Alright, baseball fans, if you missed the action this weekend, you missed some fireworks. The NCAA Regionals are heating up, and two teams, Texas and Wake Forest, really made some noise to keep their title hopes alive.
Starting down in Austin, Texas, the Longhorns showed why they’re the No. 1 seed in their regional and also the No. 2 national seed overall. Casey Borba was basically on fire, hitting a grand slam right out of the gate in the very first inning. Talk about setting the tone! But that wasn’t all from Borba. He went on to crush another homer in the third inning, a three-run shot this time, finishing with a whopping eight RBIs. Yeah, eight runs batted in, that’s basically carrying the team on your back.
Texas scored a total of 15 runs against Kansas State, which is the third seed, in what was essentially an elimination game for the Wildcats. The Longhorns showed some serious offense, and with that win, they’re still alive and kicking at the Austin Regional. Kansas State’s season ended with that brutal loss, but you gotta tip your cap to Texas.
Now, Texas isn’t just sitting back and relaxing. They’ve got to face off against UTSA, the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners in the championship round on Sunday night. What’s interesting here is that UTSA is the No. 2 seed in this regional and is making history because this is the first time ever they’ve reached a regional championship. That’s huge for their program.
But it’s a double-elimination format, which means Texas has to beat UTSA twice to clinch the regional title. That’s a tall order, especially considering the Roadrunners just sent Texas to the loser’s bracket with a 9-7 win the day before. So, it’s kind of like a grudge match. Texas wants to show they’re the better team, and UTSA is riding high with momentum.
Speaking of UTSA, they didn’t just get there by luck. AJ Evasco was a beast on Sunday, knocking two homers to help his team’s cause. And Seth Dardar chipped in with a solo home run, making sure the Roadrunners had plenty of firepower. If Texas wants to come out on top, it’ll have to figure out a way to shut these guys down.
Meanwhile, over in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons kept their postseason hopes alive with a strong 10-3 victory over Cincinnati. Wake Forest’s Marek Houston was a key player, going 3 for 5 at the plate, which included a home run, a double, and four RBIs. That guy was making plays and putting pressure on Cincinnati’s pitching staff all game long.
Speaking of pitching, Matthew Dallas put in some serious work on the mound, pitching seven and two-thirds innings and holding Cincinnati to just three runs. That kind of solid, steady pitching is exactly what you need in these high-stakes games. You can’t win it all if you’re giving up runs early and often, and Dallas didn’t let that happen.
Cincinnati actually won the regional opener against Wake Forest on Friday, so this win was a bit of payback. But it’s worth noting that after scoring in the early innings, Cincinnati was basically shut down offensively for most of the game; they didn’t get anything going until the eighth inning, and by then Wake Forest had already put up a commanding 10-0 lead. At that point, the game was pretty much out of reach.
So, Wake Forest is moving on to face Tennessee, which is the No. 14 national seed and one of the favorites in this regional. The Demon Deacons have a tall task ahead of them because Tennessee is the defending national champion, and if Wake Forest wants to punch their ticket to the super regionals, they’ll have to beat the Vols twice. That’s no easy feat, but Wake Forest has shown they’re not afraid to fight.
When you look at these two matchups, Texas vs. UTSA and Wake Forest vs. Tennessee, it’s clear the NCAA baseball postseason is far from over. There’s drama, there’s history-making moments, and, most importantly, there’s some damn good baseball being played.
Casey Borba’s performance for Texas? Legendary for this stage. Hitting a grand slam in the first inning of an elimination game and then adding a three-run homer later? That’s exactly the kind of clutch hitting that can inspire a whole team. But Texas has to keep that momentum going and find a way to outlast UTSA’s powerful bats.
UTSA, on the other hand, is the Cinderella story of this regionals. Never before had they been this close to a regional championship, and now they’re just one or two games away. Players like AJ Evasco and Seth Dardar have been stepping up, and with that confidence, they might just pull off the upset.
Over in Knoxville, Wake Forest’s balanced attack, combining strong pitching and timely hitting, is what’s going to keep them in this. Marek Houston and Matthew Dallas are shining examples of what the team needs right now. But Tennessee is a beast to beat, especially with their recent championship pedigree.
If you’re a fan of college baseball, these next few days are going to be pretty thrilling. Who’s going to rise? Who’s going to fall? And who’ll keep their dreams alive for a chance to move on to the super regionals?
