#12 TCU Baseball Opens Season At #13 Ole Miss

FOLLOW THE FROGS
While the games won't be televised, fans will have numerous options for following this weekend's games. Ole Miss will provide a live web stream through its All-Access subscription package. Cost to watch all three games is $9.95. To purchase, click here.

All season long fans will have the ability to follow the Frogs through an audio and video stream. TCU will have a web stream for all home games as well as an audio stream for all road games. For a monthly subscription of $9.95 or a yearly subscription of $79.95, fans can have access to all multi-media platforms. To purchase, click here.

TCU NOTABLES
• TCU opens the season ranked in the top 15 of all five major polls. The Horned Frogs are as high as No. 12 (Coaches Poll) and as low as 15 (Collegiate Baseball).
• TCU was picked second in the preseason Big 12 poll. The Frogs garnered three first place votes among the nine voters.
• TCU returns 17 letterwinners, including five starters. Eight members of the pitching staff return.
• Kevin Cron, Andrew Mitchell and Preston Morrison have been tabbed preseason All-Americans.
• The Frogs welcomed a new coach in Kirk Saarloos. He takes over as the pitching coach.
• Jerrick Suiter enters the season carrying a 10-game hitting streak.
• The Frogs homered in 11 straight games to end the 2012 campaign.

OLE MISS NOTABLES
• The Rebels are ranked as high as No. 13 in the polls. The ranking comes from Baseball America.
• Ole Miss was picked to finish fourth in the SEC Western division.
• The Rebels return 20 letterwinners and six starters from last year's Regional team.
• Closer Brett Huber has been named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List. He collected a team-high 10 saves in 2012.
• Friday night starter Bobby Wahl has been named a preseason All-American by various media outlets.
• Ole Miss finished the 2012 campaign with a 37-26 record and finished fourth in the SEC with a 14-16 record.
• The Rebels return two of their top three starting pitchers (Bobby Wahl and Mike Mayers).

SERIES NOTABLES
• TCU and Ole Miss are meeting for the 14th time in program history.
• The Frogs are 8-5 all-time against the Rebels.
• TCU and Ole Miss met on two separate occasions in 2012.
• The Frogs and Rebels opened the 2012 campaign against each other. Each team came away with a win in the rain-shortened series.
• TCU and Ole Miss met in the NCAA College Station Regional. Ole Miss won the first meeting, but the Frogs won the final two to end the Rebels' season and advance to the NCAA Super Regional.
• TCU is 6-3 against Ole Miss under the guidance of Jim Schlossnagle.

SEASON OPENER NOTABLES
• The 2013 season marks the 10th year under the direction of head coach Jim Schlossnagle.
• TCU is 6-3 in season-opener's under coach Schlossnagle.
• The Frogs are opening on the road for the first time since the 2009 campaign when they opened at No. 5 Cal State Fullerton.
• Since Schlossnagle arrived, the Frogs have opened on the road three times (2006, 2007 and 2009).
• With the Rebels ranked as high as No. 13, it marks the fifth time the Frogs have opened against a ranked opponent.
• TCU is opening against Ole Miss for the second consecutive season.

ELITE COMPANY
Since Jim Schlossnagle's arrival on campus nine years ago, the Frogs have been in an NCAA Regional. TCU is in some elite company with nine straight appearances, as only 10 other schools can lay claim to that accomplishment.

Those 10 schools include: Rice, Virginia, Arkansas, Oral Roberts, TCU, South Carolina, Florida State, North Carolina, Cal State Fullerton and Miami (Fla.).

Additionally, TCU is one of eight schools to have appeared in three of the last four Super Regionals (Florida, Arizona State, Arkansas, Florida State, Virginia, Texas and South Carolina).

Prior to coming to TCU, Jim Schlossnagle guided the UNLV Rebels to the tournament in 2003, giving him 10 straight postseason appearances.

ANOTHER MILESTONE IN REACH
Winning has become synonymous with Jim Schlossnagle's name since his arrival on campus. It seems every year the head coach is chasing a record of some sorts and this season is no different.

At 388 career wins as the TCU skipper, he needs just 12 victories to collect his 400th win at TCU. Additionally, he is just 35 victories away from 500 in his coaching career.

In 11 seasons as a head coach, Schlossnagle has a .677 (465-222) winning percentage. He ranks 11th in winning percentage among active coaches with at least five years of experience.

A MOUND OF EXPERIENCE
Last season the Horned Frogs had a lot of holes to fill on the mound after the draft and graduation decimated the pitching staff. The opposite is the case this season as 10 of the 14 pitches that saw action in 2012 return.

This season, the Frogs return 87% of the innings pitched. The staff combined to start 61 of 62 games played and went 33-18 with five saves. They have an ERA of 3.35 as a group.

In the offseason, the Frogs added eight pitchers to their roster. Seven of the eight are freshmen. Three of them were drafted: Tejay Antone (22nd round; NY Mets), Alex Young (32nd round, Texas Rangers)and Mitchell Traver (39th round, Houston Astros).

AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE
The TCU baseball team has put together six straight 40-plus-win seasons dating back to the 2007 campaign. Over the last six seasons, the Frogs have posted a 269-110 record for a .710 winning percentage.

The 269 victories ranks in a tie for seventh nationally, while the .732 winning percentage is also tied for seventh-best nationally. Both totals are tied with Rice for the best in the state of Texas.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Frogs have enjoyed the home cooking of Lupton Stadium since it opened in 2003. TCU has an all-time record of 234-78 (.750) at Lupton Stadium, tallying at least 20 wins in nine of 10 seasons.

In 2012, the Frogs boasted a 23-9 record in 32 home games. As a team, TCU outscored its opponents 148-90. The Frogs tallied 42 doubles, eight triples and 10 home runs at home in 2012.

On the mound, the pitching staff enjoyed the friendly confines to the tune of a 2.45 ERA with five shutouts. The staff fanned 243 batters and held opponents to a .227 batting average against.

A NEW HOME
A new era began on Oct. 10, 2011 when Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Chris Del Conte announced that TCU would be joining the Big 12 Conference at the start of the 2012-13 season.

On July 1, TCU officially became members of the Big 12 Conference. It marks the fifth league in TCU's athletic history and the fourth conference affiliation for TCU since 1996.

The Frogs won seven conference titles in the SWC and seven in the Mountain West. TCU has enjoyed success in each of the last three conferences. Since the demise of the Southwest Conference, the Frogs have posted a .675 (293-141) winning percentage in league play since 2007.

FAMILIAR FOES
While TCU may be joining a new league, the foes will not be unfamiliar to the Horned Frogs and their fans. In fact, the Frogs will be renewing conference rivalries with four members of the Big 12.

TCU was conference foes with Texas Tech, Texas and Baylor from 1923-1996 when the Southwest Conference dissolved. From 1923-25, TCU and Oklahoma State met on the diamond as conference opponents.

Since the demise of the SWC, the Frogs have not shied away from competition, playing 145 games against current members of the Big 12.

TCU and Oklahoma have met each season on the diamond since 1996. The Frogs renewed their series with the Bears in 2000 and have played every year since. TCU has played Texas Tech in every season except 2006 and 2008.