Frogs host Air Force in three-game conference series
4/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 6, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU Horned Frogs will host their first-ever Mountain West Conference series this weekend when Air Force comes to town for a three-game series. The Frogs are currently tied atop the league standings with a 3-1 mark. Friday night's series opener is slated for a 7 p.m. first pitch. Saturday's game time is set for 2 p.m. and the series finale will be Sunday at 1 p.m.
Game Promotions
• The trading cards are back, collect your Andrew Walker card on Friday night. Saturday's featured players are Justin Roland and Chase Kiecke. Sunday fans are invited to collect a Matt Carpenter trading card.
• Friday night is Taco Combo Night at the ballpark. It is $5.00 for three tacos and a drink
• Saturday students will have the opportunity to win a free round-trip air ticket courtesy of American Airlines.
• Students are invited to a free pregame tailgate party prior to Sunday's contest.
• Sunday is Throwback Day at the Ballpark. Drinks and hot dogs are all available at the concession stand for $1.00. Following the contest, all kids are invited onto the field to run the bases.
• Sunday is also Kid's Day. The fun begins at Noon and lasts until 3 p.m.
• Following Sunday's contest, fans are invited to a free post-game concert featuring Roger Creager. The festivities will take place at TCU's Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.
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.
Frogs introduce live webstreaming
Baseball fans unable to make it to Lupton Stadium this weekend are also welcome to log on to www.gofrogs.com to watch the game live as Tuesday night marks the second time this season that the game will be available through live webstreaming. Listen to Chuck LaMendola call the action live while you watch. To access the video streaming, click on the "watch" link on the schedule.
About the Series
After a big win Tuesday night, the Frogs will look to carry that momentum into their first home Mountain West Conference series in 2006. The three-game set against Air Force will conclude a four-game home stand. The Frogs set atop the league with a 3-1 record, while the Falcons are at the bottom with a 1-3 league. The two teams faced off less than a week ago in San Diego at the Preseason Mountain West Conference Tournament with TCU coming away with a 12-6 victory over Air Force.
About The Frogs
The offense came alive this past weekend with the opening of Mountain West Conference play in San Diego and continued in big fashion Tuesday night against Baylor. The Frogs are tied for first in the MWC with a 3-1 record. The only blemish was a 9-7 set back to San Diego State. They beat BYU, UNLV to open the tournament and finished with a 12-6 drubbing of Air Force.
Ryan Pack had a break out weekend as he hit .455 in three games including a home run and six RBIs to lead the team. As a team, TCU hit .282 with 13 extra base hits. Chad Huffman extended his hit streak to 15 games with a 4-for-4 performance against Baylor. Matt Vern returned to the lineup after a three-week absence with mono. Tuesday night the bats stayed hot as they pounded out 17 hits. Keith Conlon broke out of a mini-slump with three doubles in five at-bats and a team-high six runs driven in.
On the mound, the bullpen was lights out. Dillon Farish, Donald Furrow, Omar Arif and Brent Allar combined to pitch 14.2 scoreless innings and came away with two victories. An eight-inning stint on Tuesday night snapped the streak, but they continue to get strong performances. Chase Perry retired all four batters he faced and Furrow earned his first victory. Jake Arrieta was on his game as he allowed just two unearned runs in 7.2 innings. They continue to lead the league in strikeouts as they have racked up 47 over the last four games.
About The Falcons
The Falcons sit at 1-3 in the conference, but their lone win came against New Mexico, a squad that led the league in victories. Offensively, Air Force struggles to score runs as they average just over four per game. They had a good offensive weekend in the preseason tournament, but the pitching staff was unable to keep the Falcons in the game as they posted a 9.26 ERA and allowed opponents to hit .329 in the four games. On the year, the staff has a 6.88 ERA and opponents hit .299 against them. Karl Bolt is the offensive leader with a .275 average, while Josh Meents leads the team with five home runs. Mitch Brown is the staff ace at 3-5 with a 3.57 ERA and has two complete games.
The Starters
Game 1: Jake Arrieta will go for win No. 7 on Friday night when he takes the mound for his ninth start of the season. He leads the team with 51.2 innings pitched. His 60 strikeouts are third on the squad, while his opponents batting average is tops at .231. In his last outing, Arrieta twirled 7.2 innings against three-time defending conference champions, UNLV. He limited the Rebels to just two unearned runs on eight hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out 10.
The Falcons will send their ace to the mound in Mitch Brown, who leads the staff with a 3.57 ERA. He is 3-5 in nine appearances, which includes eight starts. He has tossed two complete games, including a complete-game shut out against Colorado Christian. He has the Falcons lone win in conference play as he beat New Mexico in the tournament opener. He surrendered just one run on six hits in five innings of work.
Game 2: The Frogs will send left-hander Brad Furnish to the mound on Saturday. The junior has had some tough luck this season and sits at 1-5 coming into the weekend despite a 4.69 ERA. He will be making his eighth start of the season. His 48 innings are second on the team, while his 68 strikeouts are tops in the league. San Diego State roughed him up in his last outing as the struck for eight runs on nine hits. He struck out seven in just 4.2 innings of work.
Air Force will counter with Clayton Couch who will be making his sixth start of the season. He is 0-3 with an 11.05 ERA. He has pitched just 14.2 innings in his previous five starts. He was tagged with the loss to UNLV in the tournament after giving up five runs on six hits in just 3.2 innings of work.
Game 3: The Frogs haven't named a starter for Sunday's contest, but some candidates to fill the position are Sam Demel or Zach Ashwood. Demel is 3-2 this season with a 2.45 ERA, while Ashwood is 0-1 with an even 3.00 ERA.
Jake Petro will make his second appearance against TCU this season and his ninth appearance overall when he takes the mound Sunday. He is 2-1 this season with a 5.73 ERA. The Texas native made two appearances in the preseason tournament. He struggled with his control and was charged with the loss after only one inning against Utah. He came back and twirled 3.2 innings against TCU on Sunday. He gave up five runs on seven hits.
