Adams and Perry: The graybeards of TCU baseball
5/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 26, 2007
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Rightfielder Austin Adams and pitcher Chase Perry are the true graybeards of the TCU baseball team.Two of six seniors on this year's roster, Adams and Perry are the lone Frogs to play all four years at TCU. The other four seniors: centerfielder Keith Conlon, third baseman Steven Trout and pitchers Dillon Farish and Donald Furrow attended other schools before becoming Frogs.
The four seasons Adams and Perry have been at TCU have coincided with the first four years of Jim Schlossnagle's head-coaching tenure with the Frogs.
Adams had arguably the biggest hit of his TCU career Saturday in the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship game. The Frogs were trailing 8-5 with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth. Adams then hit the first pitch he saw from BYU closer Matt Jensen over the wall in center to tie the game.
Andrew Walker followed Adams' blast with a double before scoring the winning run on a single by Matt Vern.
"We've been doing it all year," Adams said. "We got a bunch of guys who know their role. We were resilient today and it paid off in dramatic fashion.
"It's surreal right now. We'd been hitting all game. It was just going right to them. Before I came to the plate, I looked at Walker who was on deck. I said, `This thing isn't over.'
"Luckily, I was able to get a pitch. Walker then hit a double and Vern hit him in. It was a lot of fun."
That fun translated into Adams being named the Mountain West Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player. He was 5-of-13 (.385) with six RBI in the Frogs' three-game sweep to the title.
With Saturday's dramatic victory, Adams and Perry will be making their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Regionals. That doubles the Frogs' total in their entire history before the arrival of Schlossnagle. TCU previously had made just two postseason appearances.
While he's played all four baseball seasons at TCU, Adams actually began his collegiate athletic career playing another sport elsewhere.
Adams was redshirted as a quarterback for the Baylor football team in Fall 2003. When Schlossnagle arrived at TCU, Adams then decided to turn his attention to the diamond and become a Frog.
Adams, a native of Henderson, Texas, takes pride in how far the TCU program has come during the four years he and Schlossnagle have been together.
"It's a testament to him," Adams said. "Every year, you have higher and higher expectations. That's how a good program is built.
"Coach Schloss knows how to win baseball games."
TCU was no stranger to Adams. He comes from a family with strong Horned Frog ties. His father, Mike, and uncle, Chad Utley, played baseball and football at TCU. Another uncle, Pat Adams, was also a Frog football player.
A model student-athlete, Adams was the 2006-07 recipient of TCU's prestigious Dutch Meyer Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Adams has been a consistent force in the TCU lineup throughout his four years. He's hit at least .318 each season and has a team-best and career-high 14 home runs, 68 RBI and 75 hits in 2007. It's helped him become a first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection for the second straight spring.
The heroics in the 2007 Mountain West Conference Tournament are nothing new for Adams. His postseason accolades began in his freshman year when he was named the 2004 Conference USA Tournament Most Valuable Player.
That tournament in Houston, when the Frogs lost their first game before ripping off five straight victories to win the title, sticks with Adams as something he'll always treasure. It was also TCU's first-ever conference tournament championship.
"We played really good baseball and it was just fun," Adams said. "Everybody thought we were out. It was a lot of fun taking the program to the regional."
Perry also made a major contribution to that tournament title in Houston, tossing nine scoreless innings of relief.
Adams and Perry are savoring each moment of their final season, especially when they look back at how some doubted their choices four years ago when they said they were headed to a TCU program that, at the time, lacked a postseason tradition.
"I knew it was an unbelievable school and, aside from baseball, I was going to have a great education," Perry said. "We then had some good teams and a good coaching staff that turned it into a powerhouse program. It's only going to go up from here. It's nice to leave with a legacy behind you."
Despite battling arm problems throughout his TCU career, Perry has made nine starts among his 46 appearances. He has struck out nearly a batter an inning with 76 Ks in 89 innings.
In addition to his standout effort in the 2004 Conference USA Tournament, Perry made the start in an NCAA Regional win the following week over Youngstown State.
As Perry looks back on the last four years, he has a lot of fond memories of a close-knit team.
"There's probably too many to count, but I know I'm going to miss just being around the guys," he said. "We play as hard as we can.
"We all love each other and hang out off the field. You build so many close relationships with your teammates. That's the biggest thing I'll probably miss. Being able to win conference championships is also fun."
Adams echoes the sentiments of Perry.
"The guys in the clubhouse are the most fun part," Adams said. "I've seen four different groups of players come in, and Chase and I are the only ones all four years. The experiences with all the people have been good."
A native of Garland, Texas, Perry came to TCU after earning All-State honors at Lakehill Prep.
Schlossnagle has a great appreciation for his graybeard duo of Adams and Perry.
"Austin has obviously been a clutch player since the day he walked on our campus," Schlossnagle said. "Chase has had to battle through a lot, and he's always been there when we needed him.
"Despite what we continue to recruit, it seems it always comes down to Chase doing something big to help us get through a season. He's done it this year, and he did it a lot as a freshman. I'm sure he's going to do it again before the postseason is over."
Perry is relishing every moment of the ride in his final go-around.
"It couldn't get any better," he said. "We've won four straight conference championships, and we're going to four straight regionals.
"It's been awesome. Austin and I have had a great time. We love it."
