TCU Starts Road Stretch Tuesday at UT Arlington
3/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
FORT WORTH - The TCU baseball team begins a busy two weeks that will see them play eight of nine away from home. First up is a Tuesday night affair with crosstown rival, UT Arlington, at 6:30.
STARTING PITCHERS
Tuesday: LHP Tyler Alexander vs. RHP Daniel James
TCU NOTABLES
• TCU closed out its season-long 12-game homestand with a 10-2 record after sweeping Wichita State.
• TCU remains ranked in the top five of all the polls and are as high as No. 1 in one poll (Perfect Game).
• TCU is the Big 12's top offensive team (.289 average), top pitching squad (1.76 ERA) and top defensive team (.981 fielding percentage).
• TCU's 1.76 team ERA leads the nation. Only two teams in the nation have a sub-2.00 ERA (Texas A&M).
• The TCU starting rotation of Preston Morrison, Mitchell Traver and Alex Young are a combined 15-1 this season.
• Connor Wanhanen stretched his hitting streak to eight games and was on base in 7-of-8 plate appearances over the weekend.
• Evan Skoug posted a team-leading seven hits in the sweep, five of which went for doubles. He also tallied seven RBIs in the three games to take the team lead with 21.
• With his sacrifice fly in Sunday's win, Keaton Jones tied Jantzen Witte's career mark of 41 sacrifices. Jones has four sac flies and 37 sac bunts.
UT ARLINGTON NOTABLES
• UT Arlington is mired in a five-game losing streak after getting swept by Georgia State over the weekend.
• The Mavericks have just two wins in their last nine games.
• Tuesday's starter Daniel James will be making his first start of the season. He has appeared in 10 games.
• Offensively, UTA is struggling to score runs as it averages just 4.2 per game.
• Matt McLean is the leading hitter with a .364 average, while Travis Sibley is the leading run producer with 20 RBIs.
• Levi Scott is the power threat with two home runs and seven doubles.
• On the mound, the Mavericks have a team ERA of 4.13 and are allowing opponents to hit .291 on the year.
• Colin Thornberg has picked up seven saves in 10 appearances this year.
• Defensively, the Mavericks have committed 31 errors for a .965 fielding percentage.
SERIES NOTABLES
• The Horned Frogs and the Mavericks will be meeting for the 149th time on Tuesday.
• TCU holds an 92-56 edge in the all-time series.
• Tuesday is the second of three meetings between the two teams this season. Two of the three games will be played in Arlington.
• TCU won the season's first meeting 4-1 back on Feb. 17 at Lupton Stadium.
• Since 2004, the Frogs are 21-5 against UTA.
• TCU and UT Arlington have played every season since 1969.
ROAD NOTABLES
• TCU will play 22 games away from home this season. Only one of those games (Vanderbilt) will be played on a neutral site.
• TCU will play eight of its next nine games on the road.
• Tuesday's game will be the seventh road game of the season for the Frogs. TCU is 4-2 so far this season.
• TCU holds a record of 160-101 in road games under head coach Jim Schlossnagle.
RECAPPING THE HOMESTAND
TCU finished its season-long 12-game homestand with an impressive 10-2 record after sweeping Wichita State this past weekend.
As a team, the Frogs hit .299 as a team with 24 doubles, two triples and four home runs. Connor Wanhanen was the hottest hitter with a .576 average in eight games played. Evan Skoug led all hitters with 12 RBIs.
On the mound, the staff posted a miniscule 1.85 ERA and tallied 117 strikeouts while issuing just 25 walks. Preston Morrison when 3-0 in a team-high 21 1/3 innings pitched.
Defensively, the Frogs committed 10 errors for a .979 fielding percentage.
IN A ZONE
Connor Wanhanen has been on tear since March 13. After going 0-for-4 against Vanderbilt on March 8, Wanhanen's batting average was sitting at .242. Since that game, Wanhanen is hitting .576 (19-for-33) and has raised his average to .419. He has hit safely in eight straight games and has at least two hits in six of the eigth games. Wanhanen has driven in seven runs and scored nine times. He boasts a .611 on-base percentage thanks to two walks and a hit by pitch.
IN THE CLUTCH
Keaton Jones drove in five runs in the sweep of Wichita State to give him 18 on the season. He is just five RBIs away from matching his career-high of 23 set in 2013.The senior is tied for the team lead with six multiple-RBI contests this season. Of his 18 RBIs this year, eight of them have come with two outs. He has 14 career two-out RBIs.
BALANCED ATTACK
A solid offensive weekend that saw the Horned Frogs hit .366 as a team has vaulted TCU to the top of the pack in the Big 12 with a .289 batting average. The Frogs also lead the Big 12 and rank first nationally with a 1.76 ERA. Defensively, the Frogs .981 fielding percentage is also tops in the Big 12 and ninth nationally.
