Trout living his dream at TCU
6/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 8, 2006
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Steven Trout, a Horned Frog from a small town, has been carrying one of the big bats for the TCU baseball team in its Mountain West Conference Tournament run.A native of Hooks, Texas, Trout has had a pair of three-hit games in helping lead TCU to 18-6 and 13-6 victories over New Mexico and BYU, respectively. The Frogs have advanced to Saturday's 5 p.m. (Central) championship game and will face the winner of Friday's BYU-UNLV contest.
Trout's surge at the plate, which has raised his season average to .286, began in last weekend's three-game series at New Mexico. He went 5-for-13 to begin a five-game hitting streak that has seen him drive in seven runs.
"We switched up my stance a little bit, trying to get my foot down early," Trout said. "I'm just hitting the ball real well right now. It seemed to start at New Mexico and it's carried over to the tournament."
Trout is in his first season with the Frogs after being a two-year starter at Texarkana Community College. He saw action in the infield early this season before a fracture in his elbow moved him to the designated hitter position. Trout's 54 starts place third on the team.
"He's an overachiever," TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "He's not the fastest or biggest guy, but he's a pretty good baseball player and has done an outstanding job executing the short game things for us in the two-hole.
"He does a great job of putting the ball in play, getting the bunt down or a hit-and-run when we need to do it."
Playing for the Frogs is the realization of a life-long goal for Trout.
"It's definitely a dream come true," he said. "Coming from Hooks, not too many people get to play baseball past high school. It has always been a dream to play Division I, especially at this top level."
TCU enters Saturday's championship game riding a season-best nine-game winning streak. The Frogs are 25-7 since the beginning of the MWC Preseason Tournament March 30 in San Diego.
With one more victory, TCU will guarantee its third NCAA Regional appearance in three years under Schlossnagle. The Frogs had made just two postseason appearances in their history prior to Schlossnagle's arrival.
"Nobody is putting any pressure on us," Trout said. "We know if we just go out and play like we can, we'll get where we want to be. We're relaxed and just ready to play."
While Trout is now focused entirely on the diamond, he also lettered in football, basketball and golf at Hooks High School. While it might be a small town, Hooks has a tradition of athletic excellence. It's the hometown of former Oklahoma football star and Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims.
"It was fun being at a small 2-A high school," Trout said. "You knew everybody and got to play every sport. My teammates like to make fun of me because I have a little accent.
"I love Hooks and can't wait to get back."
For now, though, Trout would love to see his return home delayed due to representing TCU at the NCAA Regionals.
