TCU
Abilene Christian
Seniors Shine In TCU's Sixth Straight Win
5/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 12, 2015
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Senior Derek Odell launched a one-out home run to right field on the first pitch he saw to put the Frogs in front 1-0 in the first. Two batters later, Evan Skoug followed suit with the first of his two long balls in the game for a 2-0 lead.
The Frogs broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three times on two hits and an error to make it a 5-0 ball game. Walks to Keaton Jones and Zack Plunkett around a Garrett Crain double loaded the bases with nobody out. Cody Jones delivered a two-run single through the left side for a 4-0 lead. Abilene Christian tried to minimize the damage to two runs but an errant throw on an attempted turn of a double play allowed Plunkett to score the fifth run of the game.
Abilene Christian took advantage of a hit batter, three walks and an error to push across two unearned runs in the sixth. With two on and two out, a dropped ball allowed the Wildcats first run to score. Three straight walks turned into another Wildcat run, making it a 5-2 ballgame. Senior Travis Evans came on and got Colton Hall to pop out to short to end the inning without any further damage.
TCU responded in the bottom of the frame as it took advantage of the second Wildcat error of the game. Nolan Brown was standing on first with one out when the pick-off attempt bounded into foul territory. Brown's speed got him to third and he scored easily on senior Keaton Jones' sacrifice fly for a 6-2 lead.
Two more runs crossed the plate for the Frogs in the eighth as they put the game out of reach. Skoug led off the inning with his second home run of the game, a line drive that clanked off the scoreboard in right field. A one-out walk to Brown turned into another run. After a stolen base and a ground out, Brown was standing on third when Crain worked a walk. Crain stole second, but the through to the base was high and into center field, allowing Brown to score the eighth run of the game.
Riley Ferrell came on and fanned two in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to lock up the victory.
Mitchell Traver (7-2) started for the Frogs and picked up the victory. He allowed a pair of unearned runs on one hit, walked four and struck out three. Preston Guillory struck out three of the four batters he faced. Brian Trieglaff issued a walk in the eighth but got a double play to end the inning.
With the victory, TCU improves to 40-9 overall. The Horned Frogs will head north to Norman, Okla. with their sights set on a Big 12 regular season championship. TCU needs to hand Oklahoma just one loss this weekend to claim the title. Thursday's series-opener at Oklahoma is slated to start at 6 p.m. and will be televised on FSSW.
