Baseball Opens Big 12 Play This Weekend
3/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Saturday, March 14 • 2 p.m. (CT) | TV: FSSW+ | Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM | | Listen
Sunday, March 15 • 1 p.m. (CT) | TV: FSSW | Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM | | Listen
FORT WORTH - The No. 1 TCU Horned Frogs are set to open Big 12 play this weekend when they play host to the Baylor Bears. TCU was the preseason favorite to win the league.
Friday: RHP Mitchell Traver vs. RHP Drew Tolson
Saturday: RHP Preston Morrison vs. LHP Daniel Castano
Sunday: LHP Alex Young vs. RHP Austin Stone
TCU NOTABLES
• TCU is off to a 11-2 start for the second time under the direction of head coach Jim Schlossnagle. The 2010 squad started off 15-2.
• The Frogs ran their winning streak to three with a 6-2 win at Loyola Marymount on Tuesday.
• The Frogs went 3-1 on their California road swing with wins over No. 4 UCLA, No. 1 Vanderbilt and Loyola Marymount.
• Evan Skoug has a 10-game hitting streak heading into the weekend.
• Riley Ferrell collected three saves in three appearances last week and is now the all-time saves leader in school history with 23.
• Preston Morrison collected his 28th career win, moving him into a tie for second all-time alongside Clayton Jerome.
• TCU leads the Big 12 and ranks sixth nationally with a 1.67 ERA.
• The Frogs continue to lead the Big 12 with a .982 fielding percentage, a mark that ranks 13th nationally.
BAYLOR NOTABLES
• Baylor is mired in a seven game losing streak. Most recently, the Bears were handed a 17-3 defeat at Dallas Baptist on Tuesday.
• Baylor went 0-3 at the Houston College Classic over the weekend, dropping a pair of contests to ranked opponents.
• Offensively, Baylor is scoring just 4.5 runs per game and is hitting .261 as a team.
• Logan Brown is the only Bear to have started all 15 games. He's hitting .327 with a team-best eight RBIs.
• Baylor has speed, ranking second in the Big 12 with 24 stolen bases.
• On the mound, the Bears are second to last in the league with a 5.54 ERA. They staff is allowing opponents to hit at a .295 clip.
• Sean Spicer is the team's appearance leader with eight. He also paces the team with two saves.
• Defensively, the Bears have committed 24 errors for a .959 fielding percentage.
SERIES NOTABLES
• TCU and Baylor will be meeting for the 314th time on Friday night.
• Baylor holds a 160-149-4 lead in the series.
• TCU is 18-12 against Baylor since Jim Schlossnagle took over in 2004, including 8-5 in Fort Worth.
• TCU has won 11 of the last 15 meetings.
• TCU took a 2-1 series victory in Waco in 2014, the defeated the Bears twice en route to its Big 12 Tournament title.
• The Frogs renewed their series with the Bears in 2000 and have played every year since.
HOME NOTABLES
• The Horned Frogs will play 31 home games in 2015.
• TCU has won seven straight at Lupton dating back to 2014.
• TCU holds an all-time mark of 283-100 at Lupton.
• TCU owns a 123-36 all-time record in conference games at Lupton Stadium.
• TCU has won 20 or more games at Lupton in 11 of 12 seasons.
• TCU ranks 12th nationally in attendance with an average of 3,486 fans per game.
NEVER BACK DOWN
TCU has played 13 games this season, seven of which have come against opponents ranked in the top 25. TCU is 5-2 against those foes. Even more impressive is the fact that only one of those seven games have been played at home (vs. No. 10 Rice).
Jim Schlossnagle does not shy away from competition, regularly playing a tough slate of contests. The Frogs have played 160 games against ranked opponents over the last 12 years. The Frogs are 72-88 in those games.
TWO-OUT MAGIC
One of the keys to TCU's two wins in the Dodgertown Classic was its ability to score with two outs. Six of the seven combined runs scored against UCLA and Vanderbilt came with two outs.
The Frogs have scored 26 two-out runs so far this season. Eight Horned Frog hitters have at least one two-out RBI. Connor Wanhanen leads the way as all six of his RBIs this season have come with two outs.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
A native of California, Keaton Jones has been one of the most productive Horned Frogs in games played in his home state.
Jones keyed the Frogs' 4-2 win over Vanderbilt with a two-out, two-run double in the sixth at Dodger Stadium. He was 5-for-10 in the three games this weekend with a trio of RBIs. He collected a career-high four hits at USC in the extra-inning loss.
Jones has played 15 games in his home state over the last four years. He is a .311 (14-for-45) hitter and has seven RBIs. In the last seven games played in California, Jones is 12-for-25 with five RBIs.
YOUNG'S TRANSITION
Alex Young has made a smooth transition into the starting rotation this season. In three starts this year, Young is 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in 19 innings pitched. He has surrendered just three runs, two of which were solo home runs at nationally-ranked Arizona State. He has fanned 18 batters and is limiting opponents to a .149 batting average.
Prior to this season, Young was just 1-2 in four career starts with a 5.09 ERA. He has just seven strikeouts and five walks.
ALONE AT THE TOP
It's been a good week for Riley Ferrell as he became the career record holder with his 21st save in locking down TCU's 3-1 win over No. 10 Rice. He continued to put distance between himself and Sam Demel. Ferrell added two more saves over the weekend in helping TCU to wins over No. 4 UCLA and No. 1 Vanderbilt. He tossed a combined 2 2/3 innings, allowed two base runners and struck out three. It's the second time in his career he has tallied three saves in one week. He saved all three games of TCU's 2014 sweep at Texas.
DEFENSIVE PROWESS
TCU has just nine errors this season and boasts an impressive .982 fielding percentage. That mark ranks sixth nationally. The Frogs have played seven errorless games this season and have just three multi-error game. The leader of the defensive crew is senior Keaton Jones. A career .957 fielder, Jones has played flawless defense in 166 games in his career.
MAKING THEM EARN THEIR WAY ON
The TCU pitching staff has made it a point to make hitters earn their way on base. The Frogs have issued just 21 walks and hit eight batters. That's an average of just over two free passes a game.
When runners reach, the threat of a pick-off looms large as the Frogs have league-best six pickoffs. In addition, the defense has turned five double plays and the outfielders have a trio of assists in eliminating base runners.
EXTRA, EXTRA
TCU has played 42 extra inning games under the guidance of head coach Jim Schlossnagle. The Frogs hold a 27-15 mark in those games. TCU's most recent extra-inning game was a 12-inning loss at USC on March 6. The Frogs set a school-record with a 22-inning victory over Sam Houston State on May 31, 2014.
