Swept: TCU Baseball falls 4-3 to Baylor

TCU Baseball did something Sunday that they hadn’t done all series against the Baylor Bears - take a lead. But they were not able to hold it down the stretch, and the Frogs leave Waco as the victims of a very painful sweep with Sunday’s 4-3 defeat at the hands of the rival Bears.

The Frogs did a lot of things wrong against the Bears over the weekend, but once again, it was errors that loomed largest. TCU committed seven errors total across three games - two each by Coby Boulware, Adam Oviedo, and Conner Shepherd, as well as a throwing error by Charles King. They committed three of those errors in Sunday’s game, the big one coming in a two run sixth that gave the Bears a lead they would hold the rest of the way.

Shea Langeliers was a difference maker in the finale as well - the catcher who put two over the wall, one each in the first two games, was a long ball away from the cycle Sunday, going 3-4 and scoring two runs. Langeliers alone had more extra base hits the entirety of the TCU lineup, who had eight hits on the day, but nothing more harmful than a single.

TCU got on the board in the top of the first inning with two outs, as back to back singles by AJ Balta and Michael Landestoy, with the help of a wild pitch, got the Frogs started. Baylor tied things up at one apiece in the bottom of the third, after a leadoff single and a couple of sacrifice grounders put the a runner in scoring position for Wendzel, who delivered with an RBI base knock. The Frogs got back in business half an inning later, striking for a pair to get back on top. Back to back walks by Landestoy and Johnny Rizer preceded a Zach Humphreys single, loading the bases. Landestoy scored on Shepherd’s sac fly, and the second run of the inning came across on an Adam Oviedo walk/wild pitch. Baylor got back within one in the bottom of the inning when Langeliers tripled and scored on a ground out.

Chuck King went the first five frames, allowing two runs on six hits, walking one and striking out one. Jake Eissler relieved him and allowed a single and a double, charged for one of the two runs that came across in the inning. Cal Coughlin closed out the sixth, as the Bears pushed the winning run across after a throwing error on a fielder’s choice ball by Boulware. Durbin Feltman got some work in as well, pitching a three up, three down eighth.

Landestoy and Humphreys had two hits a piece for the Frogs, who got the tying run to third in the top of the ninth, but couldn’t get Boulware home after his leadoff single. It was a much better effort for TCU than the two first games of the series, but the Frogs still stranded eight runners and committed three errors. It was a bad series loss, a devastating series sweep, and puts the Frogs in a terrible position with just three conference series left to play.

TCU falls to 6-8 in Big 12 play, which puts them fifth in the conference, and 19-17 overall. They return to action Tuesday at Lupton Stadium as they host SFA.