Frogs open play in NCAA Regional Friday in Norman
6/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 1, 2006
NORMAN, Okla. - For the third straight season, the TCU Horned Frogs find themselves playing into June. The task at hand comes in the form of opening regional play against the host-school, Oklahoma, Friday night at L. Dale Mitchell Ballpark in Norman. The fourth-seeded Frogs will put the ball in the hands of Jake Arrieta and he will face OU's staff ace, Daniel McCutcheon. Game time is set for 7 p.m.Frogs on the Internet
Baseball fans unable to make it to the regional in Norman 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 and Marc Louis will provide color commentary.
About the Tournament
The Norman Regional could be one of the toughest in the nation this week and features two teams that the Frogs are very familiar with. At one point this season, each of the four teams has spent some time in the top 25. The Frogs are the hottest team in the regional, riding a 10-game winning streak into Norman. The Frogs would like to exact revenge on an Oklahoma squad that has won four straight against them. The No. 2 seed in the tournament is also a team the Frogs are extremely familiar with as former Conference USA foe Houston returns to postseason play for the first time in three years. The other team that will make its way to Norman is Wichita State, one of the more storied teams in college baseball history.
About The Frogs
TCU comes into the weekend on a tear, they have won its last 10 games in a row and 12 of 14 in the month of May. TCU swept its way through the Mountain West Conference Tournament, something it needed to do in order to secure a third straight berth in the NCAA Regionals. As has been the case the last half of the season, the Frogs got the job done in all three phases of the game, hitting .422 as a team, fielding at a .974 clip and posting an ERA of 5.67 in the thin air of Nevada.
The bats have come alive and there is not a safe out in the order. After being named first-team all-MWC, catcher Andrew Walker showed he was deserving, hitting .667 in the three games and playing flawless defense behind the plate. Also a member of the all-tournament squad, Steven Trout was a spark in the lineup, hitting .467 in the three games. Homering in three straight contests and driving in nine runs during the tournament, Chad Huffman is a threat every time he steps to the plate. Corey Steglich has extended his hit streak to 16 games. Ryan Pack continued to be a thorn in the Cougars side as he hit his third home run of the season against them to help lead the Frogs to the tournament crown. Austin Adams and Matt Carpenter continued their steady play at the plate in the field.
On the mound, Jake Arrieta and Brad Furnish struggled in the early innings, but got stronger as the game went on to earn victories in the first two games. Furnish's eight inning performance garnered him a spot on the all-tournament team. A well rested Sam Demel pitched a strong game despite winds blowing out at over 40 mph to earn the win in the championship game. Omar Arif and Brent Allar each twirled scoreless innings, while Donald Furrow tossed three innings Saturday to earn his second save.
Defensively, the Frogs committed just three errors leading to only one unearned run. As a whole, the defense has been strong the second half of the season, raising the fielding percentage to .970 overall.
About The Sooners
#1 OKLAHOMA SOONERS: The Sooners have been up and down all season long. They have just three wins in their last nine games, which included a sweep by in-state rival, Oklahoma State. That came on the heels of winning 13 straight contests from April 2-29. Oklahoma is an offensive-minded squad. They are hitting .324 as a team led by the speedster at the top of the lineup, Chuckie Caufield's .364 average. Senior Ryan Rohlinger is a staple in the lineup as well with a .360 average. Defensively, the Sooners don't give much away as they are the nation's leader with a .982 fielding percentage. On the mound, they have pitched well in their starting rotation. The big three are a combined 24-15. Will Savage is the closer with nine saves to go along with a 7-3 record.
TCU and the NCAA Tournament Base Knocks
* TCU earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2004 for the first time in 10 years.
* This is the first time the Frogs have been in the tournament in three straight years.
* TCU went 1-2 in the Waco Regional a year ago, topping Stanford in the opener and falling to Baylor before being knocked out by Stanford.
* TCU was in a regional for the first time in 1956.
* TCU owns an all-time record of 3-8 in the playoffs.
* The Frogs first NCAA Tournament victory came against Memphis in the Midwest Regional on May 27, 1994 in Stillwater, Okla.
