Quest For Title Shifts To Oklahoma
5/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Friday, May 15 • 6 p.m. (CT) | Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM | TV: FCS-Central | Listen |
Saturday, May 16 • 2 p.m. (CT) | Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM | TV: FSSW+/FCS-C | Listen |
FORT WORTH - TCU needs to pick up one victory this weekend at Oklahoma to lock up its first Big 12 regular season championship. The three-game set against the Sooners concludes the regular season.
TCU NOTABLES
• TCU recorded its 40th win on Tuesday with an 8-2 victory over Abilene Christian. It marks the ninth 40-win season under the guidance of Jim Schlossnagle.
• TCU enters the weekend with a six-game winning streak and an eight-game Big 12 winning streak.
• TCU boasts a two-game lead atop the Big 12 standings and needs to win one game this weekend to clinch the regular season crown.
• Evan Skoug posted TCU's first multi-home run game of the season with a pair against the Wildcats, giving him six on the season.
• TCU lowered its nation-leading ERA to 2.10. The Frogs have allowed just one earned run in their last 37 innings pitched.
• TCU continues to lead the league in offense (.290), pitching (2.10 ERA) and defense (.978).
• Preston Morrison is tied for the national lead with 11 wins, while Riley Ferrell is tied for the Big 12 lead with 12 saves.
• Connor Wanhanen (.364) and Cody Jones (.362) are second and third in the league in batting average.
• Cody Jones swiped his league-leading 24th base Tuesday.
OKLAHOMA NOTABLES
• Oklahoma enters the weekend with just three wins in its last nine games.
• The Sooners stayed in the title hunt with a series win at Kansas State last weekend. Oklahoma needs to sweep the weekend series to win the regular season title.
• Kolbey Carpenter leads the Big 12 with a .366 average and 78 hits. Teammate Craig Aikin is right behind with a .342 average and 76 hits.
• Sheldon Neuse and Anthony Hermelyn are tied for the Big 12 lead with 39 RBIs.
• On the mound, Alec Hanson leads the Big 12 with 89 strikeouts in just 74 innings pitched.
• The Sooners rank fourth in the league with a 3.33 ERA.
• Ralph Garza, Jr. leads the Sooners with 26 appearances, followed closely by Jacob Evans' 24 appearances.
• Defensively, the Sooners field at a .966 clip. The 72 errors have led to 53 unearned runs.
SERIES NOTABLES
• TCU and Oklahoma will be meeting for the 98th time on Thursday night.
• Oklahoma holds a 67-30 lead in the series.
• Oklahoma and TCU met as non-conference foes for the second straight year earlier this season. TCU walked off with a 4-3 win in 10 innings.
• The Frogs took a 2-1 conference series victory over the Sooners in Fort Worth last year.
• Since 2004, the Horned Frogs are just 9-19 against the Sooners.
• TCU is just 3-12 against Oklahoma in Norman since 2004.
ROAD NOTABLES
• TCU will play 23 games away from home this season.
• Only one of those games (Vanderbilt) will be played on a neutral site.
• TCU is 13-7 away from home this season and 6-3 in Big 12 games.
• TCU holds a record of 168-105 in road games under head coach Jim Schlossnagle.
WEEKEND WARRIORS
Since dropping a 2-1 series decision to Kansas State three weeks ago, TCU has swept the last four weekend series and has won 14-of-15.
The Frogs have outscored their opponents 66-24 in those 11 weekend victories. Connor Wanhanen paces the team with a .375 average and nine RBI in those 11 games.
On the mound, the pitching staff has put up a miniscule 1.62 ERA and is limiting opponents to a .209 batting average. The starting pitchers are a perfect 9-0. Riley Ferrell is 1-0 with three saves.
RUNNING WILD
TCU added four stolen bases on Tuesday night moving its season total to 97. The Horned Frogs are chasing 100 stolen bases for a season, something they haven't done since stealing a school-record 134 in 1996. It would be only the fifth time in program history that a Horned Frog team has stolen over 100 bases. The 97 stolen bases are already the most under the guidance of head coach Jim Schlossnagle.
Cody Jones added his 24th stolen base. He is only the third Horned Frog to notch back-to-back 20 stolen base campaigns. He's the first since Sam Lunsford in 1995 and 1996 to accomplish the feat.
HEATING UP
A year removed from leading the team with a .324 batting average, Garrett Crain has gotten back on track. Over the last five games, Crain has boosted his average 20 points. During his five-game hitting streak, Crain is 9-for-19 (.474) with three RBIs.
TWO OUT MAGIC
On the year, the Frogs have scored 107 of their 285 runs with two outs. Connor Wanhanen's go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth inning on Friday moved him into a tie with Derek Odell for the team lead in two-out RBIs with 16.
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 nine in the last 15 games.
STREAKING
Cody Jones is making a serious case to earn plenty of postseason accolades. Playing all 48 games as the lead-off hitter, Jones ranks third in the Big 12 with a .359 average and is first with a .466 on-base percentage.
Heading into the weekend, Jones has reached base in 21 straight games. He boasts a .485 on-base percentage during the streak. Jones has 30 hits, has walked 13 times and been hit by a pitch five times.
This season, Jones has reached base to lead off the game 24 times. He has tallied a hit in 38 games and reached base in 44 games.
PIVOTAL INNING
The majority of TCU's game have been decided at the end of seventh inning this season. The Frogs are 38-0 when leading after seven and 0-8 when trailing. Three times the Frogs have been tied at the end of seven and they are 2-1 in those contests.
BACK ON TOP
TCU regained its spot atop the national rankings as it lowered its team ERA to 2.10. The Horned Frogs have surrendered just one earned run over the course of the last four games..
Pitching has dominated this season as the Frogs have held opponents to two or fewer runs in 31 of the 49 games. Only nine times this season has an opponent scored more than five runs.
TCU also leads the nation in WHIP (1.02) and ranks second in BB/9 (2.03), K:BB ratio (4.22) and shutouts (9).
POWER SURGE
The Frogs hit three home runs, two from Evan Skoug, in Tuesday's win over Abilene Christian. The three bombs pushed the Frogs' season total to 17, the most since hitting 39 in 2012.
EXTRA, EXTRA
TCU has played 45 extra inning games under the guidance of head coach Jim Schlossnagle. The Frogs hold a 29-16 mark in those games.
TCU's most recent extra-inning game was a 10-inning win against Kansas on May 9. The Frogs are 2-2 in extra innings this year.
The Frogs set the school record with a 22-inning victory over Sam Houston State in the 2014 NCAA Fort Worth Regional on May 31.
