TCU Silenced in 7-2 Loss to Minnesota

Sunday, March 15

Fort Worth, Texas

1:00 PM

TCU

10-4

Minnesota

10-3

Minnesota

TCU

Taylor Cragin tossed six scoreless innings in the win.

TCU Silenced in 7-2 Loss to Minnesota

3/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 15, 2009

Final Stats

FORT WORTH, Texas - A seven-run top of the first inning doomed the TCU Horned Frogs as they dropped a 7-2 decision to Minnesota Sunday afternoon. The Frogs bats were silenced as they managed just five hits in the loss. Taylor Cragin tossed a career-high 7 2/3 innings in the loss.

Back-to-back walks to open the game came back to haunt the Frogs as the Gophers struck early and often in the first inning to take a commanding 7-0 lead after the top half of the first. The Gophers got RBI singles from Michael Kvasnicka and Eric Decker to take a 2-0 lead. Nick O'Shea drove in two more to end Sean Hoelscher's (2-1) afternoon. Three more runs scored in the inning, two on a triple from AJ Pettersen. Matt Nohelty rounded out the scoring with an RBI single.

The Frogs looked like they might get back into the game as the bottom of the inning got off to a promising start. Ben Carruthers extended his hit streak to 14 games with a lead-off double. Matt Carpenter singled to put runners on the corners. A diving catch in right field by Kvasnicka on a sinking line drive off the bat of Jason Coats quelled the momentum. Carruthers scored on the play to make it a 7-1 contest.

The Frogs continued to battle, getting two more runners in scoring position with one out in the inning, but back-to-back strikeouts by Buske ended the threat, keeping it a 7-1 game.

Cragin did an excellent job keeping the game within reach for the Frogs as the Gophers never had a runner advance past second the rest of the way. In three different innings, the Gophers had a base runner only to see him thrown out at second by Bryan Holaday.

On the other side, the Frogs were equally held in check by the Gopher pitching staff. TCU didn't have a runner in scoring position until the eighth inning when a throwing error by the short stop put Hunt Woodruff on second to lead off the inning. Holaday followed with a single and Woodruff scored on a ground out off the bat of Corey Steglich to make it a 7-2 contest.

The Gophers went to the bullpen and Scott Fern retired eight of the nine batters he faced to close out the game.

Hoelscher was tagged with his first loss of the season. The sophomore allowed six runs on three hits in a 1/3 of an inning. Cragin went 7 2/3 innings, surrendering one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out four. Greg Holle and Derek VerHagen combined to pitch a scoreless ninth.

The Frogs (10-4) will try and salvage one game from the series on Monday night. Game time for the series finale is 6:30 p.m. Kyle Winkler will get the start for the Frogs and face Minnesota's Seth Rosin.