Jeff Howe

That's it for Schloss and the Longhorns. We'll be back here at 7 p.m. tomorrow for the first game of the Austin Super Regional between Texas and Oregon.

Mendoza has gotten into a good routine as the DH, with his shoulder injury not allowing him to play second base.

Schloss said Ethan Mendoza "had an awesome weekend." "I'm super excited about the balance of our lineup all the way through," he said.

On the bottom of the lineup, Schloss said Ashton Larson is starting to hit lefties better and Pendergrass is seeing the ball well. It's nice to have Borba's 17 home runs at the bottom of the lineup, he said.

Pitchers who didn't pitch in the regional threw in two simulated games early this week, Schloss said.

Schloss said he remembers when Texas A&M was in Omaha in 2022. He coached in a game that ended shortly before midnight and then was on a two-hour Zoom call with Paul Skenes, trying to recruit him out of the transfer portal. "I may have exaggerated a little bit," he said, regarding how long the call lasted.

"It's a challenge to stay in the mix with the best players in the country and try to get them in here," Schloss said on how the staff is handling the transfer portal and the Super Regional occurring simultaneously. "At the same time, we don't want to shortchange this team."

Volantis, as he has throughout the season, lets Max Weiner handle the scouting report (that's the case with all of the Texas pitchers). He's not focused on Oregon's lineup. Volantis said he's focused on executing his pitches and throwing strikes.

Schloss hasn't lost a Super Regional since 2012, when TCU lost on the road to UCLA. Schloss said that has nothing to do with him, but with the great players he's coached because, ultimately, they have to perform and execute.

"Sitting around all day waiting to play is a challenge," Schloss said. Still, he loves the opportunity that Texas has to play a night game in the Super Regional.

Schloss said Texas has a lot of respect for Oregon's pitching staff, but competing in the SEC allowed the Longhorns to see a lot of high-quality pitching. Schloss made it clear that he respect Oregon, calling them an SEC-style team because of the athleticism, speed and pitching they bring to the table. "They look like an SEC team, but they'll play whatever brand of baseball they need to to win the game," he said.

"In a perfect world," Schloss wants Ruger Riojas to start. However, as @Blake Munroe reported, other than Dylan Volantis starting tomorrow's game, Texas isn't announcing anything else regarding starting pitching this weekend.

Volantis said he went to an Oregon baseball camp and never went back. Pack went on a recruiting visit for a football game and said he liked the Oregon coaching staff but preferred Texas.

Dylan Volantis and Anthony Pack both said they know members of the softball team and they were happy to see them celebrate last night's win over Texas Tech.

Schloss opens his press conference by congratulating Mike White and the softball program for winning the national championship.