TCU hosts UCF in three game weekend series
3/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 23, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU baseball team returns home after a two-week road trip for a brief three-game home stand beginning Friday when they host the UCF Golden Knights. The series marks the final three games before the Frogs open Mountain West play next weekend. Game time Friday night is slated for 7 p.m. Saturday's contest is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start, while Sunday's game is a 1 p.m. start.
Game Promotions
• Friday night is Taco Combo Night at the ballpark. It is $5.00 for three tacos and a drink
• Sunday is Dollar Dogs and Dollar Drink day at the ballpark. Following the contest, all kids are invited onto the field to run the bases.
• The trading cards are back, collect your Jake Friemel and Will Skelton card on Friday night. Saturday, Jake Arrieta will be the featured player and on Sunday collect your Keith Conlon trading card.
Frogs on the Internet
Baseball fans unable to make it to Lupton Stadium this weekend can follow the game live on Gametracker or listen to the game on KTCU 88.7 FM on the radio or the Internet. Chuck LaMendola will call all the action live from the ballpark.
About the Series
TCU returns home this weekend for a brief three-game home stand after a two week span that saw it play eight games on the road. The Frogs will look to improve on a 4-5 home record when they host UCF Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Golden Knights have won four straight and eight of their last nine heading into this week. They are playing just their sixth game away from home and are 2-3 in the previous five.
About The Frogs
The Frogs continue to struggle score runs as evidence by a 10-4 loss to the Baylor Bears on Tuesday night, a game that saw they out hit the Bears 13-10. They are still looking to put all three phases of the game together in the same contest. This past weekend, they struggled in at least one phase of the contest in every game and came away with their first series loss of the season. The offense hit .302 for the weekend, while the pitching staff posted an ERA of 7.01. Defensively, five errors led to three unearned runs.
Keith Conlon leads all hitters this season with a .346 average, but Chad Huffman has closed the gap as he is now hitting .343 on the season. Hunt Woodruff helped the Frogs to victory in the series finale as he was 2-for-2 at the plate. The Frogs didn't lack base runners in the series as they posted a .403 on-base percentage. The story of the season has been a lack of hitting with runners on base and as a result, TCU stranded 44 runners in the last four games.
On the mound, Zach Ashwood sparkled in three relief innings as he shut down the Gauchos offense. Taylor Cragin also showed some promise in 1.2 shutout innings. Brad Furnish continues to get very little run support and as a result lost his third game of the season. Sam Demel improved to 3-2 with five solid innings against the Gauchos in game three. Donald Furrow turned in two strong innings of work against Baylor on Tuesday night.
About The Golden Knights
UCF struggled out of the gates, winning just once in their first six games. Since that time they are 13-5, including eight-of-their-last-nine. A loss to No. 13 Florida is the only blemish in the last nine games. As a team, they are hitting .296, led by Dave DiNatale's .350 average. Steve Stropp is the leading run producer with 19 RBIs. On the base paths, they have swiped 32 bases and been caught just eight times. On the mound, they pitch to an ERA of 4.10 led by preseason All-American Tim Bascom's 1.47 ERA. They have struck out 216 strikeouts in 215 innings. Opponents are hitting just .236 off of the staff. Defensively, they have committed 36 errors for a .962 fielding percentage.
The Starters
Game 1: Jake Arrieta will take the mound for his seventh start of the season. He is 4-2 on the year after losing his last two decisions. He owns a 3.65 ERA in 37 innings pitched. He ranks third on the team with 41 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .223 batting average. In his last outing, which came against UC Santa Barbara, Arrieta lasted 4.2 innings. He surrendered seven runs on nine hits, walked one and struck out six.
The Golden Knights will send preseason All-American, Tim Bascom to the mound. He enters the contest with a 3-1 record to go along with a 1.47 ERA in six starts. He has 46 strikeouts in 36.2 innings pitched and opponents are hitting a miniscule .164 off of the righty. His last start came against Sienna a week ago. He went six innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out 14 and walked three.
Game 2: The Frogs will send left-hander Brad Furnish to the mound on Saturday afternoon. Furnish has struggled to get run support this season and sits at 1-3 in seven appearances. He is tied for the team lead with 54 punchouts in 38 innings pitched. His 3.08 ERA is second among starters. He took the tough-luck loss in his last start against UCSB. He went 8.1 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. He walked five and struck out 10.
UCF will counter with left-hander Mitch Herold, who will be making his fifth start of the season. The freshman is 0-3 with a 7.07 ERA in 14 innings pitched. He has 22 strikeouts, but has walked 19 batters. He limits opponents to a .192 batting average. His last appearance was a start against No. 13 Florida on March 14. He lasted just three innings giving up five runs (two earned) on three hits. He struck out six and walked four in the loss.
Game 3: The Frogs have not named a starter for Sunday's contest, but some likely candidates are Sam Demel or Zach Ashwood. Demel is 3-2 on the year with a 2.92 ERA in seven appearances. He is tied for the team lead with 54 Ks. Ashwood owns a 2.25 ERA in seven appearances. He has made two starts and is 0-1 on the season.
Kyle Sweat will start the series finale against TCU on Sunday. He is 2-1 this season in six starts. In 34.2 innings, he sports a 4.41 ERA. Opponents are hitting .277 off of the right-hander. In his last appearance, Sweat went 6.1 innings against Sienna. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits. He struck out one and walked one.
