Road Swing Concludes At West Virginia
4/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Saturday, May 2 • 3 p.m. (CT) | Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM | Listen | Watch |
Sunday, May 3 • Noon (CT) | Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM | Listen | Watch |
FORT WORTH - The TCU baseball team will wrap up a four-game road trip this weekend when they travel to West Virginia for a key Big 12 match-up. TCU enters the weekend just a half game out of first in the Big 12 standings.
Starting Pitchers
Friday: LHP Tyler Alexander vs. RHP BJ Myers
Saturday: RHP Preston Morrison vs. LHP Ross Vance
Sunday: LHP Alex Young vs. RHP Chad Donato
TCU NOTABLES
• Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle will be vying for his 500th win as the TCU skipper on Friday.
• TCU wrapped up its seven game homestand with a perfect 7-0 record after sweeping Texas to move within half a game of the top spot in the conference.
• TCU's eight game winning streak was snapped with a 6-4 loss at Dallas Baptist on Tuesday.
• TCU committed a season-high four errors in the loss at Dallas Baptist and have 10 errors in the last four games.
• Preston Morrison made his 54th career start, tying him for the school record held by Clayton Jerome and Shawn Thompson.
• TCU continues to lead the league in all three major categories (.293 batting average, 2.23 ERA and a .978 fielding percentage).
• Cody Jones was 3-for-3 in stolen bases to push his season total to 19, a mark that leads the Big 12.
• Connor Wanhanen paces the Big 12 with a .389 batting average. Heading into the weekend, he has reached base safely in 13 straight games.
• Dane Steinhagen carries a career-best seven game homestand into the weekend.
• West Virginia is entering the weekend with just three wins in its last 10 games.
• The Mountaineers dropped a pair of midweek contest at Marshall and at Radford after losing a conference series to Kansas last weekend.
• West Virginia is opened its new ballpark (Monogolia County Ballpark) with a 6-5 extra-inning win over Butler on April 10.
• The Mountaineers are 6-5 at their new home.
• West Virginia boasts the Big 12's top home run hitter in Taylor Munden who has 10 this season. Jackson Kramer ranks second in the league with eight.
• The Mountaineers rank sixth in the league in both hitting (.272) and ERA (3.71).
• West Virginia has allowed the third-fewest stolen bases in the Big 12 (28) this season.
• On the mound, the duo of Chad Donato and Ross Vance each have six wins and indentical 2.89 ERAs in 11 starts.
SERIES NOTABLES
• TCU and West Virginia began their series in 2013 and will be meeting on the diamond for just the ninth time on Friday night.
• TCU is 6-2 all-time against West Virginia.
• The Horned Frogs swept the regular season series in Fort Worth a year ago, then defeated the Mountaineers 6-2 in the Big 12 Tournament.
• Head coach Randy Mazey was an assistant from 2007-2012. Assistant Coach Steven Trout was a player from 2006-07 and Assistant Coach Derek Matlock was a volunteer coach at TCU from 2005-06.
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 seven of its final 11regular season games on the road.
• TCU is 10-7 away from home this season.
• TCU holds a record of 165-105 in road games under head coach Jim Schlossnagle.
CHASING .400
Connor Wanhanen continued the torrid start to his collegiate career, boosting his average to a Big 12 best .389, a mark that also ranks 13th nationally.
Wanhanen has played in 35 of TCU's 43 games this season, yet his 51 hits are second-most on the team behind Cody Jones' team-best 58. He has hit safely in 27 of the 35 games and reached base safely in 32 of the games. Wanhanen has 16 multi-hit games and leads the team with nine multiple RBI contests.
MILESTONE WATCH
Head coach Jim Schlossnagle recorded his 499th win at TCU in Sunday's 7-1 win over Texas. He will become just the second head coach in TCU history when he records his 500th victory in the Purple and White. The 12-year head coach trails the program's all-time winningest coach, Lance Brown, by 18 wins. Brown recorded 517 victories as head coach from 1987-2003.
CONTINUING HIS ASSAULT
With his next start, Preston Morrison will own the top spot for all-time starts. Saturday was his 54th career start, tying him with Clayton Jerome (2001-04) and Shawn Thompson (1971-74). Morrison is already the school's career leader in innings pitched (421 1/3). He ranks second in wins (34) and fifth in strikeouts (285).
TWO OUT MAGIC
TCU scored eight of its 23 runs against Texas this past weekend with two outs, including seven of the 11 in a come-from-behind win in game two on Saturday.
This season, the Frogs have scored 94 of their 251 runs with two outs. Derek Odell leads the team with 15 two-out RBIs, while Connor Wanhanen and Keaton Jones are close behind with 13 and 12, respectively.
Conversely, the TCU pitching staff has really battened down the hatches. After allowing 57 two-out runs through the first 34 games this season, the Frogs have surrendered just seven in the last nine games.
DEFENSIVE WOES
For most of the season, the Horned Frogs had been fielding at at least a .980 clip, but the past four games, the Frogs have committed 10 errors. TCU has seen its fielding percentage drop to .978 on the season. Five of the errors have come on the infield, two in the outfield and three from the pitchers. The errors are an anomaly as they've only committed two or more errors in a game 11 times this season. TCU has played 21 errorless ballgames this season.
PIVOTAL INNING
The majority of TCU's game have been decided at the end of seventh inning this season. The Frogs are 33-0 when leading after seven and 0-8 when trailing. Twice the Frogs have been tied at the end of seven and they have split those contests.
NAILING IT DOWN
A big factor in TCU's 30-0 record when leading or tied after six is a dominating bullpen. The bullpen boasts a 1.29 ERA in games the Frogs win and has a 4.85 ERA in games they lose.On the season, the bullpen boasts a 2.31 ERA to go along with a 7-2 record. They have fanned 150 batters while issuing just 36 walks. Opponents have just a .229 batting average.
