Baseball: TCU avoids Big 12 sweep against Arizona

The Horned Frogs win the series finale to stay in a three-way tie for third in the conference.

Although TCU baseball remains in a three-way tie with Kansas and Arizona for the Big 12 regular season championship, the Horned Frogs saw their conference title hopes take a hit over the weekend, when TCU dropped two of its three games against the Wildcats in Tuscon. The Horned Frogs (33-15, 15-9 Big 12) salvaged the series with a victory in the finale on Sunday, but it was a crucial series win for the Wildcats (33-14, 15-9 Big 12), who now own the tiebreaker advantage over TCU based on head-to-head results. The Horned Frogs, who are now four games behind conference frontrunner West Virginia, will host Cincinnati at Lupton Stadium this coming weekend for their final Big 12 home series of the season.

Friday: Arizona 6, TCU 3

The Horned Frogs held a 3-1 lead over Arizona after the top of the fourth inning, where freshman Nolan Traeger ripped an RBI triple and Isaac Cadena drove Traeger home on a sacrifice fly. The Wildcats answered with an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Arizona did minimal damage against TCU starter Tommy LaPour, who fired five innings and struck out five batters while limiting the Wildcats to two runs on five hits.

Unfortunately for the Horned Frogs, Braeden Sloan’s recent struggles on the mound continued, as the left-hander allowed two runs and two hits in the bottom of the sixth inning and retired only one batter. Sloan has walked 14 batters with 15 strikeouts over his last five appearances, allowing 15 earned runs over that span as his season ERA has ballooned from 1.32 to 4.17. A two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning and a two-run homer from Aaron Walton in the bottom of the eighth inning gave Arizona a three-run lead.

While TCU totaled nine hits in the game, the Horned Frogs left six runners on base and struck out nine times. Louis Rodriguez also struggled in relief, allowing two runs on three hits with two strikeouts over two and one-third innings. Sawyer Strosnider went 2 for 3 with one triple and Noah Franco went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles to lead the TCU offense.

Saturday: Arizona 5, TCU 4

The Horned Frogs positioned themselves well to even the series on Saturday, when TCU tallied four runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 4-1 lead over the Wildcats. Karson Bowen sparked the offense with an RBI single and Sawyer Strosnider capped off the four-run frame, belting a two-run triple into right field. Poor defense down the stretch doomed the Horned Frogs, however, as errors in the seventh and eighth innings allowed Arizona to score three runs and take a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Caedmon Parker spun a quality start for the Horned Frogs, who totaled seven hits and committed three errors in the loss. Parker tossed six and one-third innings, working around two hit batters and six hits to limit the Wildcats to three earned runs. Cohen Feser took the loss in relief, allowing a pair of hits and an unearned run over two-thirds of an inning. Bowen went 2 for 5 for the TCU offense, which left eight runners on base and struck out 12 times.

Sunday: TCU 13, Arizona 6

The Horned Frogs came alive at the dish during the series finale, compiling 17 hits with four players recording multi-hit games. TCU scored runs in six of the nine innings, tallying two runs in the top of the second inning before adding five runs in the top of the fifth inning, where Anthony Silva and Karson Bowen each notched two-run singles and Colton Griffin smacked an RBI double. Bowen went 3 for 6 with a team-high five RBIs from the lead-off hole, while Griffin went 3 for 4 with four RBIs from the No. 9 hole of the TCU lineup.

Mason Brassfield earned the win on the pitcher’s mound, improving to 5-1 on the season after throwing five and one-third innings and striking out five batters while holding Arizona to three earned runs. Cohen Feser and Kade Eudy each fired scoreless frames of relief for the Horned Frogs, who clinched their win with a trio of runs in the top of the ninth inning, where Sam Myers ripped an RBI single up the middle and Bowen delivered a two-run single. Anthony Silva went 2 for 5 with two RBIs and Isaac Cadena went 2 for 3 in the victory. Chase Brunson achieved a milestone on Sunday, recording his 100th career hit.