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Last Tuesday, the Horned Frogs took a trip west to Abilene and easily dispensed of the Wildcats with a 14-3 win in a run-rule shortened 7 innings. Things would not be so simple tonight against ACU on a windy night in Lupton Stadium. The red-hot Horned Frog bats were quieted, while Abilene Christian was able to get base runners and timely hitting to earn a victory over #12 TCU.
TCU opened the scoring in the 2nd inning as two bunt singles led to a fielder’s choice grounder by Logan Maxwell to score Sacco. Caedmon Parker got the start for the Frogs and faced the minimum batters through three innings, erasing a walk with a double play. However, On the second time through the batting order, the Wildcats caught up to Parker’s stuff. He opened the top of the 4th opened with a full-count walk and home run to give the Cats the lead. Another walk and a hit batter chased Parker from the game, giving way to Cohen Feser out of the bullpen. The Freshman reliever surrendered a double and a sac fly, good for two more ACU runs. The Frogs also brought the offense in the 4th inning, as Gray Rodgers reached on an error and scored on a Bobby Goodloe double.
Unfortunately, that was the end of the meaningful offensive production for the Frogs on the night, as the Wildcat relief duo of Connor Carlton and Tanner Riley shut down the TCU hitters. The pair combined for 5.0 innings, 3 hits, 1 walk, and 10 strikeouts.
TCU entered the 9th inning needing some #LuptonMagic to claw back into this game. The top of the frame started well, as Braxton Pearson came out of the bullpen and began his first appearance of the season with a three-pitch strike out on his way to a scoreless inning. The Frog 9th-inning rally started with Tommy Sacco getting his 100th career hit, followed by a Goodloe hit up the middle that couldn’t be handled by the ACU middle infielders. The woo-birds were lurking as this had the makings of a big inning. Wildcat reliever Tanner Riley had other ideas, as he proceeded to strike out the next three batters to close out the contest.
ACU climbs to 13-11 on the season, while TCU falls to 18-6. The Frogs will be back in Lupton Stadium looking to start a new win streak on Wednesday night at 6:00 PM, hosting the Roadrunners of UTSA