Breaking Down TCU's Pitching Success

TCU baseball has had an incredible April run. They're 12-1, and outscoring opponents by an average of four runs per game (68-20 this month). The pitching staff is giving up fewer than 2 runs per contest, thanks in large part to five shutouts, four of which have come in the past week.

Which brings us to the streak.

Currently, TCU pitching has allowed 1 run to come across the plate for opposing teams over the past five games. That's 45 innings of one run baseball. Pretty incredible.

However, that doesn't tell the full story. TCU pitching has dominated for the majority of these innings. I've put together a couple handy tables to show exactly what the pitching staff has been able to do over these past five games.

First, a breakdown of all the pitchers who have seen action starting with the Houston Baptist game on April 15th.

Pretty much everyone has seen some action during this streak, and only one pitcher, Brian Howard, hasn't recorded a strikeout. As a unit, the pitching staff is averaging just under one strikeout per inning, and has a strikeout to walk ratio of 14:3. That's incredible.

You'll notice that Riley Ferrell has been particularly active, as he saw time in the ninth inning of all three games against Texas, recording a save in each outing. His one walk and two hits allowed all came in his third appearance in three days, but he got out of a bases loaded jam to end the game and collect his ninth save of the season.

Weekday starter Jordan Kipper has been solid as well, getting through six innings in both of his starts during this run (against Houston Baptist and Texas Tech) and recording wins in both outings.

The real dominance though can be seen at the top of the table, where Brandon Finnegan and Preston Morrison combined for 18 strikeouts in 15 innings of work against Texas, while allowing only four walks and eight hits and both recording wins.

Now, here's a breakdown of the streak by team played:

The bulk of the streak came against Texas, which is nice because it's always fun to beat Texas, but it's especially significant because this sweep came while Texas was sitting atop the Big 12 standings. Tuesday non-conference games against Houston Baptist and Texas Tech were games where Jordan Kipper saw the bulk of the action, and he pretty much shut them down completely.

Moving forward, TCU faces Cal State Northridge and Stephen F. Austin to finish out their April schedule. Cal State Northridge is 15-25 on the season, and they're coming off a 7-5 loss to San Diego State. Stephen F. Austin is 16-24 on the season, and they've lost nine of their last ten games. It's very possible that TCU could finish up with a 16-1 record in April, and this streak of dominant pitching could continue.

Go Frogs.