Frogs Take On Aggies Tonight At Lupton Stadium

TCU currently boasts a 9-1 record through its last 10 games. Of course, we would love that to be 10-0 with a 10 game streak alive heading into Tuesday, but isn't that the story of 2012? Two steps forward, one step back. Or nine steps forward, one step back.

What would a win Tuesday represent? How about 10 steps forward, never look back? Allow me to argue this point: If the Frogs win tonight, they can play .800 ball the rest of the way this season, win the regular season and conference tournament championships and lock down a solid #2 seed in the tournament. Lose tonight, and the Frogs are back to needing to play .900 or better ball to secure a solid placement in this seasons post season craziness.

Brandon Finnegan takes the mound for the Frogs, the first time he has returned to this role since last month. The bullpen has been good for Finnegan as he has regained his control and preseason form in the interim period and I expect a strong outing out of him tonight. Jerrick Suiter, Trey Teakell and company are waiting behind him if needed.

Big night fans, get out to Lupton and remember to be loud!

Baseball Next Game: Texas A&M (via TCUSuperFrog)

MWC STANDINGS
1. TCU(11-4)
2. New Mexico(9-3)
3. San Diego State(8-7)
4. UNLV(5-10)
5. Air Force(3-12)

TEAM RPI
TCU: #41
Texas A&M: #18

TEAM SOS
TCU: #44
Texas A&M: #72

TEAM RANKINGS
TCU: #27 (Collegiate Baseball)
Texas A&M: #9 (Baseball America)

TCU NOTABLES
• TCU saw its nine-game winning streak come to an end with a 5-3 loss at San Diego State on Sunday.
• Preston Morrison took over the wins lead, improving to 6-0 with a win on Saturday.
• In each of the nine wins during the streak, the Horned Frog pitching staff allowed two runs or less.
• Jason Coats became the all-time leader in career at-bats on Saturday. He now has 849, passing Matt Carpenter’s total of 843.
• In the loss, the Frogs had 10 hits. It was just the eighth time TCU has had double-digit hits this season.
• Kevin Allen tallied his third save of the season on Friday night.
• Kyle Von Tungeln tied a school record with five walks in Friday’s win.
• Keaton Jones notched his nine sacrifice bunt of the season.

TEXAS A&M NOTABLES
• The Aggies are in the midst of a five-game losing streak after being swept by Baylor over the weekend.
• Speed is a big part of the Aggie offense as the rank in the top five nationally with 90 stolen bases.
• Five Aggies have 11 stolen bases or more led by Krey Bratsen’s 16.
• Offensively, the Aggies are hitting .297 as a team.
• Tyler Naquin is the leading hitter with a .408 average in 40 games.
• Jacob Houston paces the team with five home runs and 36 RBIs.
• On the mound, the pitching staff boasts a 2.93 ERA and is holding opponents to a .241 average.
• Defense has been the Achilles heel as they have committed 51 errors for a .968 fielding percentage.
• The errors have led to 40 unearned runs.

SERIES NOTABLES
• TCU and Texas A&M will be meeting for the 251st time on Tuesday night.
• The Aggies hold a commanding series lead, 159-87-4.
• Since renewing the rivalry five years ago, the Aggies are 3-2 against the Frogs.
• TCU has won two straight in the series after a 4-2 win in College State in 2011.
• TCU is 1-1 against A&M at Lupton Stadium.
• The Frogs won 6-1 against Texas A&M in 2010.
• A&M defeated TCU 3-2 in Fort Worth in 2008.

A LOOK BACK THE STREAK
For the second time this season, the Frogs rattled off a nine-game winning streak. The streak includes a sweep of Air Force, two wins over UNC Wilmington and San Diego State as well as midweek victories over UT Arlington and La.-Monroe.
Josh Elander was one of the key cogs in the streak with a .400 average to go along with a home run and six RBIs. Jerrick Suiterled all Frogs with eight RBIs during the streak.
On the mound, Preston Morrison led the way with a perfect 3-0 record. Along with Stefan Crichton and Tyler Duffie, the starters posted a 1.33 combined ERA. The bullpen allowed just one run as seven relievers have combined to pitch 27 innings. Opponents never scored more than two runs in any game during the streak.
Defense was also key as the Frogs committed just nine errors for a .974 fielding percentage.

TWO-OUT PRODUCTION
One of the keys to victory is keeping an inning alive and scoring with two outs.
On the season, the Horned Frogs have pushed across 79 of their 186 (42%) total runs scored with two outs.
As a team, the Frogs are hitting .265 with two outs. Jason Coats leads the team with 12 two-out RBIs. TCU has allowed 61 of 143 (43%) runs allowed to score with two outs.
Opponents are hitting .238 against the Frog pitching staff with two outs.

LOCKING IT DOWN
One of the bright spots this season has been the shutdown ability of the bullpen. TCU has seen 11 different relievers this season and the group has been nothing less than solid.
In 160 2/3 innings, the group has a 2.24 ERA and is holding opponents to a .228 batting average. They have totaled 135 strikeouts and issued just 59 walks. Kevin Allen paces the group with 32 strikeouts to go along with a 0.42 ERA. Justin Scharf has made a team-high 22 appearances.
The group has held opponents scoreless in 17 of 37 games and hasn’t allowed an earned run in 21 of 37 games. They have inherited 92 base runners over the course of the season and have allowed just 25 of them to score. Allen has inherited 22 runners and has allowed just four to score, while Scharf has inherited 28 and allowed just six to score.