Baseball: Walk-off homer headlines series win against Cincinnati

Anthony Silva delivered the series-clinching victory for the Horned Frogs on Saturday.

Anthony Silva’s walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning allowed the TCU Horned Frog baseball team to clinch its Big 12 Conference series against Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon. After winning a high-scoring series opener on Friday, TCU (35-16, 17-10 Big 12) rallied from a deficit on Senior Day and locked down the series victory after Silva’s home run. The Horned Frogs fell just short of a sweep, as the Bearcats escaped with a one-run win on Sunday to keep TCU in a tie for third place in the conference standings. The team will conclude the regular season with a Big 12 road series against Utah starting on Thursday.

Friday: TCU 17, Cincinnati 11

The Horned Frog offense erupted for 20 hits during the series opener at Lupton Stadium on Friday evening. Trailing 5-2 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, TCU rallied for three runs and tied the score after an RBI single from Cole Cramer and a two-run blast from freshman standout Noah Franco. The Horned Frogs carried their momentum into the bottom of the sixth inning, where Karson Bowen’s RBI single sparked a five-run frame that included an RBI single from Sawyer Strosnider and a three-run double from Franco, who went 3 for 6 with a team-high five RBIs in the win. Bowen went 3 for 6 and scored thrice from the lead-off hole.

Although TCU’s 10-5 lead was cut down to two runs in the top of the eighth inning, the Horned Frogs responded with a massive bottom half, exploding for seven runs to put the game out of reach for the Bearcats. TCU’s seven-run effort included home runs from Nolan Traeger and Anthony Silva as well as a two-run single from Cramer, who went 3 for 5 with four RBIs in the win. Louis Rodriguez earned the win in relief, improving to 3-1 on the season after striking out four batters and holding Cincinnati to two runs over three and one-third innings. Tommy LaPour struck out 11 batters over four and one-third innings as the starter.

Saturday: TCU 7, Cincinnati 6

The Horned Frogs totaled nine hits on Senior Day and erased a 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the first inning, where Sawyer Strosnider belted a solo home run over the right-field wall. Cincinnati led for most of the game, scoring three runs in the top of the second inning and two runs in the top of the fifth inning to maintain a slight advantage over the Horned Frogs, who crushed five home runs in the comeback victory. Chase Brunson went long twice to lead the TCU offense, smacking a solo shot in the fourth and a two-run bomb in the sixth.

Karson Bowen added a solo blast in the fifth inning for the Horned Frogs, who trailed 6-4 after five innings before tying the score on Brunson’s two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning. Both teams went scoreless over the seventh and eighth innings before TCU won the game on Silva’s walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth. Brunson went 3 for 4 with three RBIs for the Horned Frogs, who finished with six extra-base hits in the win. Nate Stern earned the win in relief, improving to 2-1 on the season after limiting the Bearcats to one hit over three scoreless innings. Caedmon Parker and Braeden Sloan combined to throw the first six innings, striking out seven batters but allowing seven walks in the win.

Sunday: Cincinnati 9, TCU 8

The Horned Frogs had an opportunity to sweep the Bearcats on Sunday, when TCU scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 3-2 lead with four innings to play. But Cincinnati tallied six runs across the fifth and sixth innings and the Horned Frogs, despite turning in 16 hits, were unable to rally from their late deficit. Sawyer Strosnider went 3 for 6 with two doubles and two RBIs to lead the TCU offense, which tallied one run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to even the score at 7-7 with two frames remaining.

Karson Bowen, Noah Franco, Anthony Silva and Isaac Cadena all recorded two hits for the Horned Frogs, who fell behind 9-7 in the top of the eighth inning before an RBI single from Franco in the bottom of the eighth brought TCU within one run with one frame left. TCU put the tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Horned Frogs, who left 12 runners on in the loss, were unable to deliver the game-tying knock. Mason Brassfield earned the start for TCU, throwing four and one-third innings with five strikeouts.