The Texas Longhorns baseball team nearly saw an 8-1 lead slip away, but held on for a 9-7 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks on the last day of Big 12 regular season action Saturday.
With the victory, Texas (35-20, 20-10 Big 12) will be the No. 3 seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament.
Up 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Longhorns got RBIs from Max Belyeu and Kimble Schuessler before Casey Borba’s two-run shot gave Texas a 7-1 lead.
After Texas added a run in the sixth, Kansas scored four in the seventh and two in the eighth before Jared Thomas’ RBI gave Texas a 9-7 lead.
Lebarron Johnson Jr. (3-4) earned the victory, striking out seven Kansas batters while allowing one run on five hits. Gage Boehm (S, 8) pitched the last 2 1/3 innings to help the Longhorns hold on.
Ten teams qualified for the Big 12 tournament, meaning that the Longhorns take on the No. 10 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first round. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. CT at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.