TCU Baseball Season Preview
2/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 1, 2003
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A season ago, TCU closed out 41-year-old TCU Diamond on a successful note. The Horned Frogs recorded their second-straight winning season, posting wins versus eight nationally ranked opponents along the way and placing third in their first season of Conference USA action with a 19-11 league mark.
As successful as the final campaign at TCU Diamond was, the Frogs have their sights set on bigger and better things in 2003. With 21 letterwinners, six starters, 12-of-13 pitchers, an exciting stable of newcomers, three all-C-USA selections and an all-American returning from last year's squad, TCU is hoping to open the Lupton Stadium era with its first conference title since 1994.
Leading the way for the Frogs is 2003 preseason all-American and all-conference selection, senior outfielder Terry Trofholz. In 2002, Trofholz took C-USA by storm, shattering the league batting title with a .441 average. His 94 base hits tied the TCU single-season record as he collected second-team all-America honors, as well as first-team all-conference, all-region, all-state, national all-defensive team and Metroplex College Baseball Player of the Year accolades.
However, the Frogs will be nowhere near a one-man gang in 2003, as TCU's experience-laden squad boasts 15 seniors, headlined by Trofholz, third baseman Mike Settle and outfielder Chris Meeks.
Settle is penciled into the TCU lineup as the starter at the hot corner for the third-straight season. He will anchor a Horned Frog infield that helped the squad to a .970 fielding percentage a year ago, good for 11th in the nation. He also contributed at the plate with a .292 average and team high-tying six home runs.
Meeks, a second team all-Conference USA selection, ranked second on the team and ninth in the league with a .354 batting average. He was also second on the squad with 68 hits, 15 doubles and tied for the team lead with four triples, despite missing seven games due to a dislocated finger.
Despite the returning pop in the lineup, the strength of the 2003 Frogs may well be their pitching staff. Anchoring the experienced staff will be junior right-hander Clayton Jerome. Jerome, another 2002 second-team all-C-USA honoree, led the TCU pitching corps a year ago with a 9-5 record, 3.33 ERA, three complete games, 74 strikeouts and 110.2 innings pitched.
While the team on the field pushes for a conference crown, it is the ballpark itself that makes 2003 one of the most anticipated seasons in TCU baseball history, as the Horned Frogs move into their lavish new home, Lupton Stadium and Williams-Reilly Field. Lupton Stadium will officially open its gates when the Frogs open the campaign on February 2 at 2 p.m. versus Metroplex-rival Texas-Arlington.
PITCHING STAFF
While Jerome returns as the ace of the TCU pitching staff, there are plenty of talented and experienced arms behind him to make the Horned Frog hurlers a formidable group.
Four seniors, southpaws Kyle Shoemaker and Ryan Weems and right-handers Patrick Newburn and Chris Osentowski, account for a bulk of the innings pitched a year ago by this season's returnees.
Shoemaker spent much of 2002 as the Frogs' No. 2 pitcher, compiling a 7-5 record and 4.55 ERA. He struck out 51 versus issuing just 27 walks. While the crafty left-hander looks to contribute again to the TCU starting rotation, he also proved his worth as a reliever a season ago with two appearances out of the bullpen, including the only save of his career.
Weems is the squad's leading returnee out of the bullpen. In 20 relief appearances in 2002, the southpaw went 2-2 with a 3.37 ERA, two saves and a team-best .220 opponent's batting average. He looks again to anchor the TCU bullpen, especially against left-handed hitters.
Newburn was also a regular in the Frogs' starting rotation a season ago, making 14 starts, mainly as the squad's No. 3 hurler. Dominating at times, especially when his control is working for him, Newburn posted a 4-4 record with a 4.74 ERA in 2002 and tossed a team-high two shutouts.
After a shaky start in 2002, Osentowski became one of TCU's go-to guys down the stretch. He led the squad with three saves, but also made a push for increased innings as a starter with a complete-game masterpiece in an 8-1 win over No. 25 Louisville in the Conference USA Tournament. He could be a force for the Frogs as a starter or out of the 'pen in 2003.
Adding even more talent to an already deep staff is the arrival of newcomers Zach Duncan and Tim McGough. Duncan, a freshman from Marshall, Texas, compiled a 33-6 mark on the mound as a prep, including a perfect 10-0 mark as a junior that bested teammate and MLB first-round draftee Colt Griffin.
McGough comes back home to Fort Worth after a two-year stint at the University of Texas. At Texas, the right-hander posted a 2-0 record in 24 appearances over two years and helped the Longhorns to the 2002 national championship. He is expected to make an immediate impact in the Frogs' starting rotation.
While TCU boasts a deep and talented group of starters, the same can be said about the Horned Frogs' bullpen, which can rely on a lot more experienced arms than a season ago. Expected to contribute a number of innings in relief this season are left-handers Weems, sophomore Chris White and another Texas transfer, Chris Neuman, who is also expected to contribute immediately at first base and designated hitter.
Being called upon to anchor the right-handers out of the 'pen will be seniors Tim Collinsworth and Ryan Grafe, juniors Robbie Findlay and Aaron Tims and sophomores Clint Mokry, Ryan Nesloney and Chad Underwood. Much of the right-handed relief corps is looking to bounce back from injuries a year ago, including ones that claimed Findlay and Underwood's seasons.
"We think that we have some depth and talent on the pitching staff," Brown said. "We are also relatively healthy, unlike last season. But, due to our limited fall workouts due to the construction of our new ballpark, we are going to have to figure out exactly what roles everyone will play on our staff."
INFIELDERS
Joining Settle as a returning starter in the TCU infield is second baseman Will Lewis. The senior led the squad a season ago with 172 assists, good for a tie for seventh in C-USA and the fifth-highest mark in TCU history. He also chipped in with a team high-tying six home runs and was hit by team high 16 pitches.
Filling the big shoes left by sixth-round Major League draft pick Walter Olmstead will be senior Jared Lundeen and Neuman. Lundeen was a valuable utility player for the Frogs in 2002, spending time at first and third base as well as designated hitter. Neuman appeared in 29 games in two years at Texas and made just two errors in two campaigns for the Longhorns. Whoever is not playing first base of this duo will likely take the bulk of the swings at designated hitter.
Replacing the Horned Frogs' other 2002 MLB draftee, Levi Robinson, at shortstop will be Shaff Elkouri. The senior made 28 starts a year ago and appeared in 41 games, splitting time between shortstop, second base and designated hitter.
Junior Ramon Moses and redshirt freshman Nate Thomas will add depth, especially in the middle infield.
Like last year, Brown expects that the Frogs will be among the nation's top defenses again in 2003.
"I expect us to be as good as last year defensively," he said. "We will miss what Levi Robinson did for our squad, but Shaff played well last year too. Lundeen and Neuman are very capable of replacing Olmstead also, so we hope there won't be much of a drop off in the infield."
Rounding out the Frogs' infield is the return of Justin Hatcher at catcher. The senior made 38 starts at catcher last season, throwing out six would-be base stealers and picking off another runner. Backing up Hatcher will be a pair of sophomores, Kyle Dahlberg and Chris Saenz.
OUTFIELDERS
After losing just one outfielder from a season ago, albeit a major loss in four-year starter Marshall Wilson, the Horned Frogs have as much talent and depth in the outfield as any place on the field. Besides 2002 all-conference selections Trofholz and Meeks, sophomore Jake Duncan will round out the Frogs' regular outfield. Duncan, the older brother of TCU freshman Zach Duncan, ranked third on the squad with a .310 batting average last season. Despite battling injuries, he made 36 starts a year ago, including 20 in right field.
While the threesome of Trofholz, Meeks and Duncan is expected to be the Frogs' starting trio in the outfield, which position each of them will play is still to be determined due to limited practice time in the fall. Heading into the spring, Trofholz is penciled in as the center fielder, with Meeks in left and Duncan in right.
Adding depth to the TCU outfield will be seniors Greg Bratton, Jeff Reed and Kenny Thompson, junior Sean Stephens - a talented transfer who lost the 2002 season to injury - and sophomore J.J. Estrada.
With outfielders making up three of TCU's top-four returning bats, Coach Brown will look to them to help with making the offense more versatile in 2003.
"We need to work on scoring runs in any situation," he said. "While we are a good hitting team, some days your bats just won't be working for you for one reason or another. On those days we need to do the little things, like taking walks and executing hit-and-runs, better than we did last year. If we can do that, we have a chance to be very successful."
SCHEDULE
As always, TCU sports one of the most challenging slates in the nation. However, unlike last year, when the Horned Frogs played just one of its 14 games against nationally ranked teams at home, the schedule sees some of the Frogs' stiffest competition coming to Lupton Stadium in 2003. In fact, 23 of the TCU's 30 home games this season will be against squads that advanced the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
Also, in sharp contrast to last year when the Frogs' five Conference USA road series were against the five league squads that advanced to NCAA Regional play, those five teams - East Carolina, Houston, Louisville, South Florida and Tulane - will visit Lupton Stadium this spring. 2003 NCAA teams Texas Tech and BYU will also play weekend series in Fort Worth, while Big 12-foes Oklahoma and Baylor visit for mid-week tilts.
"We try to have a schedule every year that will prepare us for conference and postseason play," Brown said. "We feel like we have accomplished that again with this challenging schedule."
While, on paper at least, it seems that TCU will play some of its easier games on the road, Coach Brown is quick to point out that those games are the critical to the Frogs' fortunes this season.
"How well we play on the road this year, especially in C-USA, is a huge key for us," Brown said. "This is a great conference with quality teams from top to bottom. If we aren't prepared to play, especially on the road, we could be in for some long weekends."
Despite the degree of difficulty, Brown is excited about the Horned Frogs' 2003 slate.
"There isn't one game on the schedule that we can't win, but there isn't one game that we can just walk out the field and get the 'W'," Brown said. "That is what we look for in a schedule. It's good for us and what we want to accomplish. And it's good for the fans, as they will have a chance to see an exciting brand of baseball in one of the finest facilities in the nation."
