TCU Set For NCAA Fort Worth Regional
6/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 2, 2011
| No. 1 TCU (42-17) - 2011 NCAA Fort Worth Regional | |
| Game No. 2 | vs. No. 4 Oral Roberts - Fri., June 3 - 7 p.m. CST |
| NCAA Bracket | Printable |
| Radio | KTCU 88.7 FM |
| TV | ESPN3 |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Information | Game Notes | 2011 Fact Book | Twitter | Tournament Central |
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU Horned Frogs will open up play in the 2011 NCAA Fort Worth Regional Friday night against Oral Roberts. The Frogs are hosting the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season. The entire Regional will air live on ESPN3.com. Game time for the Frogs is 7 p.m. at Lupton Stadium.
TCU NOTABLES
• For just the second time in the last eight years, the Horned Frogs failed to win the conference tournament.
• Kyle Von Tungeln, Josh Elander and Joe Weik all earned all-tournament honors.
• Erik Miller and Andrew Mitchell each tallied wins in the tournament.
• TCU improved to 12-0 in games when it scores 10 or more runs.
• Jimmie Pharr's last two hits have been home runs.
• Jantzen Witte's streak of reaching base safely has climbed to 21 straight, while Joe Weik's has reached 20.
TOURNAMENT NOTABLES
• TCU earned its third at-large bid under Schlossnagle, having done so in 2005 and 2009.
• The Frogs are a No. 1 seed in a regional for the third straight season, earning its first-ever No. 1 seed in 2009.
• Previously, the Frogs have been a two-seed (2005, 2007), a three-seed twice (2004, 2008) and a four seed (2006).
• The Frogs are one of only 13 teams to be in the last seven regionals.
• TCU is one of six sites to host for the second straight season.
• The Frogs are 13-14 (.481) all-time in the NCAA Regionals.
• In postseason play, TCU is 19-19 (.500) all-time.
• TCU is 6-0 all-time at Lupton Stadium in NCAA Regional Play.
HOME NOTABLES
• The Frogs sit at 23-10 at home this year.
• Under Schlossnagle, the Frogs are 189-58 at Lupton Stadium.
• TCU ranked 10th nationally in attendance with an average of 4,217 fans.
TCU vs. ORAL ROBERTS SERIES NOTABLES
• TCU and Oral Roberts are meeting for the 42nd time in school history.
• Oral Roberts holds a 25-16 edge in the series.
• TCU took a 6-4 win earlier this season.
• TCU has won five straight against ORU.
• TCU is 6-2 against ORU since 2004.
• The Frogs only two losses against Oral Roberts under Schlossnagle came in 2004 at the NCAA Austin Regional.
SCOUTING THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
No. 2 Oklahoma (41-17, 14-11 Big 12)
• Oklahoma is making its 34th NCAA Tournament appearance and its fourth consecutive appearance.
• The Sooners went 1-2 in the Big 12 Tournament last week, losing to Kansas State twice and beating Texas Tech.
• Oklahoma has won 11 of its last 15 contests entering this weekend.
• Oklahoma finished third in the Big 12 standings this season.
• The Sooners are ranked as high as 14th (NCBWA) and as low as 22nd (Baseball America) in the polls.
• Cameron Seitzer is the Sooners' leading hitter with a .363 batting average.
• Tyler Ogle is the power guy in the lineup with nine home runs.
• Garrett Buechele is the run-producer with 62 RBIs on the season.
• The Sooners have a .316 batting average as a team with 41 home runs, 101 doubles and 78 stolen bases.
• On the mound, Michael Rocha is the ace of the staff with a 10-3 record to go along with a 1.79 ERA.
• Ryan Duke is the closer with a team-high seven saves.
• As a staff, they have a 2.99 ERA and have tallied 441 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting at a .247 clip against the group.
• Defensively, the club has committed just 54 errors for a .975 fielding percentage.
No. 3 Dallas Baptist (39-17)
• Dallas Baptist is making its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Patriots made the tournament in 2008 and played in the College Station Regional.
• The Patriots are 7-3 in their last 10 games played.
• DBU has not played a game since dropping an 8-2 decision against Charlotte on May 21.
• Outfielder Jason Krizan was named first-team All-American by Louisville Slugger after hitting .431 with an NCAA record 37 doubles on the season and a team-high 76 RBIs..
• Krizan along with Tyler Robbins have each smacked 10 home runs this season.
• Offensively, the Patriots are hitting .316 on the season with 60 home runs, 129 doubles and 58 stolen bases.
• On the mound, Brandon Williamson has posted a 9-3 record in 19 starts. He leads the club with 104 2/3 innings pitched and 59 strikeouts.
• The Patriots have a team ERA of 4.68 and have struck out 333. Opponents are hitting .274 against the staff.
• Defensively, the Patriots have committed just 55 errors for a .973 fielding percentage.
No. 4 Oral Roberts (36-20, 21-7 Summit League)
• The Golden Eagles captured both the regular season and tournament titles this season. They are riding a seven game winning streak.
• Oral Roberts swept through the Summit League postseason tournament, defeating Western Illinois and South Dakota State twice to claim their 14th straight tournament title.
• The Golden Eagles have made 14 straight NCAA Tournament appearances. They have 23 appearances in program history.
• Nick Baligod is the Golden Eagles leading hitter with a .358 batting average.
• Cam Schiller is the run producer with a team-high 52 RBIs.
• Chris Elder is the power threat with 10 home runs.
• Offensively, Oral Roberts is hitting .289 as a team with 113 doubles, 41 home runs and 50 stolen bases.
• On the mound, freshman Alex Gonzalez has a team-high eight victories and has thrown five complete games.
• Matt Rush is the go-to guy at the end of the game with a team-high nine saves.
• As a team, they have posted a 3.38 ERA with 405 strikeouts and are limiting opponents to a .245 batting average against.
• Defensively, the team has committed 68 errors for a .968 fielding percentage.
ELITE COMPANY
As the years go by, one thing has remained constant -- TCU's appearance in the postseason.
Since Jim Schlossnagle's arrival on campus eight years ago, the Frogs have been in an NCAA Regional. TCU is in some elite company with eight straight appearances, as only 13 other schools can lay claim to that accomplishment.
Those 13 schools include: Rice, Virginia, , Southern Miss, Texas, Arkansas, Oral Roberts, TCU, South Carolina, Florida State, North Carolina, Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State and Miami (Fla.).
One schools dropped out this season that had been in the regionals each of the past six years: Mississippi.
Prior to coming to TCU, Jim Schlossnagle guided the UNLV Rebels to the tournament in 2003, giving him nine straight postseason appearances.
FREE BASEBALL
TCU has played 28 extra-inning game the last eight seasons under head coach Jim Schlossnagle. Despite a 7-6 loss to Utah, the Horned Frogs are still an impressive 19-9 (.678) in those contests.
The Frogs are 2-2 in 2011 in extra innings. TCU has tallied an extra-inning victory over San Diego State (7-4 in 10 innings) and Oklahoma State (8-7 in 10 innings). The losses have come to Kansas (4-3 in 14 innings) and Utah (7-6 in 11 innigns).
The Horned Frogs are hitting .308 as a team in extra innings. Josh Elander is a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBIs in the extra frames.
START ME UP
TCU has utilized eight different starters this season. As a group, they have produced a 30-7 record to go along with a 2.74 ERA in 334.2 innings pitched. They are limiting opponents to a .231 batting average against.
In 59 starts this season, the Frogs have tallied 34 quality starts (at least six innings pitched by the starter). The Frogs are 27-7 when the starter turns in six or more innings. All 12 of Kyle Winkler's starts this season have gone for at least six innings.
41 times this season, a pitcher has tossed at least five innings and the Frogs have an impressive 33-8 record in those contests.
SOLID CONTRIBUTION
With Aaron Schultz battling an injury, Kyle Von Tungeln has done an admirable job filling his spot in center field.
He had an oustanding conference tournament, earning all-tournament accolades.
In the three games he started, the sophomore hit .583 (7-for-12) with three runs scored and two RBIs.
As a starter this season, Von Tungeln has made his opportunities count. In 19 starts, he is hitting .295 with seven RBIs.
TWO OUT PRODUCTION
The TCU Horned Frogs have done a good job producing with two outs this season as they have scored 134 runs with two outs. Conversely, they have surrendered just 79.
Eight Frogs have double-digit RBIs with two outs this season. Brance Rivera leads the way with 15. As a team, TCU is hitting .299 with two outs in the game.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Horned Frogs are 23-10 at home this season after playing a school-record 33 home contests in 2011.
Offensively, the Frogs have hit .288 and are averaging 5.8 runs per game.
Taylor Featherston has enjoyed the friendly confines of Lupton Stadium the most as he is hitting .347. Jantzen Witte has driven in a team-high 27 runs.
The TCU pitching staff has utilized the spacious field, posting a 2.75 ERA as a staff. Opponents are hitting just .231 at Lupton this season.
Kyle Winkler is a stellar 5-0 with a miniscule 0.89 ERA in seven starts.
CATCHING FIRE
Josh Elander has stormed to the top of the Horned Frog stat sheet as he raised his to .344 with yet another solid weekend of baseball.
The sophomore earned all-tournament honors after hitting .470 (8-for-17) in the four games. He also tallied five RBIs in the tournament.
Those five RBIs give him a career-high 38 for the season.
In addition to his solid offensive play, the catcher has posted a .989 fielding percentage. His diving catch on a foul ball against BYU in Thursday's game was selected as the No. 2 play on SportsCenter's Top Ten.
