Preview: Texas Visits Houston in Non-Conference Clash

HOUSTON (Interstat) — The top-ranked Texas Longhorns, riding high with the nation’s best record, travel to face the Houston Cougars in a non-conference midweek game Tuesday at M.O. Campbell Center.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. under clear skies with a game-time temperature of 78 degrees.

Texas (20-3) arrives as one of college baseball’s most dominant teams, having won 15 of its last 17 games. The Longhorns are fresh off a series win at Auburn, capped by a 5-0 victory Sunday where three pitchers combined for a no-hitter. Starter Dylan Volantis opened that game with four perfect innings, striking out four.

Volantis, a player to watch, has been exceptional. In his last four appearances spanning 19 1/3 innings, he has allowed just four earned runs while striking out 27. His outing on March 1 at Ohio State saw him throw 4 2/3 hitless innings.

Houston (12-11) looks to rebound after dropping all three games in a high-scoring series at Kansas last weekend. The Cougars fell 8-4 on Sunday despite a unique pitching line from starter Paul Schmitz, who took the loss after allowing four earned runs over six innings without surrendering a hit, undone by walks and errors.

Schmitz, Houston’s player to watch, has struggled recently, allowing 19 earned runs over his last 12 1/3 innings across four appearances.

The Cougars’ offense showed life in Lawrence, scoring 22 runs in the three-game set. Shortstop Tyler Cox went 3 for 5 with two RBIs in Sunday’s loss.

Texas leads the all-time series 79-28-1, but Houston won the last meeting 7-4 in 2025. The Longhorns’ potent offense, which has scored 10 or more runs eight times this season, will test a Houston pitching staff with a 6.68 team ERA.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, Texas is projected to win 7-4.

Following this game, Texas opens a Big 12 series at home against Oklahoma on Thursday. Houston begins a Big 12 home series against Baylor on Friday.