No. 24 TCU Set To Open Up Conference USA Action
3/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 17, 2005
Fort Worth, Texas - The No. 24 TCU baseball team will begin the Conference USA portion of their schedule Friday night when they welcome the Southern Miss Golden Eagles to Lupton Stadium. The Frogs will be looking to end a season-long three game losing streak. The series will commence at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night at Lupton Stadium. Game two of the series is set for a 2:00 p.m. start on Saturday and the series finale is set for a 1:00 p.m. start on Sunday.
About the Game
Another midweek loss propels TCU into the start of the Conference USA portion of its schedule. After putting together a season-long seven game win streak, the Frogs have lost three in a row, including an extra-inning affair in Waco against No. 16 Baylor on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Southern Miss comes into the weekend riding a three game win streak, fresh off of a sweep of Arkansas State. The Frogs and the Golden Eagles have some history as the Eagles swept the regular season series from TCU last season in Hattiesburg, but the Frogs exacted their revenge in the Conference USA Tournament, topping the Golden Eagles 3-1 in the championship game to earn the automatic berth in the NCAA Regionals.
About The Frogs
The Frogs have hit the skids, dropping their last three games. Despite the three losses, the Frogs are still off to one of their best starts in recent memory. TCU starts a new season on Friday with the commencement of the Conference USA season. The Frogs have had outstanding starting pitching to date and look to continue that trend this weekend against another strong starting rotation from Southern Miss. The Frogs have yet to hit their full stride as a couple of key bats in the lineup are struggling as of late. Shelby Ford, Chad Huffman and Ryan Pack have seen their bats cool off a bit, but the bats of Stuart Musslewhite, Bo Cogbill and Spencer Jackson have come alive. Lance Broadway and Brad Furnish have been dominate in their last two outings and Sam Demel will be looking to rebound from a tough outing against Rice a week ago. Andrew Walker hit his team-leading fourth home run in the loss to Baylor on Tuesday night and continues to lead the squad with a .393 average. The pitching staff has done an excellent job of limiting teams hits in a game as three of the last four have seen the opposition collect only three hits in the game.
About The Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles visit Lupton Stadium for the first time in the school's history. Southern Miss is in the midst of a three-game winning streak after sweeping Arkansas State at home last weekend. Friday night's game will mark only the fifth game the Golden Eagles have played away from Pete Taylor Park. They stand at 1-1 on the road and 2-0 record at neutral sites. They've picked up wins over UNC-Wilmington, Indiana State and at Lamar. The only blemish on their road record is a 9-1 loss at No. 16 Ole Miss. The Golden Eagles thrive on their offensive power as they are hitting .311 as a team with Marc Maddox leading the way at .379 and five home runs. They've shown their patience at the plate by drawing 64 walks this season and are tough to strikout with just 88 on the season. The pitching staff has shown some vulnerability with the long ball as they have already surrendered 18 home runs in just 15 games this season. Mike Cashion leads the team with a 3.49 ERA to go along with a 2-1 record and has 28 strikeouts. While they've surrendered the long balls, they are consistent strike-throwers, having walked just 38 batters all season and fanning 114. Southern Miss closer Daniel Best is one of the best as he has picked up 5 saves in seven outings without allowing a run.
The Weekend Match-Ups
Taking the mound on Friday night will be National Pitcher of the Week, Lance Broadway. Broadway will be making his fifth start of the season following back-to-back dominating performances. In his last 16 innings, pitched, Broadway has given up two runs, only one of which is earned. He leads the staff with three victories and 35 strikeouts. His complete-game three-hitter against No. 5 Rice last Friday earned him Conference USA Pitcher of the Week and NCBWA Pro-Line Pitcher of the Week Honors.
Facing Broadway will be preseason Conference USA Pitcher of the Year, Patrick Ezell. Ezell is making his fifth start of the season. He is one of the leaders of the Golden Eagles staff with a 2-0 record to go along with a 4.12 ERA. He struggled in his last outing a week ago against Arkansas State allowing four runs in 4.1 innings pitched. His lone wins have come against Marshall and UNC-Wilmington.
Saturday the Frogs will send Sam Demel to the mound for his team-leading sixth start of the season. Demel was rough-upped in his last outing against No. 5 Rice, but has been an extremely reliable starter for the Frogs. His record sits at 2-2 with a 4.50 ERa. His 28 strikeouts on the season are third on the squad as are his 26.0 innings pitched.
Southern Miss will counter with Mike Cashion. Cashion leads the Golden Eagles with a 3.49 ERA. He is 2-1 with the teams only complete game of the season. He will be making his fifth start of the year. His 28 K's are the most on the squad. In his last start, Cashion went 7.1 innings allowing just three runs on five hits.
Brad Furnish will take the mound on Sunday. Furnish was the tough-luck loser in Sunday's game against Rice. He pitched a complete-game three-hitter allowing two runs (one earned). He will be making his fourth start and ninth appearance overall. He is 2-2 and ranks second with 27.1 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .176 off of the lefty.
Making his first start of the season on Sunday for Southern Miss will be Brad Owen. Owen has made three previous appearances and has allowed three earned runs in seven innings pitched. He has no decisions this season and has a 3.86 ERA. In his last outing on Sunday he allowed two runs in 1.1 inning of work.
TCU vs. Southern Miss Base Knocks
• Friday's contest will mark the 14th meeting all-time between TCU and Southern Miss.
• Southern Miss leads the series 11-2.
• TCU and Southern Miss have played 10 times as members of Conference USA and met three times in 1996 in Hattiesburg.
• The Golden Eagles only trip to Fort Worth was in 2002 when they took two-of-three from TCU at TCU Diamond.
• The last Frog win against Southern Miss came on May 30, 2004 in Houston when they came away with a 3-1 win in the Conference USA Tournament Championship game.
• This will be Southern Miss' first trip to Lupton Stadium.
Another Strong Performance
Tim McGough turned in his second straight dominating outing as he pitched six scoreless innings against the No. 16 Baylor Bears. He allowed only one hit in those six innings and faced only one batter over the minimum. The only other batter that reached base was via an error and he was erased on a good pickoff move from McGough. McGough didn't walk a batter and struck out seven. He left the game with a 2-0 lead, but got a no-decision as the bullpen subsequently lost the game. He has pitched seven consecutive scoreless innings dating back to the Texas Tech game.
Dominating Rotation
The Frogs have a strong starting rotation this season. Five different pitchers have started for the Frogs this season and have a combined record of 7-4 to go along with a 2.82 ERA. Lance Broadway leads the staff with a 3-0 record and a 1.32 ERA. Tim McGough is right behind with a 2-0 record to go with a 1.33 ERA. The starters average over 5 innings per start and are giving up only 1.72 runs a game. They have fanned 103 batters while walking just 41. Opponents are hitting just .217 off of the staff.
Let The (New) Season Begin
The Frogs will begin the Conference USA portion of their schedule on Friday night when they host Southern Miss. The Frogs have played 30 C-USA series in their three years as a member of the league. TCU has won 22 of those series, while losing just eight. In 15 home series, the Frogs own a 12-3 record, with series losses coming to Southern Miss (2002), Houston (2003) and UAB (2004). On the road, the Frogs have won 10 out of 15 series. The only conference team the Frogs have not won a series from are the Golden Eagles.
Bullpen Struggles
The Frog coaches are still working out the kinks in the bullpen early on this season. TCU has seen two games in which they've had a double-digit lead dwindle down to five runs or less and three ninth-inning leads slip away. In the last nine contests, the bullpen has pitched 27.1 innings and has allowed 32 runs, 23 earned for an ERA of 7.57. Opponents are hitting .325 off of the relievers. On the season, the bullpen has pitched 60.2 innings, struck out 60, picked up two saves and has an ERA of 6.82.
National Pitcher of the Week
For his dominating performance against the Rice Owls this past weekend, Broadway became the first player in the Coach Schlossnagle era to earn national recognition for his performance. Broadway was named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Week after a dominating complete-game three-hitter in which he surrender one unearned run in the first inning. He didn't allow a hit after the fourth inning and had to work around three errors. He struck out eight and walked three. His performance earned him the NCBWA Pro-Line Pitcher of the Week and placed him on the watch list for the annual Roger Clemens Award given to the top pitcher in collegiate baseball.
In The Midst of a Tough Stretch
The Frogs are five games into a tough nine game stretch against quality opponents with over .500 records. The Frogs are 2-3 in the stretch so far. After picking up two wins, one against Texas Tech and the opener at Rice, the Frogs have found themselves on the losing side of the score in the last three games. The Frogs have faced three straight ranked opponents and will entertain a team on the cusp of being ranked. Southern Miss is receiving votes in the coaches poll and is ranked No. 31 in the NCBWA poll.
