Baseball: TCU rallies to end DBU’s 14-game winning streak

LUPTON MAGIC! - you’ve been sorely missed. Where have you been?

After entering the eighth inning down 2 runs, TCU Baseball rallied its way back to a crucial and phenomenal win against No. 19 Dallas Baptist Tuesday night in Lupton Stadium, winning 8-5.

The win ended Dallas Baptist’s 14-game winning streak and featured a dramatic five-run eighth inning for the Horned Frogs. Karson Bowen’s grand slam ultimately secured the win for TCU.

Dallas Baptist took an early 2-0 lead with single runs in the second and third innings. The Frogs’ bats couldn’t get anything going until the third inning, when TCU tied the game 2-2 with Brayden Taylor’s two-run homer to right field.

However, the Patriots regained the lead in the fourth with two groundouts to the right side, after getting two men on base, bringing in two, separate third base runners, making the score 4-2.

The two teams then exchanged runs in the fifth, with Dallas Baptist scoring on a solo home run and TCU responding with Tre Richardson’s first sacrifice fly of the game. The score was 5-3 after the fifth, and it held until the eighth.

The Frogs’ glorious eighth inning began with Brayden Taylor’s bunt single, followed by Kurtis Byrne’s base hit and Austin Davis’s walk to load the bases.

Bowen then smashed a 2-2 pitch over the right field fence, and in the blink of an eye TCU was ahead 7-5.

The Horned Frogs added another insurance run later in the inning with Tre Richardson’s second sacrifice fly of the game, giving the Frogs an 8-5 lead.

Ryan Vanderhei took over pitching duties for TCU in the eighth inning, and despite allowing two Patriots to get into scoring position, he struck out the next two batters, keeping the deficit at two.

In the ninth inning, Vanderhei worked around a lead-off walk to secure the victory for the Horned Frogs.

Chase Hoover started for the Horned Frogs and allowed one earned run on two hits in three innings.

River Ridings and Cohen Feser each tossed a scoreless inning in relief.

The victory was significant for TCU, as it marked the team’s first win of the season when trailing after seven innings.

Taylor’s homer also moved him into a tie for third all-time in career home runs with Chad Huffman (2004-06).

TCU will next face Texas in a Big 12 conference game on Friday evening at home. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.