MSU Topped By No. 3 Texas, 3-1, Saturday

Saturday, February 21

UFCU Disch-Falk Field | Austin, Texas

3 PM ET / 2 PM CT

Michigan State University

2-3

No. 3 Texas

6-0

Michigan State

Texas

Photo by: Alexandra Carnochan

2/21/2026 10:35:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score TEX 3, MSU 1 Box Score

Spartans battle Longhorns tough until home team pulls away late.

AUSTIN, Texas -- For the second game in a row, Michigan State baseball hung tough with No. 3 Texas, until the Longhorns pulled away in the late innings, in a 3-1 tightly-contested ballgame Saturday afternoon at UT's UFCU Disch-Falk Field in the second game of a three-game weekend series.

The Longhorns captured the series with Saturday's win, which came on the heels of Friday night's 8-1 Texas triumph, which was the first-ever meeting on the diamond between the Spartans and the Longhorns. UT improved to 6-0 on the season while MSU slid to 2-3.

Michigan State knocked five hits on the day, while Texas tallied eight hits, but only five after the first inning, when Spartan senior starting pitcher Carter Monke settled in and kept the game tight by keeping the Longhorns' bats mostly in check.

"I was proud of our effort out of our guys," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I thought Carter Monk was outstanding today and really gave us a chance to win. When you play a really good program like Texas, you need to take advantage of the opportunities that you do get, and unfortunately, we weren't able to do that today. So credit them, they played very well, and I thought we played well also, but, just missed out on maybe one or two opportunities, and those were the deciding factors in the game."

Just like Friday's series opener, the home-standing Longhorns got on the board first, scoring on an RBI single in their first at bat for the early 1-0 advantage.

The Spartans countered with a run in the third to tie the game at 1-1, and it stayed tied until the seventh, when the Longhorns scored an unearned run, after MSU went to the bullpen after Monke's solid day.

The first-year Spartan went 6.1 IP, scattering seven hits, yielding two runs, one earned, with three strikeouts and two walks, in being dealt the tough-luck loss. Senior reliever Nolan Higgins came on in with one out in the seventh, going the final 1.2 IP, with one hit, one run, one K and one walk. Texas got an insurance run in the eighth on a home run.

Junior infielder Ryan McKay was 2-for-3 with an RBI, as he now has both of the Spartan RBI in the series. Sophomore outfielder Isaac Sturgess was 1-for-3 with a run scored, while junior infielder Jasen Oliver was also 1-for-3, and senior infielder Randy Seymour was 1-for-4 with a double, MSU's lone extra-base hit on the day and the weekend.

Texas got a leadoff single by Ethan Mendoza to open the bottom of the first, and Mendoza advanced to second on a groundout, Aiden Robbins laced a single up the middle to score Mendoza and put the Longhorns on the board, but Monke later induced a 4-6-3 double play from McKay to Oliver to Seymour, to end the inning.

MSU tied it up in the top of the third, as Sturgess laced a 1-out single up the middle. Sturgess advanced to second on a passed ball and to third on a deep flyout by senior outfielder Nick Williams, having an extra-base hit taken away by Robbins, the Texas center fielder. McKay then singled to center to plate Sturgess and level the game up at 1-all.

It stayed knotted at a run apiece until the seventh, when Monke yielded a one-out walk followed by a single, and MSU went to the pen and Higgins took over on the mound. After a fielder's choice, as the Spartans were unable to turn another double play, a passed ball allowed the go-ahead run to score.

Robbins led off the eighth with an opposite-field home run down the right field line and off the foul pole, for not only the insurance run, but also completing the cycle.

The Spartans didn't go quietly into the windy Austin afternoon, as McKay led off the ninth with a single, but the rally fizzled without a run to end the game.

MSU and Texas wrap up their inaugural three-game weekend series on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. CT, and the series finale will be a simulcast with the Texas radio broadcast.

The Spartans' schedule is subject to change, fans can stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates, along with follow action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links where available.