Road Test Awaits TCU at No. 16 Oklahoma

The TCU baseball team heads to No. 16 Oklahoma for their first-ever Big 12 road series. Predicted weather forecasts have adjusted the weekend's schedule as Friday's series opener has been moved to 2 p.m. This weekend's series will be TCU's third against a ranked opponent this season.

TCU NOTABLES
• TCU played its inaugural Big 12 series this past weekend against Kansas.
• The Frogs dropped a tightly contested series as the Jayhawks won the final two games on the weekend.
• TCU bounced back with a thrilling 5-4 victory over UT Arlington in a game played at The Ballpark in Arlington.
• Jerrick Suiter doubled and scored in a three-run fourth as the Frogs rallied for the win.
• Alex Young recorded his first career save, retiring all six batters he faced against UT Arlington.
• Kevin Cron has hit safely in eight straight games.
• Preston Morrison ranks second in the Big 12 with his 0.96 ERA.
• As a team, the Horned Frog pitching staff ranks fifth in the league with a 3.05 ERA.
• The staff leads the league in opponent batting average (.221).
• Keaton Jones has reached base safely in 14 straight contests.

OKLAHOMA NOTABLES
• Oklahoma is the only Big 12 team ranked in the top 25 of all four major polls.
• Oklahoma has rattled off seven straight wins heading into the weekend.
• The Sooners rank in the upper half of the Big 12 in both pitching (3.00 ERA) and hitting (.292).
• Matt Oberste is the league's top hitter with a .500 average in 23 games played.
• Oberste also leads the conference with seven home runs and 32 RBIs.
• Dillon Overton (5-1) and Jonathan Gray (4-1) pace the Sooner rotation.
• Opponents are hitting just .227 against the Sooner pitching staff.
• Defense is the Achilles heel of the Sooner team as they are fielding just .966 with 31 errors on the year.
• Five Sooners have at least four stolen bases led by five from Craig Aikin.

SERIES NOTABLES
• TCU and Oklahoma will be meeting for the 90th time on Friday night.
• Oklahoma holds a 62-37 lead in the series.
• TCU ended an eight-game losing streak to Oklahoma last season, sweeping the series from the Sooners.
• Both victories were by a single run as TCU won 4-3 in Fort Worth and 1-0 in Norman.
• The Frogs are 3-8 in Norman under head coach Jim Schlossnagle.

ROAD NOTABLES
• TCU will be playing its third series of the season on the road this weekend.
• The Frogs are in a stretch of playing seven out of eight games away from home.
• The series at Oklahoma is TCU's first road conference series of the season.
• TCU is 30-6 in road conference series under coach Jim Schlossnagle.
• TCU owns a record of 137-88 on the road under the direction of Schlossnagle.
• TCU is 41-12 in road series victories over Schlossnagle.

HEATING UP
Since getting a day off to regroup, Kevin Cron has responded with a seven-game hitting streak that has saw him raise his batting average .100 points.

He came off the bench on March 9 to record a cluth hit that tied the game at three. That has spurred a hitting streak that has seen Cron hit .344 (11-for-32). He has a trio of multi-hit games and has collected five RBIs.

FINDING A WAY
Keaton Jones currently owns a streak of reaching base in 14 straight games. Jones has been a revelation this season as he ranks fourth among everyday players with a .279 batting average. In addition to a batting average that is over 100 points better than a year ago, Jones has posted a .416 on-base percentage.

Jones is one of just three Horned Frogs to have played in and started all 20 games this season. He has reached base safely in 18 of those games and tallied a hit in 14.

In 2012, Jones had 28 hits in 62 games. He already has 17 this season. Additionally, the sophomore had 17 RBIs as a freshman. He is on his way to surpassing that with 11 already this year.

ON YOUR TOES
The key to success for Preston Morrison is the ability of the defense to always be ready to play behind him.

In his career, he has induced 213 ground balls for outs. This season alone he has induced 56 ground ball outs versus just 25 in the air.

When Morrison does allow a base runner, he has a knack for inducing a double play. In 2012, the Frogs turned eight traditional double plays when he was on the mound. This season, he has induced four ground ball double plays. In addition to the traditional double plays, the Frogs have also turned three fly ball outs into double play.

MAKING A MOVE
Sunday Andrew Mitchell will make his move back to the starting rotation. It's a position he is more than familiar with as he has made 26 starts over the course of his career.

Mitchell has posted a 10-4 record to go along with a 3.58 ERA in 130 2/3 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .201 (93-463) against him as a starter. The junior has 145 strikeouts. TCU is 20-6 in game he has started in his career.

He has been equally as good out of the bullpen with a 2.16 ERA in 22 appearances. He has fanned 45 batters in 33 1/3 innings of work. Opponents are hitting .211 against him as a reliever.