Baseball: TCU earns pair of midweek wins, defeating Washington State & Arizona

Nine games into the season, the 5th-ranked Horned Frogs remain undefeated

Following a weekend seep of the UCLA Bruins, #5 TCU Baseball continued its homestand with two more Pac 12 opponents visiting Lupton Stadium this week ahead of three more Pac 12 games this weekend in the Kubota College Baseball Series at Arlington’s Globe Life Field. The Horned Frogs head into the weekend undefeated still thanks to extra inning heroics vs. Washington State on Tuesday and an ace pitching performance from Braeden Sloan vs. Arizona on Wednesday.

Tuesday: TCU 8, Washington State 7 (12)

Ben Hampton got his second start of the season and it opened on a down note as the very first pitch of the game was deposited over the left field fence to give the Cougars the early lead. Hampton settled in after that, keeping WSU off the board until a lead-off homer opened the 5th inning, ending his day with 4.1 innings pitched and 5 strikeouts. At the plate, TCU got things rolling in the 3rd inning, with Peyton Chatagnier opening the inning with a triple and scoring on a Karson Bowen sacrifice fly, followed by Kurtis Byrne working a full count walk and eventually brought home by a Payton Tolle missile fired at the second baseman, giving TCU a lead it would hold into the ninth inning.

The Frogs would add two more runs in the 4th inning behind two hits, two walks, and three stolen bases in the frame, with Anthony Silva delivering the 2-out 2 RBI single on a full count, shooting a grounder into left field. While Wazzu picked up a pair of runs in the top of the 5th, credited to Hampton’s stat line, TCU further extended it’s lead in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs off RBI singles from Chatagnier, Bowen, and Byrne. TCU would maintain this 7-3 lead into the 9th inning thanks to scoreless innings out of the bullpen from Chase Hoover and Hunter Hodges, who struck out the side in the 8th. Kyle Ayers would enter to open the 9th, getting one strikeout but allowing three singles to load the bases and put the tying run at the plate. TCU turned to closer Ben Abeldt in hopes of escaping the trouble, but consecutive Wazzu doubles brought home the tying runs before Abeldt could escape the frame. With nothing doing for TCU in the bottom of the 9th, the game would head to extra innings. Zach Cawyer relieved Abeldt in the 10th and escaped with a Cougar standing on 3rd after a pair of wild pitches; he worked a quick 11th and stranded a Cougar on 2nd in the 12th. TCU’s offense was non-threatening into the 12th, going 6-up, 6-down inlcuding four Ks. The Lupton Magic arrived in the 12th as Sam Myers, Chatagnier, and Bowen each singled to load the bases. Luke Boyers stepped to the plate with two outs and wasted no time, connecting on the first pitch he saw, poking a base hit through the infield to deliver the walk-off winner.

Wednesday: TCU 6, Arizona 1

The Horned Frogs completed its season opening home stand on Wednesday night with an outstanding outing on the mound from Braeden Sloan in his first start of the season. Sloan tossed six innings of scoreless ball, allowing just three hits and two hit-by-pitches, while amassing 13 strikeouts with zero walks. Of TCU’s first 12 defensive outs of the game, 11 came via Sloan K, striking out the side in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th while getting a double play in the 5th. The superb outing from the starter is just what the doctor ordered as the Frogs went late into the evening and deep into the bullpen in extra innings the night before, ahead of a major three-game weekend.

The Frog bats showed up to Lupton as well, with TCU scoring in each of the first three innings, but were unable to scrape together crooked numbers on the scoreboard early, leaving eight runners on base for the game. That trend ended in the 6th inning as the Wildcats turned to a new pitcher on the mound and the Frogs immediately found a groove, loading the bases with three singles before a tough call got Ryder Robinson to strike out looking on a full count, sending Sam Myers to the plate with two outs. The freshman outfielder delivered, firing a double into right field to plate two runs.

TCU would tack on another in the 8th after Arizona scored its lone run of the contest in the top of the frame. The TCU Bullpen did its job brilliantly in relief of Sloan, including Andrew Mosiello striking out the side in the 7th inning, while Hoover & Hodges combined to work the 8th and Abeldt stepped in again in the 9th, this time swiftly shutting the door on the game with a pair of strikeouts.

Next up, TCU will get three more games against Pac 12 opponents, facing the USC Trojans on Friday and Sunday with a game against future Big 12 member Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX. The Horned Frogs will be back in Lupton Stadium on Tuesday March 5 to play Abilene Christian.