TCU Takes On Louisiana-Monroe Tuesday Night

TCU welcomes Louisiana-Monroe to Fort Worth for a mid-week showdown that has lots of implications for the Horned Frogs. This is Game #1 of the #Final19 and the Frogs are looking to get off to a good start while also extending their current six game win streak.

Tyler Duffie gets the start, a talented right hander with explosive stuff who has never been able to figure out his control issues. The coaching staff is starting him today for one simple reason: They have to know if he can do it. One final chance to show he can put it all together. For two years Duffie has been a solid practice player, now it is time to show it in a real game. We shall see how this goes. Every pitcher on the roster, sans Mitchell/Morrison/Crichton is available tonight.

TCU NOTABLES
• TCU stretched its winning streak to six a sweep of Air Force over the weekend.
• The Frogs are 8-3 in their current 12-game homestand.
• Andrew Mitchell has not allowed a run in his last 19 innings pitched spanning three starts.
• Mitchell fanned a career-high 13 batters on Friday.
• TCU tallied its third shutout of the season on Friday.
• Josh Elander has reached base safely in 10 straight games.
• Travis Evans became the 16th Horned Frog to make his TCU debut last weekend.
• Jantzen Witte hit his first home run of the season on Sunday.
• Keaton Jones has played flawless defense in each of his last 14 games played, spanning 61 chances.
• Preston Morrison is 2-0 as a starting pitcher since moving into the role last weekend.

LOUISIANA-MONROE NOTABLES
• The Warhawks dropped a 2-1 series to Florida Atlantic this past weekend.
• ULM went 1-4 last week, dropping two midweek games at Baylor prior to the series against FAU.
• Speed is a big factor in the Warhawks game as they have 52 stolen bases, 16 of which have come from Les Aulds.
• Jeremy Sy paces the team offensively with a .336 average, while Joey Rapp provides the power with seven home runs.
• As a team, the Warhawks are hitting .254 and are averaging 5.6 runs per game.
• On the mound, the staff has a 4.59 ERA with two shutouts.
• Wil Browning is the shutdown guy with four saves and a 4-2 record.
• Defensively, the Warhawks boast a .970 fielding percentage and have turned 25 double plays.

SERIES NOTABLES
• Tuesday's meeting with ULM will be the first in the series.
• The Frogs and the Warhawks have played two common opponents this season: UTSA and Baylor.
• TCU went 1-0 against UTSA, while ULM was 2-1. • The Frogs are 1-1 against Baylor, while UTSA was 0-2.
• TCU is 2-3 against schools from Louisiana under head coach Jim Schlossnagle.

NEW FACES GALORE
Travis Evans became the latest Horned Frog to make his collegiate debut on Wednesday night when he took the mound in the ninth inning. He marks the 16th Horned Frog to make his debut this season. All told, the Frogs have utilized three junior college transfers, three redshirt freshmen and 10 true freshmen.

THE HOMESTAND
TCU is 11 games into a season-long 12 game homestand. The Frogs have posted a 8-3 so far and has a pair of series wins over UNLV and UNC Wilmington and a sweep of Air Force.
Jantzen Witte has swung the hottest bat during the homestand with a .364 average. Jerrick Suiter has driven in seven runs to lead in the run production category. Josh Elander has hit two of the team's five home runs.
On the mound, the pitching staff has been led by Andrew Mitchell who has pitched 19 scoreless innings with 27 strikeouts over three starts.

A DOMINATING FORCE
After a shaky start to the campaign that saw him sitting with a 6.00 ERA after his fifth start of the season, Andrew Mitchell has returned to form.
He has been nothing short of solid in his last three starts, not allowing a run in his last 19 innings pitched. In those 19 innings, he has allowed just seven hits and struck out 27. The last three starts have seen him lower his ERA to a 3.15 in 40 innings pitched. He has fanned 55 and is limiting opponents to a .188 batting average.
In league play, Mitchell is 3-0 in four starts with a 2.75 ERA. He has 25 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .171 batting average.

GOLDEN GLOVE
Freshman Keaton Jones has been a spectacular find in the field. Starting 32 games at shortstop, Jones has flashed his glove on numerous occasions and shown the propensity for a strong, accurate throw across the diamond.
He boasts a .986 fielding percentage and has committed just two errors in 143 chances. His last error came on March 23 against New Mexico, 14 games ago. He has played flawless defense in 61 consecutive chances, including a season-high 10 in Sunday's win over Air Force. The error against the Lobos broke up a string of 51 chances without an error.
Jones has taken part in 20 of TCU's 30 double plays turned this season.