Frogs Suffer First Road Loss Of Season at UT Arlington

Tuesday, March 15

Arlington, Texas

6:30 PM

TCU

10-6

UT Arlington

9-7

TCU

UT Arlington

Jantzen Witte tallied his second home run of the season.

Frogs Suffer First Road Loss Of Season at UT Arlington

3/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 15, 2011

Final Stats

ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington quieted the TCU Horned Frog bats and used two late runs to pick up a 3-2 win Tuesday night at Clay Gould Ballpark. The Frogs had a chance to tie the game in the ninth, but left the bases loaded. Jantzen Witte led the Frog offense with two hits, including a home run.

Kyle Starratt was solid in his first start of the season. He allowed a run on six hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. The junior walked one and didn't record a strikeout. Andrew Mitchell tossed 2 2/3 innings. He gave up an unearned run on two hits, walked two and struck out three. Stefan Crichton (1-1) gave up a run on two hits and struck out two in his lone inning of work.

Starratt and the Frogs dodged a big bullet in the bottom of the second inning as the first two Mavericks reached base via the base hit. Jimmie Pharr made an excellent play on a sacrifice attempt, catching the pop up and forcing the runner out at second. A pitch later, Starratt picked the runner off first for an unconventional 1-2-3 inning.

TCU finally broke through in the fifth inning, picking up a run on three hits. Brett Johnson tallied the first hit of the game for the Frogs as he bounced a ground ball through the right side to open the inning. Joe Weik sacrificed Johnson to second and Brance Rivera singled to left to drive in the go-ahead run.

The Mavericks tied the game in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of a lead-off single by Brian Nephew. A sacrifice moved him to second and a base hit by Daniel Jordan put runners on the corners. The Frogs went to the bullpen and called on Mitchell. He got a big strike out for the second out of the inning, but a base hit by Ryan Walker tied the game. UTA made a bid to take the lead, but a perfect throw from Zac Jordan in right field cut the runner down at home and preserved the tie.

A bad throw on a double play attempt in the sixth proved costly as the Mavericks took a 2-1 lead. Nephew doubled with one out. A walk to Nick Orr put two on with only one out. Daniel Jordan looked to have bounced into an inning-ending double play, but the relay throw sailed wide of first, allowing Nephew to score with the go-ahead run.

The lead would not last as Witte unloaded on a 2-1 offering from John Beck and deposited it over the left field fence for a solo home run and a 2-2 game.

The Maverick bats stayed hot in the eighth as they pushed across a two-out run to take a 3-2 lead. Preston Beck singled with one out and scored on a two-out double off the bat of Jordan Vaughn.

TCU had every opportunity to tie the game in the ninth, but left the bases full of Frogs. With one out, Pharr walked. Jordan followed with a base hit to left and Aaron Schultz walked to load the bases. Adam Boydston worked out of the jam and locked up the win for UTA.

TCU falls to 10-6 on the season. The Horned Frogs will open up conference play this weekend on the road. The three-game series against UNLV begins Friday evening. First pitch is slated for 8:05 p.m. at Wilson Stadium.

Game Notes:
* With a double in the fifth inning, Brance Rivera extended his hitting streak to 16 games.
* Andrew Mitchell surrendered an unearned run, but extended his streak of not allowing an earned run to 20 2/3 dating back to his first collegiate appearance.
* Jantzen Witte's home run in the eighth was the second of the season for the sophomore.
* Taylor Featherston's streak of reaching base in 26 straight games came to an end.
* The Frogs had won 15 straight against UT Arlington dating back to 2004 when the Mavericks won 8-7 on March 7.
* Jerome Pena extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single in the ninth inning.