Frogs Hit The Road For First Time In 2005
2/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 17, 2005
Fort Worth, Texas - The No. 23 TCU baseball team will hit the road for their first road test of the season as they head to Florida for a three-game series with Florida Atlantic. The Frogs and the Owls will kick off their series Friday night at FAU Field in Boca Raton, Fla. Game time on Friday night is set for 7:00 p.m. (EST). Saturday is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start and Sunday is set for a 1:00 p.m. start.
Frogs On KTCU
Friday night's game will not be aired on KTCU due to a conflict with the TCU Lady Frog's basketball game. Saturday night's game will begin with a 15 pre-game show at 5:45 p.m. with first pitch slated for 6:00 p.m. Sunday's game will begin at Noon.
About the Game
The Horned Frogs hit the road for their first road test of the season. TCU will play their next four games away from Lupton Stadium as they head to Florida to face one of the top teams in college baseball, Florida Atlantic. FAU is perennially a regional team. They are fresh off a sweep of C-USA member Cincinnati this past weekend, while the Frogs come into the game after suffering their first defeat of the season on Tuesday night against Texas Tech. A year ago, the Frogs were 14-11 following losses. This will mark only the second trip to Flordia in school history. Last season, TCU defeated USF two out of three games in Tampa.
TCU vs. Florida Atlantic Base Knocks
* Friday's meeting between the two schools will be the first ever.
* Florida Atlantic is a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
* Florida Atlantic is one of two teams the Frogs will meet in 2005.
* The Owls have made six trips to the postseason, including each of the last three seasons.
* This will be TCU's first road test of the season.
* The Owls swept Conference USA member Cincinnati in their opening weekend of play.
The Weekend Match-Ups
Stepping to the mound on Friday night for the Frogs will by junior right-hander, Lance Broadway. Broadway will make his second start of the season after picking up the win in the season opener against Utah. He went five innings, allowing no runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out six in the combined shutout victory.
For the Owls, Will Mann will take the mound. In his first start of the season, Mann pitched 5.1 innings against the Bearcats. He allowed one run on six hits, struck out four and walked one. He left the game with the lead, but got a no-decision in the game as the Bearcats were able to tie the game against the bullpen.
On Saturday, freshman Sam Demel will make his second start of the season. In his first collegiate outing, Demel pitched five innings, giving up four runs (all in the third), striking out five and walking two. Demel's five innings pitched spanned two days as the Frogs and the Utes were suspended after two innings of play on Saturday afternoon. In his first inning of work on Sunday, he fell victim to some seeing-eye singles that led to four runs by the Utes, but he settled in to retire six of the last eight batters he faced.
Facing Demel on Saturday is Mike Crotta. Crotta went six innings in his first start of the season, allowing only one unearned run on five hits. He walked none and struck out two. He, too, got a no-decision as the Bearcats took the lead in the seventh. FAU came back to win the game, 6-3.
Sunday's starter will be senior right-hander, Tim McGough. McGough, who was on a pitch count, went 3.1 innings before giving way to the bullpen. In those three inning, McGough allowed only three hits, struck out two and walked one. He worked out of bases loaded jam in the third to keep the game scoreless.
FAU will send Chris Salberg to the mound on Sunday. Salberg lasted only 3.2 innings in his first outing of the season as the Bearcats touched him for five runs (four earned) on six hits. He walked three and struck out two.
On The Road
The Horned Frogs will hit the road for the first time this season. The road trip commences the first of four games away from Lupton Stadium. They will play three against Florida Atlantic over the weekend before heading to Huntsville for a Tuesday afternoon contest. Last season, the Frogs were 12-14 on the opponents home field and 19-17 overall away from home.
Too Many Ks
In the first four games of the season, the Horned Frogs are striking out at an alarming rate, averaging nine Ks per game. The Frogs struck out 12 times agains the Red Raiders and 24 times in the series against Utah. Conversly, they've only drawn 18 walks. The inability of the Frogs to put the ball in play has led to 40 men being stranded on base this season.
Shelby On Fire
Sophomore Shelby Ford is showing no lingering effects from offseason shoulder surgery. He has been lights out at the plate tallying two three-hit games and two two-hit contests in the first four games of the season. Last season, Ford tallied 23 multi-hit games. His six RBI lead the squad as he picked up two more against Texas Tech on Tuesday night.
Packing For Florida
Junior transfer, Ryan Pack had a good night at the plate for the Frogs against Texas Tech. He was perfect 3-for-3 with three singles and two runs driven in. He drove in the first run of the contest for the Frogs in the second and picked up his second RBI of the game in the eighth inning as the Frogs were trying to mount a rally.
