2026 College World Series bracket, scores, live updates: Texas demolishes Alabama, Oklahoma faces Georgia in 2026 NCAA baseball tournament
No. 6 Texas avoided elimination with a decisive 14-2 win over No. 7 Alabama on Day 4 of the MCWS. With the defeat, the Crimson Tide are going home to Tuscaloosa and their season is finished.
Longhorns sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez became the third player in MCWS history to hit for the cycle. The feat became official in the seventh inning when a scoring change decided Rodriguez’s single with a 2-base error in the second inning was a triple.
That gave Rodriguez a double in the first, a triple in the second, a single in the fifth and a home run in the sixth to complete the cycle. Only two other players had hit for the cycle during the MCWS in 70 years. Christian Moore last did it for Tennessee in 2024 and Minnesota’s Jerry Kindall got all four kinds of base hits in 1956.
Rodriguez finished the win over Alabama batting 5-for-5 with 7 RBI. Left fielder Anthony Pack Jr. hit the Longhorns’ other home run, batting 3-for-5 with 4 RBI.
Texas starting pitcher Ruger Riojas allowed 2 runs and 6 hits in 6 innings, striking out 7 Alabama hitters with 2 walks. Alabama’s Zane Adams was shelled for 7 runs, 7 hits and 3 walks in 1 2/3 innings. Matthew Heiberger allowed 3 runs in 4 innings of relief, Hagan Banks gave up 1 run and Myles Upchurch was tagged for 2 runs by the buzzsaw of the Longhorns’ lineup.
Up next for Texas will be the loser of tonight’s Oklahoma-Georgia matchup on Tuesday.
