Frogs Wrap Up Six-Game Homestand Tuesday Night
5/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May. 2, 2005
Fort Worth, Texas - The No. 28 Horned Frogs will be looking to rebound from Sunday's loss to Houston when they host the UT-Arlington Mavericks in the final game of a six-game homestand. TCU is just 5-5 in midweek games, but have won three straight coming into Tuesday's contest. Game time is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start at Lupton Stadium.
About the Game
Both teams enter the week fresh off conference series wins. The Frogs won the first two games against Houston, before the Cougars silenced the Frogs offense, while the Mavericks won the final two contests. The Mavs posted good offensive numbers in the final two games. The Frogs offense was not as potent as in recent past and will look to get the bats heated up again. The Mavericks will be trying to avenge an earlier home loss to the Frogs, when TCU defeated them 11-2 at Clay Gould Ballpark.
About The Frogs
After winning six straight contests, the Frogs stumbled a bit in Sunday's 6-1 loss to Houston. The Frogs managed only one run on seven hits. The one run was the lowest output by the Frogs since a 2-1 loss to Rice on March 13. Stuart Musslewhite continues to swing a hot bat as he has raised his average 41 points over the last eight games. Keith Conlon remains a strong force in the lineup as does Chad Huffman, the Frogs leading run producer last week with seven runs driven in. Ryan Pack broke out of a slump, collecting a key pinch hit in the Frogs win on Friday. Bo Cogbill had a strong week, hitting .500 in the two games he played. Matt Carpenter again came up with a clutch hit in Saturday's victory and played flawless defense in three starts at first base for the Frogs. Kyle Dahlberg also came through in the clutch in Friday's win, driving in two big runs and picking up two base hits. The league-leading team in home runs failed to hit a ball out of the park in the series against Houston for the first time all season. On the mound, the Frogs had some outstanding performances, both in the starting role and out of the bullpen. Lance Broadway reverted to old form as he dominated the Cougars on Friday night en route to being named Conference USA Co-Pitcher of the Week. Brad Furnish picked up a no-decision in an eventual TCU win, while Tim McGough suffered a tough loss on Sunday as the Frogs couldn't muster any offense to back-up his strong pitching. Out of the bullpen, senior Ryan Nesloney has continued to show his effectiveness, earning his first decision of the season with 2.1 innings of work.
About The Mavericks
The Mavericks have been an up and down team all season. They've stayed right around .500 all season and sit at 24-24 coming into Tuesday nights game. The offense has shown signs of being good, as evidenced by 11-6 and 16-6 victories over Nicholls State this past week, but they are collectively hitting .269 as a team. They are not a power team, having only 18 home runs on the season, led by Aaron Batlle who has five. The pitching has gotten them by, with a team ERA of 4.78. Jake Baxter is the leader of the staff with a 7-4 record to go along with a team-low 2.08 ERA. They have yet to find consistency out of the bullpen. Blake Pierson leads the staff with four saves and Dillon Farish is 2-2 in 17 appearances. On a team that has struggled, the defense remains a strong point. They field at a .971 clip, committing just 54 errors all season. The speed is there, especially at the top of the order with Nathan Warrick, who leads the team with 18 stolen bases. As a team, they've swiped 59 bags in 78 attempts.
TCU vs. UT-Arlington Base Knocks
• Tuesday's contest will mark the 129th meeting all-time between TCU and UT-Arlington.
• TCU leads the series against UT-Arlington 75-53.
• In three meetings last season, UTA took two-of-three. UTA won the first two meetings and TCU won the last meeting.
• UT-Arlington took the two meetings between the Frogs at Clay Gould Ballpark, while the Frogs won the only meeting at Lupton Stadium last season.
• In the first meeting this season on April 5, the Horned Frogs came away with an 11-2 victory over the Mavericks at Clay Gould Ballpark.
• The Mavericks are 3-2 all-time at Lupton Stadium.
The Series Match-Ups
Tuesday night the Frogs will send Sam Demel to the mound. Demel will be making his 10th start of the season and his 15th appearance overall. He will be trying to get back to .500 as he is 3-4 on the campaign. In his last outing, Demel earned his third win of the season with a five-inning start against UT-Pan American. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits. He struck out four and walked just one. On the season, he has struck out 61 batters in 61.1 innings of work.
The Mavericks will counter with right-handed pitcher Michael Gardner. Frog fans will remember his dominating performance against them a year ago as he pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits. He struck out four and walked one. This season, Gardner is 3-5 with a 4.84 ERA. He will be making his 12th start of the season. He has struck out 43, while walking 22. Gardner hasn't pitched since an April 22 start against McNeese State. He allowed seven runs on 10 hits in six innings of work. He struck out six and walked two in the loss.
Record Numbers
The TCU fans have passed through the gates at record numbers this season. After setting a new record for attendance in a series against UT-Pan Am last week, the Frogs once again surpassed that total, setting a new mark in the three-game series against Houston. Against the Cougars, 4,683 fans witnessed the Frogs win the series 2-1. The previous record was 4,612 against UTPA. Wednesday saw the Frogs set the all-time single game mark when 3,251 fans packed into the ballpark when TCU hosted the first annual Kids Day at Lupton Stadium. Five of the top 10 crowds have come during this season, while all five top series crowds have come this season. This season, the Frogs are averaging 1,601 fans at home.
Back To His Old Self
Following a dismal outing against Charlotte that saw him pitch just 1.2 innings, Lance Broadway bounced back with one of his best performances of the season. He pitched his second complete-game of the year, allowing just two runs (one earned) on seven hits in a win over Houston. He tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts in the contest, walking just three. The victory gave him his nation-leading 10th victory of the year. The last Frog pitcher to record at least 10 victories was Scott Atchison who finished the 1999 campaign with a 10-4 record. He also moved over the century mark in strikeouts as he now leads the league with 102 strikeouts. With one more win, Broadway will tie the record for wins in a season and 18 more strikeouts will tie the single season mark. For his efforts, Broadway earned his second Conference USA Pitcher of the Week honor.
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 starts 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 .319 (137-430) with 86 runs scored and 92 runs driven in. Forty-five 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 60 walks. In conference play, they have been equally as effective with a .338 (69-204) batting average. On the mound, they account for five wins, one save and 85 strikeouts.
Record Breaking Crowds
Wednesday marked the first annual Kid's Day at Lupton Stadium. The students from Fort Worth ISD came out in massive numbers and set an all-time attendance record for a baseball game at TCU. 3,251 fans filled the stadium to see the Frogs defeat UTPA 8-0. This season has seen the fans pass through the turnstiles in record numbers. Five of the top 10 crowds have come during this season, while four of the top five series have posted the most fans. Against UTPA, 4,612 fans attended the two-game series to set the all-time mark. For a three-game series, 4,462 fans came to the ballpark to see the Frogs take two-of-three from East Carolina. TCU is averaging 1,607 fans per game. Already 35,354 fans have visited Lupton Stadium with seven games left on the home schedule.
Silenced Offense
On March 13, the Frogs suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Rice Owls. Since that loss, 27 games ago, the Frogs have scored no less than two runs in a game and averaged 8.4 runs per game. On Sunday, the Cougars silence the Frogs blistering offense, holding them to just one run on seven hits. Despite the subpar numbers, the Frogs still lead the conference with a .331 batting average in conference play and are second with an overall average of .311. The Frogs average 7.71 runs a game, just behind a Southern Miss squad that averages 7.84 runs a game. In conference games, the Frogs average 8.16 runs per game, almost a full run more than Southern Miss, who averages 7.52 runs in conference play.
Clutch Hits
In the Frogs two victories over the Cougars, the Frogs won the games with some clutch hitting. Down 1-0 in Friday's opener, Kyle Dahlberg came through with a two-out base-loaded single that put the Frogs up 2-1 after the second inning. On Saturday, the Frogs saw a 5-1 lead disappear in the top of the seventh inning as Houston tied the game with three extra base hits. With one out and the bases loaded, freshman Matt Carpenter came through with a base hit up the middle that put the Frogs up 7-5 in a game they eventually won 9-6.
Leader of the Pack
Senior shortstop Stuart Musslewhite has been the hottest Frog hitter over the last two weeks. He is in the midst of a season-long nine game hit streak in which he is batting .452 (19-for-42). He has raised his average 41 points during the streak from .273 to .313. He has driven in eight runs and has five multi-hit games. Against his old team, Musslewhite had a good weekend, batting .500 (7-for-14) with three RBI. He played flawless defense over the weekend. He had a huge stolen base in game one, helping the Frogs break a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fifth. Without the stolen base, he would have been stranded at second, but was able to score on a Chad Huffman ground out. Musslewhite is the only Frog to have started all 45 games this season. He leads the squad with 18 multi-hit games.
Record Number of Wins
With the victory on Saturday, the Frogs improved to 21-5 on their home field. The total ties the record for wins in a season at Lupton Stadium. The Frogs posted a 21-9 record in Lupton Stadium's inaugural season back in 2003. The Frogs will have four chances to try to break the record beginning on Tuesday night against UT-Arlington. The Frogs have enjoyed their success at Lupton as they are hitting .302 as a team. Shelby Frod is the leading hitter with a .384 average in 23 games at Lupton this season. The pitching staff also enjoys the spacious grounds of Lupton, pitching to the tune of a 3.55 ERA. Lance Broadway is 6-0in six starts and has a 0.99 ERA in 45.1 innings pitched. Sixty-three of his 102 strikeouts have come at Lupton.
