TCU Baseball vs West Virginia: Preview

Friday: LHP Nick Lodolo vs. RHP BJ Myers | Friday | 6:30 p.m. | Watch Live | KTCU 88.7 FM | Live Stats

Saturday: RHP Jake Eissler vs. RHP Kade Strowd | 4 p.m. | FSSW | KTCU 88.7 FM | Live Stats

Sunday: TBA vs. TBA | 1 p.m. | Watch Live | KTCU 88.7 FM | Live Stats

It’s going to come down to pitching.

Though the offense looked good the last time the Frogs took the field, the series against the Mountaineers will be a battle of which collection of arm-talent out-duels the other, with the pressure squarely on the shoulders of the home team. Both Nick Lodolo and Jake Eissler have looked exceptional in their most recent starts, and will look to secure a series win before Sunday rolls around, the final home game for the Horned Frogs in 2018. But the starter on senior day is TBD, according to Jim Schlossnagle:

It’s an interesting conundrum for the Frogs’ head man, who has to choose between riding a hot hand in Haylen Green, who took a no-hitter into the ninth against Lamar, or Sean Wymer, who has struggled as a weekend starter but is going to have to be right to give TCU a shot in the Big 12 Tournament.

For now, the Frogs face a must-win series against a disappointing West Virginia team, but one that has been playing well as of late. It should be a fun weekend, as TCU says goodbye to their home field for the final time in 2018.

TCU NOTABLES

• TCU went 5-0 last week to stretch its winning streak to a season-long six games.

• The Horned Frogs tallied four shutouts in the five games last week, allowing just three runs in 45 innings pitched.

• TCU ranks seventh in batting average (.267), second in the Big 12 in ERA (3.41) and sixth in fielding percentage (.970).

• Haylen Green became just the fourth pitcher in school history to toss a solo nine inning one-hitter earning him National Pitcher of the Week honors.

• Jake Eissler picked up where he left off last week facing the minimum in six innings in his first start of the season. He’s faced just 33 batters (1 hit allowed) over his last 11 innings pitched with 23 strikeouts.

• TCU hit five home runs over the weekend. Josh Watson was responsible for two, while Connor Wanhanen hit his first home run since 2015.

• TCU tallied 37 strikeouts over the weekend and ranks third in the Big 12 with 443 on the season. Nationally, TCU ranks 11th in K:BB ratio (2.90) and 13th in K/9 (9.80).

WEST VIRGINIA NOTABLES

• West Virginia is coming off a 2-1 series loss to Kansas and a midweek win over Virginia Tech.

• The Mountaineers are winners of seven of their last 10 games.

• WVU is 2-4 in Big 12 series this season with series victories over Texas (2-1) and Kansas State (2-1).

• The Mountaineers rank fourth in the Big 12 in batting average (.281), sixth in ERA (4.68) and ninth in fielding percentage (.962).

• West Virginia leads the Big 12 with 83 stolen bases and has been thrown out a league-high 27 times.

• Braden Zarbnisky’s 24 stolen bases rank third in the league.

• Kyle Gray ranks third in the Big 12 with his .368 batting average and 13 home runs.

• On the mound, Shane Ennis leads the team with 25 appearances, while Sam Kessler has a team-high four saves.

SERIES NOTABLES

• TCU and West Virginia began their series in 2013 and will be meeting on the diamond for just the 19th time on Friday night.

• TCU is 14-4 all-time against West Virginia.

• The Horned Frogs have swept the regular season series three of the last four seasons.

• West Virginia took a 2-1 series victory in Morgantown last season.

• TCU is 6-0 against West Virginia at Lupton Stadium, sweeping the season series in 2014 and 2016.

• Head coach Randy Mazey was an assistant from 2007-2012.