No. 22 TCU Looks To Rebound Against Oklahoma
3/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 22, 2005
Fort Worth, Texas - The No. 22 TCU baseball team will wrap up a four-game homestand as they host the Oklahoma Sooners Tuesday night at Lupton Stadium. The Frogs are coming off an extra-inning loss on Sunday afternoon and are looking to start the week off on the right foot. Tim McGough will take the mound for the Frogs at 7:00 p.m.
About the Game
The Frogs (14-7, 2-1) are coming off a week in which they won two and lost two. Both losses were definitely winable games but the Frogs weakness in the bullpen was exposed in the latter innings of the ballgames. On the plus side, the Frogs won their first-ever series over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles by taking the first two games of the series. The Frogs are hoping to right the ship this week when they wrap up their four-game home stand on Tuesday when they welcome the Oklahoma Sooners (12-8). The Sooners are coming off a disappointing trip to Tempe, Arizona that saw the Arizona State Sun Devils sweep them. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. start at Lupton Stadium.
About The Frogs
The Frogs offense came alive this past weekend as they opened up Conference USA action against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The Frogs won their first-ever series against the Golden Eagles, selected to finish fourth in C-USA this season, by taking the first two in the series, giving TCU their fifth series win in six tries this season. Chad Huffman's bat woke up this weekend as the Golden Eagle staff was able to retire him only three times. He was 7-for-10 in the series with three runs driven in. Also on fire offensively was shortstop, Stuart Musslewhite. Musslewhite pounded out four doubles against the USM pitching staff. Shelby Ford found his groove as he smoked two home runs in the series and drove in a team high six runs over the week. As has become the norm for the Frogs, the starting pitching was good enough to win all three contests. Lance Broadway and Sam Demel each struck out 11 batters in their seven innings of work. The defense shaped up this past week as the Frogs made only four errors all week. The bullpen continues to struggle as they allowed 21 runs over 12 innings in four games last week.
About The Sooners
The Sooners come to Lupton Stadium fresh off being swept by the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sooners played the Sun Devils close but couldn't pull off the wins as Arizona State came back to win all three contests. The Sooners had a stretch where they posted eight straight wins, but have fallen on hard times, losing six of the last 10. Despite the losses, the Sooners have one of the most potent offenses in the country. As a team they are hitting .314 and average just over nine runs a game. Leading the way is third baseman Ryan Rohlinger with a .390 average. Kody Kaiser is the leading home run threat with four. The Sooners have also demonstrated some speed on the base paths this season, swiping 25 bags in 34 attempts. The pitching has also been a strength of the Sooners who sport a team ERA of 5.00 and are holding opponents to a .271 batting average. Garrett Patterson is probably the ace of the staff with a 3-1 record in six appearances, five of which are starts. He leads the staff with 31 Ks.
TCU vs. Oklahoma Base Knocks
• Tuesday's contest will mark the 72nd meeting all-time between TCU and Oklahoma.
• Oklahoma leads the series 48-23.
• The Frogs and the Sooners have been playing a home-and-home series for the past seven of eight seasons.
• The Frogs swept the Sooners last season and have won three straight. In 2004, they won by a 6-3 score at Lupton and took the series with a 5-4 win in Norman.
• The Sooners are winless at Lupton Stadium in two tries. They dropped a 4-3, 11 inning decision in 2003.
Tuesday's Pitching Match-Up
Taking the mound on Tuesday for the Frogs will be right-hander Tim McGough. McGough will be making fifth start of the season. He has dominated in his previous two outings, allowing only two runs in his last 12 innings pitched. Against No. 16 Baylor a week ago, McGough held the Bears to just one hit and struck out seven in six innings of work. He is 2-0 this season with a team low 1.33 ERA. He has struck out 16 and walked just four. Opponents are hitting .240 off of the righty.
Facing McGough for the Sooners will be right-handed pitcher Ryan Mottern. Mottern has seen action in only two games this season, pitching just two innings. He is making his first start of the 2005 season. He has not allowed a hit all season, but has given up one unearned run. He has walked one and struck out three.
Streaking
Spencer Jackson is on a role. He has become one of the most formidable hitters on the squad over the last two weeks. H has raised his batting average from .082 to .268 in the last seven games. He is in the midst of a season-long seven game hit streak and has made his way into the starting lineup. During the streak, he has hit at a .400 clip (10-for-25). He has started the last five contests for the Frogs and recorded at least one hit in all five. Against Southern Miss over the weekend, Jackson was 5-for-13 (.384) with three runs driven in.
Consistently Inconsistent
The Frogs have an Achilles heel and it comes in the form of the bullpen. Over the last 12 innings, the bullpen has surrendered 21 runs and lost two games. The bullpen gave up all four Baylor runs on Tuesday as the Frogs dropped their first extra inning affair of the week. On Friday night, with a 10-1 lead going into the eight, the bullpen gave up eight runs before they were able to seal a 10-9 win. On Sunday, the weakness was once again exploited in the later innings as four pitchers threw in the 10th inning, giving up seven runs on seven hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. On the season, the bullpen is 6-3 with an 8.13 ERA in 68.2 innings.
Double The Fun
Stuart Musslewhite was on a tear over the weekend. A career .273 hitter in eight games against the Golden Eagles, Musslewhite hit .313 over the weekend. Four of his five hits were doubles to deep left center field. Three of the four doubles led to runs scored by the Frogs, whether it drove it a run or Musslewhite scored. In Saturday and Sunday's contests, Musslewhite led the game off with a triple. Musslewhite has hit lead-off in nine contests for the Frogs. He has led off three games with a base knock and drew a walk in another. The Frogs are 6-3 with Musslewhite in the leadoff spot.
Loaded Schedule
The Frogs will play a challenging schedule this season that features teams from seven different leagues and five games against Independent teams. Of the 21 teams the Frogs will square off against, seven of them were tournament teams, while two of them reached the Super Regionals. TCU will play 11 teams that finished with a record above .500. Currently, four of the Frogs opponents are ranked in the Top 30. One of the Frogs opponents appears in the Top 10 in Tulane. Baylor, Rice and Texas Tech also appear in the top 25.
Frogs Go Pollin'
For the seventh straight week, the Frogs held on to a spot in the Top 30 of three of the four national polls. The only poll the Frogs do not appear in is the Collegiate Baseball poll. Thanks to a 2-2 week against two Top 25 opponents, the Frogs moved up two spots in the Baseball America rankings to 22nd. They dropped two spots to 26th in the NCBWA poll. TCU Frogs dropped out of the ESPN/Sports Weekly poll.
Start Me Up
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 8-4 to go along with a 3.03 ERA. Lance Broadway leads the staff with a 4-0 record and a 1.05 ERA as a starter. Tim McGough is right behind with a 2-0 record to go with a 1.33 ERA. The starters average 5.2 innings per start and are giving up only 2.29 runs a game. They have fanned 129 batters while walking just 47. Opponents are hitting just .213 off of the staff.
A New Look Each Time
Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle has a lot of different options for his lineups this season with one of the deepest benches in recent memory. He has put together 18 different combinations of lineups on the field in 21 games this season. Only two Horned Frogs have appeared in every game, Stuart Musslewhite and Shelby Ford. The Frogs have started two different catchers and first baseman, four different left fielders, three different center fielders and three different right fielders. Four different Frogs have seen time as the designated hitter this season. Only three lineups have been used more than once, but never more than twice.
Bench Contrbutions
While there have been 18 different starting lineups this season, the Frogs have also shown their depth with the bench players. The substitutes are hitting a collective .378 (17-for-45) with seven doubles and a triple. They have driven in 15 runs ad stolen three bases. Jerid Buttell is the Frogs leading hitter off the bench at an .800 (4-for-5) clip in 10 appearances. Austin Adams has collected three hits in a substitute rule, all three of which have been doubles. They have played errorless ball in 36 chances.
Wrapping Up a Tough Stretch
Tuesday night, the Frogs will play their final game in a nine-game stretch that saw them face five teams with records over .500. Three of those opponents were ranked in the top 25 in most polls, while one sat on the cusp of being ranked. The Frogs are 4-4 in that stretch with wins over No. 22 Texas Tech, No. 5 Rice and Southern Miss. During that stretch, they are hitting .270 as a team with 42 runs scored. They have smacked 17 doubles, four triples and five home runs. Spencer Jackson leads the way with a .429 batting average in six games, while Stuart Musslewhite has collected 11 hits. Shelby Ford has driven in a team-high eight runs. The pitching staff has an ERA of 5.53. Lance Broadway has a 2-0 record with a 0.00 ERA. Frog pitchers have struck out 71 batters.
