Burnt Orange on Both Fronts: Texas Postseason Update
It’s a big postseason week for Longhorn athletics, with both Texas softball and baseball deep in NCAA tournament play — and after games played Friday, the results are a tale of two very different days.
Softball: Defending champs in survival mode
The defending champion Longhorns entered the 2026 Women’s College World Series having to bounce back immediately after an opening-round loss. Tennessee beat Texas 6–3 on Thursday, with freshman Elsa Morrison launching a three-run homer in the second inning to break open the game. Texas mounted a late charge when senior second baseman Leighann Goode hit a two-run homer in the sixth, but Tennessee’s closer shut the door.
With their backs against the wall in the elimination bracket, Texas bounced back Friday night in dominant fashion, shutting out Mississippi State 4–0 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, with two home runs and six hits.
The win keeps the title defense alive — but the Longhorns’ margin for error is now razor-thin.
Baseball: An emphatic regional opener
While the softball team was navigating crisis, the baseball Longhorns delivered one of the most lopsided results of the entire NCAA tournament.
Texas crushed Holy Cross 19–1 in the Austin Regional opener, scoring in all eight innings for an 18-run victory. Freshman left fielder Anthony Pack Jr. was the star, homering three times while scoring four runs and driving in five.
The No. 6 national seed Longhorns will next face Tarleton State this evening at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Texas Softball will play the loser between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Alabama at 2 p.m. CT Sunday, May 31 on ABC.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for softball, and the baseball squad looks primed to keep rolling at home.
Sources:
- ESPN: Texas 4, Mississippi State 0 (May 29, 2026)
- Just Women’s Sports: Tennessee beats Texas in WCWS opener
- Baseball America: 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament Regionals Live Updates
- Texas Longhorns Athletics: 2026 Baseball Schedule
- NCAA.com: 2026 Softball Tournament Bracket & Scores
MORE ON THE LONGHORNS AND OTHER SPORTS CAN BE FOUND FURTHER DOWN THIS PAGE IN SPORTS
Austin ISD’s effort to stave off a state takeover hit a wall this week after the Texas Education Agency rejected the district’s bid, clearing the way for state-appointed managers at several long‑struggling campuses.
The decision lands just as some Austin‑area schools are entering their final days of class before closing for good — a convergence of state intervention and local consolidation that underscores the mounting pressure on Central Texas public education.
Schools Set to Close
The following campuses will shut down:
- Elementary Schools
- Becker Elementary
- Barrington Elementary
- Dawson Elementary
- Oak Springs Elementary
- Ridgetop Elementary
- Sunset Valley Elementary
- Widén Elementary
- Winn Montessori Elementary
- Middle Schools
- Bedichek Middle School
- Martin Middle School
PODCAST
(Episode from May 29, 2026)
Out of 60 officer-involved shootings in Austin between 2018 and 2025, 60% resulted in fatalities, according to a new public data dashboard launched by the Office of Police Oversight.
The interactive tool, designed to increase transparency and track long-term departmental trends, reveals that 36 of those encounters ended in a death.
A new audit reveals that while Austin is making strides in pedestrian safety, major roadblocks are stalling progress toward the city’s “Vision Zero.”
Texas Department of Safety officials announced Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive Devonshae Aikeis Fisher, 32, was taken into custody last week after a brief vehicle pursuit along the MoPac Expressway.
A former Georgetown police officer has pleaded guilty to official oppression and sexual harassment.
A northwest Austin Montessori school is facing scrutiny from parents after a 4-year-old boy was hospitalized after unknowingly consuming a THC-infused lollipop.
A former New Braunfels City Council member has been reported missing.
It appears excavation work on the new Austin Convention Center is on schedule.
Something new is coming where the former Northcross Mall is now standing in North Austin.
A massive new center dedicated to Russian American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand is planned near UT Austin, complete with a library, exhibit space, classrooms and offices.
An abandoned Georgetown neighborhood heads to foreclosure auction.
After less than two years, Austin-based digital publication The Barbed Wire is shutting down due to exhausted funding.
A sanitary sewer overflow occurred on the Guadalupe River earlier this week.
Studies are being done to understand the geology and environment that surrounds Krause Springs.
The City of Austin is considering replacing the historic Barton Springs Road Bridge, citing concerns about the structure’s condition and long-term safety. However, preservation advocates are urging city leaders to fully explore alternatives before moving forward
Austin is still mourning the loss of Malin in Pease Park.
Officials are planning an evening honoring the local iconic troll on Wednesday, June 24.
Almost a year after devastating flash floods claimed nine lives and destroyed more than 200 homes in Travis County, KXAN has received several audio recordings of the 911 calls made during that catastrophic event.
Austin’s new “Rain to River” plan shifts the city’s approach from reacting to floods to preventing them, with a focus on underserved communities and neighborhood-level mitigation.
WEATHER
FRIDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
A political earthquake is reshaping the Lone Star State following Tuesday’s blockbuster primary runoffs, according to the first post-election survey from Texas Public Opinion Research (TPOR).
The newly released poll, fielded May 27–28, shows a highly fractured Republican electorate in the wake of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s decisive runoff victory over long-time incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn. In the general election matchup, Democratic state Representative James Talarico has claimed an early three-point lead over Paxton, 47% to 44%, among 1,670 likely voters.
The survey reveals severe intra-party bleeding for the GOP: nearly one-third (30%) of voters who backed Cornyn in the runoff say they intend to cross the aisle to vote for Talarico in November, with a majority citing Paxton’s history of legal scandals and corruption as their primary reason. Talarico holds a massive edge among independent voters (64% to 21%) and moderates, while Paxton retains a firm grip on the conservative base and voters without a college degree.
However, the fallout from the bitter Senate primary has not dragged down the rest of the Republican ticket. In the gubernatorial race, incumbent Republican Governor Greg Abbott maintains a steady five-point cushion over his Democratic challenger, state Representative Gina Hinojosa, leading 48% to 43%.
The contrast highlights a highly unusual midterm dynamic in Texas: while traditional Republican structural advantages keep Governor Abbott in a comfortable position, a wave of GOP defection over the raw wounds of the Senate runoff has thrust the state’s premier federal seat into immediate jeopardy.
The Texas Senate general election is barely a week old, and it’s already gotten personal — very personal.
Hours after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton clinched the Republican Senate nomination, he released his first general election ad accusing Democratic state Sen. James Talarico of being too “low-T for Texas” — a reference to testosterone levels popularized by so-called manosphere influencers as a shorthand for weakness.
The insults didn’t stop there. At his victory rally, Paxton mocked Talarico with a string of nicknames — “tofu Talarico,” “six-gender Jimmy,” and “James Talafreako” — drawing laughter and cheers from the crowd.
What followed was an immediate, widespread barrage of attacks on Talarico’s manhood from the right. Fox host Jesse Watters labeled Talarico a “gay vegan” — before walking it back and acknowledging that Talarico is neither. A Florida Republican congressional candidate questioned whether Talarico could name obscure wide receivers from the early 2000s. The pile-on was swift, coordinated, and, analysts say, very much by design.
Talarico, for his part, pushed back defiantly at a Houston campaign event, saying Republicans were trying to distract from Paxton’s record of scandals. “Those are fighting words in the state of Texas,” he said of the suggestion he doesn’t eat meat. “I’m an eighth-generation Texan. I’ve been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton’s first indictment.”
The attacks stem partly from a 2022 speech in which Talarico declared his campaign a “non-meat campaign” buying only vegan products — a line Republicans have seized on even as Talarico has since insisted he eats meat.
Texas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988.
A federal ICE agent has been arrested in Texas, nearly two weeks after Minneapolis prosecutors charged him in connection with the nonfatal shooting of a Venezuelan man during a controversial immigration sweep in that state.
A two-month law enforcement operation targeting online child exploitation led to the arrest of 276 suspects and the rescue of 89 children across Texas, federal and local authorities announced Friday. (FOX 4 News – Dallas/Fort Worth)
The Texas Department of Public Safety arrested a 31-year-old man Dimmit County man after discovering 900+ AI-generated pornographic images of children on electronic devices seized from his home. Approximately 30 child victims have been identified as part of this investigation.
DPS officials also announced the solving of a decades-old sexual assault case through modern DNA testing and genealogy research.
Southwest Texas College said an incident on its Uvalde campus Friday left one student dead and another injured.
A large explosion and fire at a Dallas apartment building Thursday killed three people and injured and displaced several others. But even as recovery efforts have ended, an investigation led by the National Transportation Safety Board is still underway to answer questions about what went wrong.
Five years of record heat, unreliable rain and political infighting have pushed Corpus Christi to the brink of becoming the nation’s first city to run out of water. At this point, only a prolonged stretch of heavy rain can pull the coastal city back from the edge. (Texas Public Radio)
This week on Texas Matters we hear from the Democratic nominee for Senate — James Talarico. We also hear from Scott Braddock about the race between Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton.
(Episode from May 29, 2026)
In the wake of run-off wins by GOP candidates like Ken Paxton, Mayes Middleton, and Bo French, James Henson and Joshua Blank talk about dynamics in both parties, and what’s comes next in the general election and governing circles in Texas.
(Episode from May 28, 2026)
Despite soaring airfares and gas prices, Memorial Day travel broke records. But the rest of the summer may prove the true test.
SPORTS
For details on the Texas Baseball and Softball postseason action from Friday, scroll up to the top of this post. It’s today’s feature story.
MLB: The Houston Astros looked like they were starting to catch fire after winning four of their last five games.
Jackson Chourio and David Hamilton both homered and Brice Turang’s tie-breaking RBI on a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning lifted the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros Friday night. (Associated Press)
MacKenzie Gore continued his home-field mastery this season with 6 1/3 shutout innings, Brandon Nimmo, Nicky Lopez and Joc Pederson homered, and the Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals 9-1 on Friday night. (Associated Press)
A week after Nicky Lopez’s grandfather passed away, he hit his first homer since Sept. 4, 2024 tonight vs the Royals.
ON THE SCHEDULE
NBA PLAYOFFS: This is it.
Tonight, the Oklahoma City Thunder host the San Antonio Spurs in a winner-take-all Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals — and a trip to the NBA Finals is on the line.
The series has been a classic, with neither team able to seize control for long. OKC took Game 1 in San Antonio, but the Spurs punched back to take Games 2 and 4. Oklahoma City stormed back to win Games 3 and 5, only for San Antonio to force tonight’s decisive showdown with a dominant 27-point blowout victory in Game 6 on Thursday night.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Even though both Texas and Texas Tech have had their 2026 season openers announced, the two teams are mulling over the idea of scrapping those games and facing each other in Week 1. (KXAN-TV)
Fans packed downtown Austin this week as the cast and creators of Friday Night Lights came together at the ATX TV Festival to celebrate the beloved drama’s 20th anniversary. The reunion panel brought together a remarkable assemblage of talent — including Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Jesse Plemons, Scott Porter, Adrianne Palicki, and Aimee Teegarden — alongside showrunner Jason Katims and key writers and directors from the series, who reflected on the show’s indelible mark on Texas and television…and talked about a possible reboot.
