TCU Baseball Welcomes Texas Tech To Lupton
2/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 15, 2005
FORT WORTH, Texas - A pair of undefeated teams are set to clash Tuesday night at Lupton Stadium as the 3-0 No. 23 Horned Frogs welcome the 4-0 Texas Tech Raiders Raiders to Fort Worth. The Frogs are coming off a weekend sweep of the Utah Utes. The Frogs took the series last season, winning two of three in Lubbock. Brad Furnish will get the call on the mound for the Frogs. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at Lupton Stadium.
About The Series
The Texas Tech Red Raiders come to Lupton Stadium looking for revenge following TCU's series win in 2004 at Dan Law Field in Lubbock. The Frogs won the first two games of the series in February, coming-from-behind to take game one, 6-4 and winning game two 8-5. Texas Tech avoided the sweep with a 19-9 win on Sunday. The Frogs series win snapped an 88 consecutive non-conference series win the Red Raiders had going at Dan Law Field. The last non-conference team to win a series in Lubbock came back in 1989. Both teams enter the contest with a perfect record, fresh off of weekend sweeps. The Red Raiders swept away Northern Illinois, while the Frogs swept Utah in its weekend opener. Texas Tech is 1-2 all-time at Lupton Stadium.
TCU vs. Texas Tech Base Knocks
• Friday's contest will mark the 135th meeting all-time between TCU and Texas Tech.
• TCU holds a 67-66-1 all-time advantage against the Red Raiders.
• The Frogs and the Raiders are former Southwest Conferenc (SWC) foes. The teams squared off as league opponents for 70 seasons (1924-1997).
• Prior to last season's series win, the Frogs had not won a series against Texas Tech since 2000 when they swept the season series. They had been 2-12 since the 2000 season against the Red Raiders.
• The Frogs series win last season snapped an 88 consecutive non-conference home series wins at Dan Law Field for the Red Raiders.
• The Red Raiders are 1-2 all-time at Lupton Stadium.
On The Mound
Stepping to the mound on Tuesday night will be Frog newcomer, Brad Furnish. Furnish transferred to TCU from Nebraska this season and is familiar with the Big 12 and Texas Tech. He was 3-0 with a 3.72 ERA for the Cornhuskers in 16 appearances. He made three starts for the Red and White and pitched 33 innings. He had 26 strikeouts. He made his TCU debut on Sunday in game three against the Utes. He threw four pitches in his one inning of work.
For the Red Raiders, Billy Carnlinewill take the mound. His lone appearance this season is a start against Northern Illinois. He pitched 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits in the no-decision. He walked three and didn't record a strikeout.
Home Field Advantage
The Horned Frogs have the luxury of playing in a state-of-the-art facility in Lupton Stadium. TCU has made the best of their home field, recording at least 20 wins in each of their two seasons in the stadium. Overall, TCU owns a 44-18 (.710) record in the ballpark. This season, the Frogs will play a total of 31 regular season games at Lupton. They've maintained the home field advantage by sweeping Utah to open the season.
Bench Players
The Frogs showed their depth on the bench this season as they brought seven guys off the bench in their three games. The bench is hitting .500 (4-of-8) with five runs scored and six RBI. Conversley, the Frogs batted only .216 off the bench. While shining at the plate, they've also shined defensively with a 1.000 fielding percentage
A Perfect Two
For Matt Carpenter, he couldn't have scripted his first two at-bats any better. Carpenter's reputation preceeded him to TCU and he has proven its more than talk. In his first collegiate at-bat on Friday off the bench, Carpenter laced a two-run single to right center field. Not to be outdone, Carpenter accomplished the same feat in his second career at-bat on Sunday afternoon, delivering another two-run pinch-hit single to right field. His four RBI are tied for second on the team.
Frogs Go Pollin'
Despite sweeping the Utes in their season opening week, the Frogs dropped in the polls for the second straight week. TCU slipped a spot in the Baseball America poll, falling from 22 to 23. A good showing this week with four games against quality ball clubs, the Frogs are hoping to stop the trend of dropping each week to moving up in the polls. The only poll to not have the Frogs ranked in the top 25 is Collegiate Baseball. In the NCBWA the Frogs are ranked 22 and in the ESPN/Sports Weekly poll, the Frogs are 25.
Season Opening Shutout
The Frogs used three pitchers Friday night to shutout the Utes in the season opener. Lance Broadway pitched five innings, allowing only six hits and striking out six. Chad Underwood and Ryan Nesloney pitched two scoreless innings each to keep the shutout in tact for TCU's first combined shutout since the 2003 season. The opening game shutout is the first since the Frogs shut out Prairie View A&M 17-0 in the 2001 season opener.
Welcome To TCU
This weekend, fans were treated to a bunch of new faces in the lineup. Eight new guys took swings and five pitchers took to the mound. The newcomers provide a large contribution to the Frogs season opening sweep of the Utes. The eight newcomers batted .320 (16-50) over the weekend with 16 RBI, two doubles and a home run. The new pitchers combined to throw 13 innings and picked up two victories to go along with 13 strikeouts
Off And Running
The Horned Frog faithful breathed a sigh of relief when Fort Worth native Matt McGuirk decided to come to school instead of signing with the Baltimore Orioles who selected him in the 19th round of the June draft. In his collegiate debut, McGuirk shined at the plate, hitting .556 (5-for-9) in three games played. He leads the squad with five runs driven in and already has two multi-hit and multiple-RBI games on the season.
Almost Flawless
Despite a number of players playing new positions throughout the weekend, the Frogs defense performed extremely well, committing only three errors all weekend. The middle infield of Stuart Musslewhite and Shelby Ford was perfect on the weekend in 31 chances, turning two double plays each. Spencer Jackson also made his debut at a new position as the opening day starter at first base. He showed his talent with a nice pick up and start of double play. J.J. Estrada made his first appearance in left field in his career at TCU, as did Austin Adams.
Mussle-ing It Out Of The Park
Stuart Musslewhite provided the Frogs with their first home run of the season with his go-ahead home run in the third inning of game three against Utah. Musslewhite turned on a 1-0 pitch and drove it just over the left field fence. Chad Huffman also connected on a two-run shot in the seventh inning for his first home run of the season. His home run traveled over the left-center field fence.
Doubling The Fun
J.J. Estrada continued his hot hitting from this past summer as he has started the season on a tear. A .188 hitter a year ago, Estrada is third on the team with a .455 batting average. He put his name in the record book on Friday night, becoming the seventh player in school history to hit three doubles in a game.
Shelby Ford Named C-USA Hitter of the Week
Shelby Ford has started the season on a tear, leading the Frogs with a .636 batting average. He had multiple hit games in each of the three contests this season, driving in four runs. For his performance over the weekend, Ford was named the leagues Hitter of the Week. The honors are the first handed out by the league this season and the first in the Ford's career. Three of his seven hits have been doubles, leading to a slugging percentage of .909. His on-base percentage of .714 is also tops on the team. He was successful in all three steal attempts this past weekend as well.
