TCU Baseball has won a lot of games already in 2020, and they’re just a pitch away from being undefeated through their first eight. 4-0 on their home field, the Horned Frogs welcome in Cal Baseball this weekend, a Bears program that has struggled out of the gate in going 3-4 so far.
The Frogs have come out of the gate strong in two out of the three phases of the game; they have scored ten runs or more in five out of eight games, are hitting .281 as a team, have slugged 11 home runs, and have a staff ERA of 2.28. The only area of concern right now is fielding; the Frogs have commited six errors, which isn’t terrible, but still something to watch going forward.
GAME INFORMATION
Friday, Feb. 28 • 6:30 p.m. Johnny Ray vs. Sam Stoutenborough
Saturday, Feb. 29 • 3 p.m. Charles King vs. Grant Holman
Sunday, March 1 • 1 p.m. Russell Smith vs. TBA
TCU NOTABLES
• TCU is off to a 7-1 start to the season for the first time since the 2017 campaign.
• TCU is 7-1 to open a season for the fifth time under the guidance of head coach Jim Schlossnagle.
• TCU ranks second in the Big 12 and 30th nationally with a 2.28 ERA.
• TCU has allowed two or fewer earned runs in a game five times this season.
• TCU is averaging 9.6 runs per game which is second in the Big 12 and 12th nationally.
• TCU leads the Big 12 and ninth nationally with 19 stolen bases.
• TCU’s 11 home runs this season rank 10th nationally.
• TCU’s 24 doubles ranks eighth nationally.
• Eight Horned Frogs have at least five RBIs this year, while three have 10 or more.
• Conner Shepherd has tallied three hits each in three of the last four games, raising his average 268 points.
• Porter Brown, Gray Rodgers and Hunter Wolfe have reached safely in all eight games.
• Johnny Ray was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after a complete-game shutout on Saturday.
HOME NOTABLES
• TCU will play 29 home games during the 2020 season.
• TCU is 405-135 all-time at Lupton Stadium. • TCU is 384-126 at Lupton Stadium under the guidance of Jim Schlossnagle.
• TCU has won 20 or more games in 14 of the 17 seasons Lupton Stadium has been in existence.
• TCU has averaged over 4,000 fans per game in each of the last five seasons.
• TCU ranked 10th nationally in average attendance in 2019 (4,378).
CAL NOTABLES
• Cal enters the weekend on a two-game winning streak, taking the final game of the St. John’s series and earning a midweek win against Stanford.
• The Bears have dropped both weekend series this season but have not been swept.
• Cal is hitting .245 as a team and is averaging 5.25 runs per game.
• On the mound, the staff has a 5.50 ERA and opponents are hitting .270.
• Ten Bear errors have led to nine unearned runs.
• Four different players have homered for Cal. • Opponents are 12-for-12 in stolen bases this season.
• Quentin Selma paces Cal with a .367 average and 15 RBIs.
• Darren Baker has four of the Bears’ nine stolen bases.
• The bullpen has all three of the Bears’ wins, led by two from Joseph King.
• Nick Proctor and Vaughn Mauterer lead the team with five appearances each out of the bullpen.
• Mitchell Scott has the Bears’ lone save this season.
SERIES NOTABLES
• TCU and Cal will be meeting for the fifth time on Friday night.
• TCU leads the all-time series 3-1.
• TCU and Cal last met in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional in 2019.
• TCU won the match-up by a 13-2 score.
• The Horned Frogs last met the Bears in the regular season in Berkeley, Calif. in 2017.
• TCU won the series, 2-1, defeating Cal 3-0 and 5-4 in the first two games before dropping the series finale by an 8-3 score.