Road Trip Continues At San Diego State
4/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 14, 2011
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FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU baseball team will look to put distance between themselves and the other six teams in the conference when they take on San Diego State in a three-game series beginning Friday night. The Horned Frogs enter the weekend with a two-game lead the Aztecs. Friday's game will be nationally televised on CBS College Sports.
TCU NOTABLES
• The Frogs took 2-of-3 from New Mexico and lead the league by 1.5 games over BYU and Utah.
• Jantzen Witte tied a school record with three doubles against Oklahoma on Tuesday.
• TCU wrapped up its 13-game homestand with a 10-3 record.
• Matt Purke earned his 20th career victory on Saturday.
• Jason Coats extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
• Steven Maxwell tossed his first career complete game in Sunday's victory.
• Zac Jordan tallied three hits in the loss to Oklahoma on Tuesday.
• Josh Elander had seven hits and drove in four runs against the Lobos.
ROAD NOTABLES
• TCU will be playing just its 10th game away from home this season.
• Under Coach Schlossnagle, the Horned Frogs have a record of 110-69 on an opponent's home field.
• The Frogs will play five straight road games starting Tuesday night.
SAN DIEGO STATE NOTABLES
• The Aztecs have yet to adjust to the new bats as they are hitting just .242 as a team.
• They have come to life during conference play as they enter the weekend with a 5-4 mark in the league, including a series win over Utah last weekend.
• Tim Zier is the leading hitter with a .287 average, while Brad Haynal leads with tree home runs.
• Cody Smith is a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen bases this season.
• On the mound, the Aztecs have a 5.07 ERA as a team and have fanned 235 batters.
• Cole Swanson is the pitcher to watch with a 2-1 record to go along with a 2.84 ERA.
SERIES NOTABLES
• The Horned Frogs and the Aztecs will be meeting for the 28th time on Friday night.
• TCU holds a 16-10 edge in the all-time series.
• The Frogs went 2-1 against San Diego State a year ago.
• TCU is 5-5 all-time against San Diego State at Tony Gwyn Stadium.
• Since joining the Mountain West, the Frogs hold an 11-9 series lead.
TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN
TCU has been a dominating force in the Mountain West since joining the league in the 2005-06 academic year. They have won five straight regular season titles and four conference tournament titles, representing nine of the 10 trophies dished out since the Frogs joined the league.
The Frogs 97 league victories are 22 more than San Diego State's 75 wins over the last five plus seasons in the league.
TWO OUT RUNS
A big part of TCU's 2-1 series win over New Mexico was its ability to score with two outs in the inning. All six runs in Sunday's win came with two outs and the Frogs tallied 16 out of 22 runs scored with two outs over the course of the weekend.
TCU has done a good job of scoring with two outs this season as 78 of its 200 total runs scored have come with two out. The Frogs are hitting .312 as a team with two outs.
18 of Brance Rivera's 52 hits on the season have come with two outs. Jantzen Witte leads the team with 12 two-out RBIs.
Conversely, the Frogs have limited opponents opportunities with two outs, surrendering just 43 of the 117 total runs scored.
Opponents are hitting just .205 with two outs this season.
START ME UP
TCU's starting pitching has been outstanding this season. As a group, they have posted a 17-4 record to go along with a 1.90 ERA. In 189.2 innings pitched, the group of eight have struck out 173 while issuing just 48 walks. Opponents are hitting just .207 against them.
Andrew Mitchell has a miniscule 0.51 ERA in three starts. Kyle Winkler leads the staff with 65 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings pitched.
All eight of Winkler's starts have gone at least six innings. Six of Steven Maxwell's starts have been of the quality variety. All three of Andrew Mitchell's starts were six or more innings.
TEARING IT UP
Taylor Featherston started tearing it up at the start of the homestand. In the last 14 games, the junior raised his batting average 333 points and is now second on the team with a .358 batting average.
Since the start of March, Featherston is leading the team with an impressive .386 batting average that includes 39 hits. He leads the team with 14 multi hit games since March 1 and has hit safely in 22 of the 26 games played.
He has spent the majority of the season hitting out of the three hole. That is where he has had the most success as 42 of his 45 hits on the season have come at that spot in the lineup. When batting third, he is hitting .372-. Anywhere else in the lineup has produced a .214 average.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
The Horned Frogs have amassed a significant number of bruises this season as they have been hit by the pitch a league-leading 53 times. That is 15 more than San Diego State, who has been plunked 38 times.
TCU has four of the top six bruise collectors. Taylor Featherston leads the league with 13, while Brance Rivera ranks second with nine. Also in the top six are Aaron Schultz (8) and Joe Weik (6).
