No. 21 TCU heads to Houston for season opener
2/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 9, 2006
Fort Worth, Texas -
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The No. 21 TCU baseball will open the season this weekend as they travel to Houston to take part in the Houston College Classic. All three games the Frogs will play will be at Minute Maid Park. The season gets under with a noon tilt against the No. 12 Tulane Green Wave on Friday afternoon. The Frogs will also face Houston at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and No. 2 Rice on Sunday evening at 6 p.m.
Frogs on the Internet
Baseball fans unable to make the trip to Houston can watch the game on Gametracker or listen to the game on KTCU 88.7 FM on the radio or the Internet.
About the Tournament
The No. 22 TCU Horned Frogs are one of four nationally ranked teams to be playing in the Houston College Classic, one of baseball's premier tournaments. They join No. 2 Rice, No. 7 Texas, and No. 12 Tulane along with Houston and Texas Tech in the six-team tournament. TCU will face off against Tulane, Houston and Rice in their opening weekend of baseball. This is the first time since the 2002 season that the Frogs will open the season away from home. Tulane and TCU will be the only two teams who have yet to see action when play commences on Friday afternoon.
About The Frogs
After three weeks of practice, the No. 21 TCU Horned Frogs are ready to get the season started. In their annual alumni game, the 2006 edition of the Horned Frogs came away with a dominating 9-1 victory. Andrew Walker was the offensive star as he was 3-for-3 at the plate with two doubles. Matt Carpenter hit a home run in his first at-bat of the game. In all, the Frog offense produced 13 hits. On the mound, newcomer Jake Arrieta dominated, striking out 11 batters in five innings of work. He surrendered just two hits and walked one. Donald Furrow pitched the sixth inning then gave way to Dillon Farish and Brent Allar in the seventh. Farish picked up two outs and Allar got the final out of the game.
TCU will put the nation's 21st-ranked recruiting class to the test this weekend as 13 newcomers will make the trek to Houston. The bulk of the newcomers make up the Frog pitching staff as six of the newcomers are pitchers. Arrieta will get the start in game two this weekend, while Allar, Furrow and Farish could see some time on the mound in relief roles.
The Frog offense looks to be a force to be reckoned with as they return seven of nine starters from a year ago. Chad Huffman, the Frogs leading home run hitter last season, returns for his junior season as the starting second baseman. Freshmen All-Americans Andrew Walker and Matt McGuirk are also back to lead a potent lineup. Looking to make an immediate impact will be transfers Steven Trout and Bryan Kervin, who will fill the vacancies on the left side of the field. The outfield could be one of the best in collegiate baseball as all three starters return from 2005. Keith Conlon, Austin Adams and Ryan Pack are excellent defensive outfielders with pop at the plate and can hit for average.
About The Tournament Field
No. 12 Tulane: The Green Wave spent most of the 2005 season atop the rankings en route to a 56-12 season that saw them win the regular season Conference USA championship and share the tournament title. They were the nation's No. 1 seed in the playoffs and made it to Omaha after defeating Rice in the Super Regionals. The Green Wave went 1-2 in Omaha. Despite losing players to the draft and graduation, Tulane returns 15 lettermen from a year ago. They suffered a minor setback this past January when top returning starter, J.R. Crowel, was lost for the season due to off-season shoulder surgery. They return one of the most talented sophomores in the country in Brad Emaus as well as team-leader Nathan Southard. The pitching staff remains strong as closer Daniel Latham and starter Brandon Gomes return to the mound.
Houston: The Cougars got off to an exciting start in 2006 with a come-from-behind victory over UT-San Antonio on Tuesday afternoon. Twice they battled back from deficits of three runs to take the extra-inning victory by a 11-10 score. The Cougars pounded out 12 hits in the contest, but committed four errors that led to five unearned runs. They used nine pitchers in the win. Starting pitcher/designated hitter, Brad Lincoln delivered the game-winning hit with a three-run home run in the bottom of the 10th. He finished the night 2-for-6 with four RBI. Luis Flores was the other offensive star as he collected three hits in five at-bats.
No. 2 Rice: The Owls are off to a 2-0 start in 2006, defeating Division II powerhouse Central Missouri State, 9-0 in their opener and McNeese State, 6-2 on Tuesday. Rice returns a powerful lineup and a talented pitching corps as they make the transition from the WAC into Conference USA. National Freshman of the Year, Joe Savery, returns to head the Owls who are ranked as high as No. 2 in the polls. Brian Friday is the leading hitter early on with a .500 (5-for-10) average. Freshman Aaron Luna homered in his first three collegiate at-bats against McNeese State. The pitching staff has struck out 29 batters in 18 innings of work and has a 1.00 ERA. .
The Starters
Game 1: Sam Demel will get the start for TCU in their season-opener. The sophomore had a good start to his collegiate career in 2005 as he finished with a 5-5 record to go along with a 4.64 ERA. He finished second on the team with 100 strikeouts in 95.0 innings. He pitched against Tulane last season in a relief role, twirling six strong innings. He allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out six.
Facing Demel for the Green Wave will be Brandon Gomes. Gomes was 8-2 a year ago, splitting time as a starter and reliever. He had a 4.42 ERA in 89.2 innings pitched. He finished fourth on the squad with 82 strikeouts. He combined on a shutout and recorded two saves. Gomes threw three scoreless innings against the Frogs in 2005. He allowed three hits and struck out four.
Game 2: Newcomer Jake Arrieta will take the mound against Houston. He was an outstanding pitcher at Weatherford Junior College and has impressed the coaching staff so far this spring. In the Alumni Game, Arrieta tossed five shutout innings and struck out 11 while allowing only two hits.
The Cougars will send Aaron Brown to the mound. Brown saw action in the Cougars opening contest against UT-San Antonio on Tuesday. He surrendered a run on a hit in 0.2 innings of work. He walked one and struck out one. He finished 2005 with a 1-0 record in 16 appearances to go along with a 5.03 ERA.
Game 3: Brad Furnish will get the call to face the No. 2 Rice Owls. Last season, Furnish finished with a 5-6 record and a 4.14 ERA. He struck out 79 in 91.1 innings of work. His lone complete game of the season came against the Owls on March 13. He surrendered only two runs (one earned) on three hits. He struck out six and walked three in the loss.
Rice will counter with sophomore righty Bobby Bell. He started their Tuesday contest against McNeese State, earning the victory with four innings pitched. He allowed a run on two hits and struck out six. As a freshman, Bell was 4-0 in 24 appearances. He made six starts and finished with a 2.77 ERA in 52 innings pitched. He recorded 51 strikeouts and held opponents to a .191 batting average.
