Baseball: TCU bounces back with Big 12 series win over Baylor

The Horned Frogs remain near the top of the conference standings after winning 2-of-3 games against the Bears.

TCU saw its Big 12 series win streak snapped last weekend, when the Horned Frogs dropped two of their three games against UCF in Orlando. The series defeat didn’t deter TCU from bouncing back in conference play this past weekend, as the Horned Frogs took the first two games to clinch a Big 12 series victory over Baylor at Lupton Stadium. TCU (31-13, 14-7 Big 12) now sits in a tie for third place in conference with Arizona State, who won its series against the Horned Frogs earlier this season. TCU hosts UT Arlington for a midweek game this evening before heading to Tuscon for a pivotal Big 12 series against Arizona.

Friday: TCU 7, Baylor 2

Tommy LaPour’s dominance on the mound continued during TCU’s series opener on Friday evening, when the sturdy right-hander came within one out of firing a complete game. LaPour earned his eighth victory of the season, improving to 8-2 after striking out eight batters and holding the Baylor offense to five hits over eight and two-thirds innings. Kade Eudy entered in the top of the ninth inning and recorded the last out to notch his fifth save.

TCU capitalized on Baylor mistakes in the bottom of the first inning, scoring four runs on a hit-by-pitch as well as a bases-loaded walk and a fielder’s choice grounder that led to a throwing error on the infield. After both teams traded runs in the second inning, TCU took a 6-1 lead after freshman Nolan Traeger delivered an RBI single to right-center field in the bottom of the sixth inning. Cole Cramer added insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning, belting a solo homer over the left-field wall to give TCU its largest lead of the night.

Cramer went 3 for 4 and scored four runs for the Horned Frogs, who recorded 10 hits in the victory Friday evening. Traeger went 2 for 4 with two RBIs out of the No. 6 hole in the TCU lineup, while Noah Franco went 2 for 5 and Chase Brunson collected two RBIs in the win.

Saturday: TCU 8, Baylor 4

Caedmon Parker shut the Baylor offense down on Saturday, limiting the Bears to two hits over six innings while striking out four batters and allowing only one walk. Despite a rough relief outing from Braeden Sloan, Louis Rodriguez entered in the eight inning and struck out four batters over one and one-third innings to earn his first save of the season. Parker, who threw just over 90 pitches and earned his third win of the season while helping TCU clinch the series victory, lowered his season ERA to 3.63 and improved to 3-1 on the season.

Jack Arthur delivered a solo homer to spark a three-run effort from the TCU offense in the bottom of the fourth inning, where Sawye Strosnider scored on a wild pitch and Noah Franco reached on an infield single to the third-base side for an RBI to put the Horned Frogs ahead 4-0. Franco’s strong day at the dish continued in the bottom of the fifth inning, where the freshman phenom sent a two-run single into right field to cap off a three-run frame for the Horned Frogs, whose first run of the frame came on an RBI single from Jack Bell.

Baylor rallied for three runs in the top of the eighth inning to bring TCU within three, but the Horned Frogs added insurance after Anthony Silva ripped an RBI double down the left-field line in the bottom of the eighth inning. Strosnider went 4 for 5 with two runs scored for the TCU offense, which totaled 15 hits in the win. Franco went 3 for 5 with three RBIs, while Arthur, Bell and Silva each finished with two hits while combining to record four RBIs.

Sunday: Baylor 6, TCU 3

The Horned Frogs scattered 10 hits during their series finale on Sunday, but TCU was unable to overcome an early deficit after Baylor scored four runs in the top of the third inning. TCU brought the Bears within one in the bottom of the fourth inning, where Anthony Silva and Karson Bowen each delivered RBI singles to make the score 4-3. But a two-run single in the top of the sixth inning provided much needed insurance for the Bears, who held the Horned Frogs scoreless over the final five innings to avoid the Big 12 sweep at Lupton Stadium.

Trever Baumler took the start for the Horned Frogs, allowing four runs over three innings of work with two strikeouts. Mason Brassfield entered in relief and kept the Horned Frogs in the game, logging six innings with six strikeouts while holding Baylor to two earned runs. Bowen went 3 for 5 from the lead-off hole, while Chase Brunson went 2 for 4 and scored one run from the No. 5 hole. TCU left nine runners on base and struck out 11 times Sunday.