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No. 1 Texas baseball run-rules No. 8 Auburn, securing series sweep off the back of Kimble Schuessler's eight-RBI day

by:EvanVieth•04/19/25
Kimble Schuessler
Kimble Schuessler (Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

When Kimble Schuessler stepped up with two on and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning in Saturday’s matchup between Texas and Auburn, he had nothing left to prove.

Schuessler was arguably the hottest hitter in college baseball up till that point, sporting an absurd .647 batting average in last five games with five of his 11 hits being for extra bases. Even on Saturday, Schuessler had already notched a career high five RBI thanks to a three-run homer in the first and a two-RBI double in the second.

As he stepped into the plate, the entire stadium knew that a base hit would give Texas a 10-run lead, a run-rule win to complete a series sweep. Instead, Schuessler turned on the first pitch of the at-bat, sending a nuke past the handful of dogs in the Yeti Yard in left-center. It was Bark in the Park today, after all. Defeated, the Tigers walked off the field two innings early as the Longhorns celebrated Schuessler’s walk-off homer, giving Texas a 14-2 win.

“What a day for Kimble Schuessler, man,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “What a guy, what an incredible leader, baseball player, competitive athlete. One of the top four or five pure competitors that I’ve ever coached and I’m honored to be on his team.”

Today it felt like it was Schuessler’s team, going 3/5 with two homers, a double, eight RBI and two runs. It had become tradition for the player of the game to be given the scorecard after the game, and Schuessler more than deserved his flowers this afternoon.

“I felt good. My approach this weekend was really to stay on the heater and I did a good job of that,” Schuessler said about his approach.

Schuessler’s performance was the cherry on top of one of the best weekends of the year for Texas Baseball and its fans. It really had everything: a 3-2 nail-biter that featured a go-ahead homerun and a shutdown performance from Dylan Volantis, an 8-3 Friday win with a fan favorite dominating in his debut and a run-rule sweeping night with dominant performances on both sides of the ball.

Schuessler stole the show, but LF Jonah Williams had another fantastic game, going 3-3 with two runs. He ended the weekend 5-7 with two runs and three RBI.

“We love Jonah. At the end of the day, he’s just dog,” Schuessler said. “You put him in there, and he’ll get it done. I don’t think there’s many 17 year olds out there doing what he’s doing at this level. He’s just a fierce competitor, and I know he’s just gonna keep getting better.”

Ruger Riojas’ start was cut short, mostly in anticipation for next week. With Friday starter Jared Spencer unable to pitch next weekend, Riojas may be tasked with starting the first game of one of the most bookmarked series’ of the year: Texas vs Texas A&M.

First, Texas will need to take down their kryptonite, Texas State, in San Marcos on Tuesday before gearing up for a weekend series against the Aggies. This will be the first time coach Schlossnagle will face the team he departed from this summer to come coach in Austin.

Texas’ sweep more than confirmed their No. 1 status, taking down a top eight team in dominant fashion. The Longhorns are sure to hold the ranking, and as more and more teams in the top five drop games, deep postseason aspirations become more and more realistic.

“They’re loose, for sure,” Schlossnagel said about his team “It’s a slow burn for them to be ready for a game, but once it comes on, they show up. It’s a tribute to the leadership and a tribute to not just the guys that play, but the character of the kids on the bench.”

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