TCU Baseball Series Recap: Texas

TCU baseball continued Big 12 Conference play against Texas over the weekend, conceding consecutive games to open the series before exploding for an eight-run victory on Monday to avoid the three-game sweep. The Horned Frogs (24-20, 8-10 Big 12) have lost five of their last six Big 12 games with only six conference games remaining on their schedule. TCU will welcome Cal State Fullerton for a nonconference series this coming weekend.

Saturday: Texas 8, TCU 4

The Longhorns attacked freshman starter Kole Klecker early in the game, building a 6-0 lead after smashing four home runs across the second and third innings. TCU slowly worked its way back into the game, with freshman catcher Karson Bowen belting an opposite-field homer for two runs and making the score 6-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Another freshman, Chase Hoover, overcame three walks to fire two and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief, striking out four batters after Klecker departed in the third inning.

Texas launched its fifth home run of the game in the top of the seventh inning off freshman left-hander Ben Abeldt, surging ahead 7-3 before freshman shortstop Anthony Silva answered for the Horned Frogs, hitting a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the frame. Longhorn starter Lucas Gordon improved to 5-0 on the season, throwing eight innings before reliever Heston Tole appeared in the ninth inning to secure the Texas victory.

Sunday: Texas 3, TCU 2

Freshman right-hander Louis Rodriguez delivered in the starting rotation for the second consecutive weekend, throwing six innings with four strikeouts while allowing only two runs on four hits. TCU held a 2-0 lead after the first two innings, where infielder Tre Richardson sent an RBI double to center field in the first frame before outfielder Elijah Nunez’s RBI triple in the second frame gave the Horned Frogs a two-run advantage. A double and a sacrifice fly allowed the Longhorns to even the score at 2-2 in the top of the third inning.

An RBI single off veteran right-hander Luke Savage in the top of the eighth inning proved to be the deciding run for the Longhorns, who held TCU scoreless over the final seven frames on Sunday to earn the one-run victory. The Horned Frogs totaled seven hits but left six runners on base during the game. Another veteran right-hander, Garrett Wright, fired a scoreless ninth frame out of the bullpen to continue a strong stretch of recent outings.

Monday: TCU 15, Texas 7

The Horned Frogs erased a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the first inning, surging ahead after a two-run single from outfielder Austin Davis capped off a three-run frame. TCU added three more runs in the bottom of the third inning, where veteran catcher Kurtis Byrne pounded a three-run bomb over the fence to make the score 6-2. The Horned Frogs broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning, tallying seven runs to command a double-digit lead. Four hitters including Davis, Byrne, Richardson and Silva notched RBI singles during the seven-run frame, while third baseman Brayden Taylor added a sacrifice fly.

Outfielder Logan Maxwell added a two-run homer for the Horned Frogs in the top of the fifth inning, giving TCU a 15-4 lead and allowing the team to cruise for the remainder of the game. Veteran right-hander Sam Stoutenborough started for the Horned Frogs, throwing two and one-third innings with four strikeouts and two unearned runs allowed. Abeldt fired two and one-third innings of scoreless relief over the final frames to lock down the win. Byrne finished 2-for-5 with five RBIs, while Silva, Davis and Maxwell each went 3-for-5 while combining for seven RBIs. Richardson finished 4-for-6 with four singles in the victory.