After the Longhorns’ big rally in the 7th, they went 1-2-3 in the 8th, and then Stanford tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom of the 8th. Longhorn reliever Randy Boone had allowed only one run in his last 17.2 innings, but Michael Taylor, Chris Lewis, and Jason Castro all delivered singles to make it 10-8. The Longhorns brought in freshman closer Austin Wood, but singles by John Hester and Randy Molina plated two more runs.

Hitters four through seven in the Cardinal lineup did the big damage -- Taylor, Lewis, and Castro all had three hits and three runs scored, and Hester drove in four runs. Shoddy defense by the entire Texas infield also did considerable damage.

Texas and North Carolina State will battle at noon tomorrow for the right to play Stanford at 4 pm. Texas will most likely start Adrian Alaniz. NC State had planned to start Eric Surkamp, but they were forced to use him in relief in today’s 10-inning win over UT-Arlington. In his post-game press conference, Pack coach Elliot Avent said he had no idea who they would start, but that Friday’s starter Gib Hobson would get the ball at some point.