p.m.

The audience of 8,502 was the greatest for a college baseball game at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, beating the previous record of 8,000 for a postseason game against Oklahoma on May 29, 1982.

Tristan Stevens earned his sixth win of the season after pitching 3 2/3 innings of critical relief and allowing only one run on four hits. Stevens was pulled from the bullpen into a jam in the sixth inning, but he was able to end the threat with a pop up and a strikeout before pitching the rest of the game.

With the score tied 1-1 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, the Longhorns pulled together a strong three-run inning on six straight singles to take a 4-1 lead.

To begin, Douglas Hodo III and Eric Kennedy each hit one-out singles, followed by Melendez's go-ahead RBI single to left-center. With an RBI single, Murphy Stehly drove in another run, and Skyler Messinger finished the inning with an RBI double to left.

Trey Faltine went 2-for-3 with a double and one run scored, while Melendez went 2-for-3 with one RBI.

Lucas Gordon got the start and went 5 1/3 innings, scattering nine hits and surrendering only one run. He only gave up one walk while striking out six batters.

With a single home run in the bottom of the first inning, Dylan Campbell gave the Longhorns an early lead. After starting the inning with a double, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI single, Louisiana Tech knotted the game at 1-1.

Following Texas' huge three-run inning, the Bulldogs answered with a run in the eighth inning, cutting the advantage to 4-2.

After Faltine led off the inning with a double, Texas added another insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Mitchell Daly launched a pinch-hit sacrifice fly after Hodo sacrificed him to third base.