Frogs Close Out Regular Season At No. 1 Tulane
5/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 18, 2005
Fort Worth, Texas - With their conference championship hopes on the line, the No. 26 TCU Horned Frogs will head to New Orleans, La. to wrap up the regular season against No. 1 Tulane. The Frogs need a sweep to gain a share of the regular season championship with the Green Wave. The series opener is set for a 6:30 p.m. start on Thursday night at Turchin Stadium. Friday night's game is also set for a 6:30 p.m. start with the series wrapping up on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
About the Series
The Conference USA regular season championship is on the line this weekend as the Frogs head to New Orleans, La. for a three-game series against league-leading Tulane. The Green Wave need to win just one of three games to ensure the regular season championship. The task for the Frogs is a daunting one as they need to sweep the nation's No. 1 team in the country, facing two of the best two-way players in the country on the mound Thursday and Friday night.
About The Frogs
The Frogs are coming off their ninth straight C-USA series win this season after posting an 11-0 win over Louisville in Sunday's series finale. The Frogs had strong performances from the senior class as Kyle Dahlberg, Bo Cogbill and Stuart Musslewhite all swung a hot bat. Dahlberg hit two home runs and drove in six runs in the home finale on Sunday, while Cogbill drove in three on Sunday and collected three doubles in two games played over the weekend. Musslewhite hit safely in all three contests and has pushed his career-long hit streak to 16 games. Keith Conlon went hitless in Sunday's contest, snapping his 14-game hit streak, but continues to lead the league with a .442 average in conference play. Shelby Ford remains one of the top hitters in the league, ranking second overall with a .383 average. Chad Huffman has also seen his average climb over the past month with a nine-game hitting streak heading into the weekend. On the mound, Lance Broadway continues to dominate his opponents, lowering his ERA to a league-low 1.94, while picking up his school-record breaking 12th win of the season. Sam Demel had his third straight strong outing, pitching six innings of relief on Saturday and recording nine Ks. Also turning in strong performances were Chad Underwood and Shawn Ferguson.
About The Green Wave
The Green Wave have lost eight games all season and find themselves at the top of three of the four major polls. Tulane gets the job done in all three facets of the game with a dominating offense, lights out pitching and almost flawless defense. As a team, they are leading the conference with a .320 batting average. Shortstop Tommy Manzella is the leading average hitter at .372, while Micah Owings is the leading power guy with 15 home runs. On the mound, Tulane leads the league with a 3.87 ERA. Brian Bogusevic leads the staff with a 10-1 record to go along with a 2.60 ERA. Owings is the strikeout leader with 99, while Bogusevic is just behind him at 98. Sean Morgan has five saves out of the bullpen, while Daniel Latham has racked up eight. The most impressive fact about the Green Wave pitching staff is none of their eight losses have come from the bullpen, boasting a 12-0 record to go along with 17 saves. They have shut out seven opponents all season. Defensively, they have made just 49 errors and lead the league with a .975 fielding percentage. Their leading base stealer is Manzella with 18 in 27 attempts, while Nathan Southard has been successful in 15 of 19 attempts.
TCU vs. Tulane Base Knocks
• Thursday's contest will mark just the ninth meeting all-time between TCU and Tulane.
• The series is knotted at two games apiece.
• The Frogs and the Green Wave did not play each other in 2004
• The Frogs took 2-of-3 from Tulane at Lupton in 2003. They took the first two games of the series, before dropping the series finale in extra innings.
• The Frogs were swept in their last trip to New Orleans back in 2002.
• The last Frog victory in Tulane came back in 1989 when TCU swept a doubleheader to open the season on February 9.
The Series Match-Ups
After making history in his last start, recording his 12th win of the season and breaking the single season strikeout record, Lance Broadway will make his biggest start of the season on Thursday night. The Frogs will put their ace on the mound in the series opener against the No. 1 Green Wave. The statistically best pitcher in the league at 12-1 with a 1.94 ERA will try and win his nation-leading 13th game of the season. He is the reigning C-USA Pitcher of the Week following a complete-game, six-hitter against Louisville on Friday. He struck out 12 and walked just one.
Facing Broadway will be Micah Owings. Owings has four of the Green Wave's eight total losses and is 7-4 on the campaign. He will be making his 15th start of the season. He has a 3.98 ERA to go along with a team-high 99 strikeouts in 92.2 innings of work. In his last outing, he picked up a win over the Saint Louis Billikens. He surrendered five runs on nine hits in seven innings of work. He struck out eight and didn't walk a batter.
Friday, Tim McGough will take the mound for his 13th start of the year. He is 6-2 on the season and winless in his last three starts. He is second on the team with a 2.64 ERA and has 40 strikeouts in 61.1 innings. He suffered the loss in his last outing, lasting only 1.1 innings against the Cardinals. He gave up four runs on four hits, while walking three and striking out one.
The Green Wave will counter with left-hander Brian Bogusevic. One of the top players in the country, Bogusevic is the staff leader with a 10-1 record to go along with a 2.60 ERA. He has 98 strikeouts in a team-high 97 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .239 off of the hard-throwing lefty. In his last start, Bogusevic combined to shutout the Billikens. He surrendered just four hits, while striking out nine and walking one.
Saturday will see Brad Furnish on the mound, making his 13th start of the season. He has a 5-4 record on the season with a 3.674 ERA. He is second on the team with 81 innings pitched. He has 74 strikeouts and is holding opponents to just a .210 batting average. He struggled with his control in his last start, walking six in just 3.2 innings of work. He didn't surrender a run in the no-decision, combining to shut out his first opponent of the season.
Tulane will send J.R. Crowel to the mound. Crowel will be making his 15th start of the season. He is 10-1 with a 4.76 ERA in 75.2 innings pitched. He is third on the team with 69 strikeouts and has walked just 25 batters, while surrendering a team-high nine long balls. In his last outing, he defeated the Billikens. Saint Louis touched him for three runs on four hits in five innings pitched. He struck out five and walked five.
Streaking Along
On April 19th, Stuart Musslewhite went 1-for-5 at the plate against the Baylor Bears. Fifteen games later, Musslewhite has recorded at least one hit, posting the Frogs longest hit-streak of his career. During the stretch, Musslewhite has hit .437 (31-of-71), driven in 15 runs, scored 16 runs and drawn 10 walks. Of his 31 hits, he has blasted eight doubles and picked up his career-high fourth home run. Nine of the 16 games have seen him record two-or-more hits, bringing his season total to 22 multi-hit games, which are tied for tops on the team. His batting average has climbed 54 points from .273 to .327. He has posted career highs in hits, home runs, RBIs and walks this season.
And Then There Were Three
Since the NCAA began posting nationals statistics, Lance Broadway has been one of the five pitchers to lead the nation in wins. Over the past three weeks, the list has shrunk from five to three. With 12 wins this season, Broadway finds himself in some impressive company. Only two other pitchers in the nation have recorded 12 wins this season. Miami's (Fla.) Cesar Carillo is 12-0, while Tennessee's Luke Hochevar sits at 12-2 this season. Broadway will try and keep pace as he goes for win No. 13 on Thursday night in New Orleans.
Fresh Contributions
For the second straight season, the Frogs rely on another talented crop of freshman. Added to the freshman from last season, the young lineup has done its job, helping the team to one of its best records in years. Four freshmen have seen significant playing time in the field, while four have seen time on the mound as well. At the plate, the freshmen are hitting .312 (154-494) with 102 runs scored and 103 runs driven in. Fifty-one of their base hits have gone for extra bases, including 19 long balls. Andrew Walker is the team leader with 11. They've demonstrated their patience, drawing 69 walks. In conference play, they have been equally as effective with a .306 (79-258) batting average. On the mound, they account for six wins, one save and 110 strikeouts.
Fallen Records
Friday night saw two long-standing TCU single season records fall by the wayside. In complete-game fashion, Lance Broadway left his mark on the TCU record books. To close out the sixth inning, Broadway struck out buckled the knees of Isaiah Howes, getting the called strike three for his 121st of the season, breaking Tim Mauser's record of 120 set in 1988. He finished the night with 12 strikeouts, giving him 125 on the season. Another strikeout looking to end the ninth inning ensured Broadway of another single season record, giving him 12 victories this year. Three pitchers in TCU history had won 11 games, with the last 11-game winner coming in the 1974 season. Frank Johnstone accomplished the feat twice once in 1972 and also in 1974, while Lance Brown was the first to win 11 games in TCU history.
Going Out In Style
Sunday was the final home game for eight seniors and they left an indelible mark on the stadium with a dominating 11-0 win over the Louisville Cardinals. Kyle Dahlberg had the best game of his season, going 3-for-5 at the plate with six runs driven in. All three of hits went for extra bases as he hit two home runs and a double. His second home run of the season was a towering shot that landed in the parking lot behind left field. Also going out in style was Bo Cogbill. Cogbill picked up his first multiple-RBI game with a 2-for-4 day at the plate. He drove in three runs with two doubles. Chad Underwood earned his fourth victory of the season as he pitched 3.1 innings of relief. He allowed just two hits, walked one and struck out three to preserve the shutout.
Conference USA Dominance
Over the past four seasons, the TCU Horned Frogs have been one of the top teams in Conference USA. This weekend they will play their final regular season series as members of C-USA. They are the only team in the league to have won all of their conference series in 2005 and have won 10 straight dating back to 2004. In four years, they have won 31 of 39 series. With a series win over Southern Miss earlier this year, they have taken at least one series victory over every member of Conference USA. In home series, they own a 17-3 record, while they've posted a 14-5 record in series on the road. They have posted 12 series sweeps and have been swept just three times. In their last 19 series, the Frogs have lost only three.
Early Projections (May 17th Edition)
With Regional play less than a month away, two different websites have projected its field of 64 for the NCAA Regionals. As of April 8, Baseball America had projected the Frogs to be a No. 2 seed in Austin, Texas with the University of Texas as the host team. The other two teams projected are Washington and Miami (Ohio). SEBaseball.rivals.com updates their field of 64 each week. After a 2-1 week, the Frogs are still projected as a two seed in Austin with the University of Texas serving as the host. Rounding out the field is three-seed Mississippi State and fourth-seed Army. Three other Conference USA teams were listed in the projections in Tulane, Southern Miss and East Carolina. Five of the Frogs opponents are also listed as regional contenders. Rice and Baylor are all projected in the field along with the three Conference USA squads.
