Baylor scored twice in the final two innings to erase a 2-1 TCU lead and hand the Horned Frogs a 3-2 defeat in the series opener Friday night.
Preston Morrison went eight innings in the no-decision. He allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits, walked three and struck out seven. Alex Young (4-4) was tagged with the loss after giving up a run on one hit in one inning of work.
Baylor jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the firstinning, but Morrison was able to limit the damage to just one run. The first three Bears hitters reached to start the game. A base hit by Cal Towey put the Bears in front. On the throw to third, Towey advanced to second to put two in scoring position with nobody out. Morrison got a shallow fly out to right, a strikeout and a ground out to strand the runners.
After seeing a chance to tie the game go by the wayside in the second, TCU didn’t squander a second chance in the third. Kyle Bacak led off the inning with a base hit. He was standing on third with two outs after a pair of ground outs. Jantzen Witte battled the count before driving a single up the middle to tie the game at one.
TCU struck again in the fifth, scoring another two out run to take a 2-1 lead. Cody Jones drew a one-out walk and was standing on second with two outs. Paul Hendrix hit a deep fly ball that just eluded theright fielder’s glove for an RBI double.
Morrison cruised through the middle innings, retiring 12 straight before a one-out walk in the seventh. That runner was caught stealing and he finished the inning with his sixth strikeout of the game.
Trouble struck in the eighth as the Bears lead-off man struck out but reached on a wild pitch. He moved to second on a base hit byLawton Langford. With one out and both runners in scoring position, the Frogs walked Cal Towey to load the bases. Witte threw out the go-ahead run for the second out, but Jake Miller lined a base hit up the middle that deflected off Morrison’s glove to drive in the tying run.
TCU tried to respond in the bottom of the inning asBoomer White led off with a base hit. He was standing on second with nobody out after a balk. With two outs, White was at third base when t. Kevin Cron pinch hit and was intentionally walked to put runners on the corner. Josh Gonzales pinch hit and hit a ground that got past the pitcher’s mound. The shortstop made a running play to just get Gonzales for the final out of the inning.
Baylor used the momentum and turned it into a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth. Mitch Price pinch hit with one out and deposited the pitch over the left field fence for the go-ahead home run.
With the loss, TCU falls to 17-21 overall and 5-8 in Big 12 play. Game two of the series is set for Saturday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 3:30 for a game that will be aired live on Fox Sports Southwest and Fox College Sports. Brandon Finnegan will toe the rubber for the Horned Frogs.