Ruger Riojas strikes out 11 as No. 4 Texas beats No. 11 Alabama, 3-1
TL;DR
Ruger Riojas struck out 11 batters in 5 innings as No. 4 Texas defeated No. 11 Alabama 3-1, clinching the series win. Despite a rough start, Riojas dominated the game, allowing only one hit after the first inning.
Key points
- Ruger Riojas struck out 11 batters in 5 innings
- Texas Longhorns beat Alabama Crimson Tide 3-1
- Riojas allowed only one hit after the first inning
On a pitcher-friendly day at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Saturday thanks to a late-spring cold front surging into Austin behind a north wind, senior right-hander Ruger Riojas struck out 11 in 5.0 innings as the No. 4 Texas Longhorns clinched a series win against the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide with a 3-1 win.
Texas fell behind when a leadoff walk and consecutive base hits against Riojas put the Longhorns in a 1-0 hole before the UTSA transfer recorded an out, but Riojas only allowed one more hit during the rest of his outing, which went 5.0 innings and 99 pitches — Alabama didn’t have much success against Riojas, but were able to elevated his pitch count enough to force four innings of work from the Texas bullpen.
Riojas was dominant enough to record a rare four-strikeout inning in the fourth when a batter reached on a wild pitch after swinging and missing at strike three.
just your casual four-strikeout inning 💪#HookEm | @RugerRiojas_19pic.twitter.com/Vk9zLsocBk
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) April 18, 2026
Although Riojas didn’t earn the win on Saturday, it was a bounce-back performance after allowing eight runs on six hits in three innings against South Carolina two weeks ago and five runs on five hits in five innings against Texas A&M last week.
Out of the bullpen, junior left-hander Haiden Leffew earned his third win of the season in two innings of hitless relief, working around two walks by striking out three batters. Getting through the eighth required three pitchers — redshirt junior left-hander Ethan Walker, freshman right-hander Brett Crossland, and junior right-hander Thomas Burns — but a walk issued by Crossland against the only batter he faced was the only adversity the Horns had to face despite the pitching changes. In the ninth, freshman right-hander Sam Cozart earned his sixth save by striking out all three batters he faced after notching a three-inning save in Friday’s win.
Of the eight hits by Texas, three came from junior center fielder Aiden Robbins at the top of the order as the Longhorns weren’t able to break through with a run until scoring three runs in the decisive seventh inning.
Redshirt senior third baseman Temo Becerra started the inning by a drawing a leadoff walk on a full count, followed by a one-out walk drawn by junior first baseman Casey Borba. Senior right fielder Jayden Duplantier came through with the first big hit of the game for Texas by shooting an 0-1 pitch into right field for an RBI single.
stir the Gumbo 🍜#HookEm | @gumbosalad0pic.twitter.com/R8s1gdKIzn
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) April 18, 2026
After Robbins singled up the middle to load the bases, junior catcher Carson Tinney drove in another run with his own single to center.
good guys in front 🤘#HookEm | @carson_tinneypic.twitter.com/2AAthqkWNX
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) April 18, 2026
A sacrifice fly by sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez added an insurance run for the Horns, who will go for the sweep on Sunday with redshirt senior Luke Harrison on the mound for first pitch at 1 p.m. Central on SEC Network+.
Q&A
How many strikeouts did Ruger Riojas have against Alabama?
Ruger Riojas recorded 11 strikeouts during the game against Alabama.
What was the final score of the Texas vs Alabama baseball game?
The final score was Texas 3, Alabama 1.
What impact did Ruger Riojas have on the game?
Ruger Riojas was dominant, allowing only one hit after the first inning and forcing four innings of work from the Texas bullpen.
