OMAHA, Neb. – The first inning couldn’t have gone much worse for Texas starter Dylan Volantis in the Longhorns’ 7-1 loss to Georgia Saturday night.
The good? Volantis recorded two strikeouts. The bad? Neither of the two strikeouts retired batters. The ugly? Volantis threw 42 pitches to 10 batters.
After starting with an eight-pitch walk to Georgia leadoff man Tre Phelps, Rylan Lujo cashed in the free pass when he hit a one-out homer off the left field foul pole. Then a dropped third strike and a throwing error by catcher Carson Tinney on the attempted putout at first allowed Mike O’Shaughnessy to get on. A single by Kenny Ishikawa gave the Bulldogs runners on first and second with no outs.
A fly out by No. 6 hitter Ryan Wynn was the second out, but the real trouble — most of which wasn’t Volantis’ fault — started when Volantis hit Brennan Hudson to load the bases. Kolby Branch swung and missed at strike three, but Tinney couldn’t corral the ball, and the wild pitch was compounded by a throwing error when Tinney, forced to make the play in a rush, sent the throw to first went into the outfield, allowing two runs to score. Suddenly it was 4-0 Georgia early.
But Longhorns head coach Jim Schlossnagle didn’t go to the bullpen. Despite the high pitch count, he stayed with his starter, who had kept bringing a bulldog mentality to the mound against the Bulldogs.
“What happened in the first, I told myself, you know, got to give the team a chance to win,” Volantis said after the game. “Went out there, kept battling no matter what. I didn’t care if it was a 0-0 ball game, in my head, no matter what the score is, I just go out there compete.”
And compete he did, throwing 5 1/3 more innings and using just 69 pitches to do it. With more baseball to be played in Omaha before the national championship is won, Schlossnagle sticking with Volantis after a 42-pitch opening frame could pay dividends down the road. Because Volantis stayed in the game, the Longhorns only had to use two relievers. Brett Crossland threw 2/3 of an inning, and Michael Winter threw the eighth.
With a day of rest, both should be available if needed for Monday’s elimination game against Alabama, giving Schlossnagle full availability from his bullpen.
But more importantly, by not pulling Volantis when he ran into trouble early, Schlossnagle avoided burning more arms in his bullpen, which, come Monday, where each win staves off elimination and buys Texas another day in Omaha he could need, and Texas needs to win four straight to make it to the championship series. They’ll need the bullpen to be available to do it.
Sure, their backs are against the wall, but to Schlossnagle, the situation isn’t dire at all.
“I mean, it’s a double-elinination. It’s not the SEC tournament, thank goodness. It is the College World Series tournament, so we get a day off. Ruger [Riojas]’s pitching,” Schlossnagle said. “I know we’ll face, I’m guessing, Zane Adams probably for Alabama. He’s a good pitcher. He beat us earlier in the year. He’s from Texas.”
Unlike Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunn, the Longhorns’ pets heads are not falling off.
“So, I mean, it’s not — I mean, we’re not going to die, at least I don’t think,” Schlossnagle said to guffaws from the media. “It’s unfortunate to lose the game, but dire is a little deep there. … Dire. It’s baseball game. We’ll be alright.”
Photos: Texas pitcher Dylan Volantis (99) throws during an NCAA baseball College World Series game against Georgia, Saturday, June 13, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. Georgia won 7-1. (AP Photo/Vera Nieuwenhuis)
