TCU Kicks Off Big 12 Tourney Wednesday
5/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Big 12 Tournament Central | Game Notes | Listen Live
STARTING PITCHERS
Wednesday: LHP Alex Young (TCU) vs. LHP Daniel Castano (Baylor)
TCU NOTABLES
• TCU concluded the regular season with a 43-9 record marking the first time since 1969 when it was 22-8 that the Frogs finished with single-digit losses.
• TCU enters the tournament on a nine game winning streak and has won 17 of its last 18 games. The Frogs have won 11 straight Big 12 contests.
• After hitting 14 home runs in the first 48 games this year, TCU has hit eight home runs in its last four games.
• TCU leads the Big 12 with a .289 batting average, a 2.22 ERA and a .978 fielding percentage.
• TCU scored 20 runs in the series against Oklahoma, 13 of which came with two outs.
• In Friday's win, the Frogs recorded their 100th stolen base of the season. It's the first time since 1996 TCU has stolen at least 100 bases.
• Cody Jones reached base safely 24 straight games. He tops the Big 12 with a .364 batting average.
• Garrett Crain led the Frogs with six hits in the Oklahoma series and has raised his batting average 36 points in the last nine games.
INSIDE TCU'S BRACKET
• TCU's side of the bracket features No. 4 Texas Tech, No. 5 Texas and No. 8 Baylor.
• The Frogs posted a 2-1 road series victories at Texas Tech, swept West Virginia on the road and swept Baylor at Lupton Stadium.
• TCU is a combined 8-1 against its side of the bracket.
• The other bracket features No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 6 Kansas State and No. 7 West Virginia.
• TCU was a combined 8-4 against the teams that comprise the other bracket.
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT NOTABLES
• For the seventh time under Coach Schlossnagle, the Horned Frogs won the tournament crown in 2014.
• TCU won two conference titles in Conference USA and four in the Mountain West.
• TCU has won seven titles in the last 11 years.
• TCU is 30-10 in conference tournaments under Jim Schlossnagle and 36-24 all-time dating back to its first tournament appearance in 1991 as members of the SWC.
• TCU is 5-2 in the Big 12 Tournament.
• TCU has had 43 players honored on the all-tournament squads over the last 10 years.
• Derek Odell, Garrett Crain, Cody Jones, Tyler Alexander and Preston Morrison all have all-tournament plaques on their resumes.
• TCU is 25-7 in road tournament games since the 2004 season.
• Three of TCU's 10 losses in the conference tournament have come at Lupton Stadium, one was in Houston in 2004, four in Las Vegas and two in Oklahoma City.
• The Frogs have won tournament titles at Houston, at Southern Miss, at UNLV twice, at TCU, at San Diego State and in Oklahoma City.
NEUTRAL SITE/ROAD NOTABLES
• TCU has played just one neutral site contest this season.
• The Horned Frogs defeated Vanderbilt by a 4-2 score at Dodger Stadium as part of the Dodger Stadium Classic.
• The Frogs are 54-31 all-time at neutral sites under the guidance of head coach Jim Schlossnagle.
ROLLING ALONG
TCU dropped a 2-1 series at Kansas State April 10-12. Since then, the Frogs have won 17 out of 18 games and nine straight. Included in that stretch is an 11 game Big 12 winning streak.
The Frogs have swept their last five series and the only loss in the stretch is a 6-4 setback at Dallas Baptist on April 29.
SPEED DEMONS
Evan Skoug's seventh inning stolen base was the 100th of the season for the Horned Frogs. It's just the fifth time in program history that TCU has racked up 100 stolen bases and the first time since the Frogs stole a school-record 134 in 1996.
Cody Jones leads the Big 12 with 25 stolen bases. It's the second straight season he's swiped at least 20 bases. He's the first Frog since Sam Lunsford in 1995 and 1996 to record back-to-back 20 stolen base seasons.
HEATING UP
TCU is 9-0 in the month of May and no hitter has been hotter than Garrett Crain. Over the last nine games, the senior has raised his average from .231 up to .267. This month, Crain is 15-for-35 (.429) with two doubles and six RBIs.
TWO OUT MAGIC
TCU struck for 13 two-out runs this weekend in the sweep of Oklahoma. On the year, the Frogs have scored 120 runs with two outs. Five different Frogs have tallied at least 10 two-out RBIs. Derek Odell paces the team with 17.
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 16 in the last 18 games.
POWER SURGE
After hitting just 14 home runs in the first 48 games of the season, the Horned Frogs have found their power stroke, hitting eight over the last four games.
Six Frogs have contributed to the power surge led by two each from Evan Skoug and Derek Odell. Nolan Brown became the eighth Frog to homer this season in Friday's win.
The 22 home runs are the most since the Frogs hit 39 in 2012.
STREAKING
Cody Jones has reached base safely in 24 straight games heading into the postseason. Over that stretch, he's posted a .482 on base percentage with 35 hits, 15 walks and five hit by pitches.
Hitting at the top of the order in all 52 games this season, Jones leads the Big 12 with his .466 on-base percentage. He's found a way on base in the first inning 27 times this season, recording a hit in 15 game, a walk in eight, a hit by pitch three times and an error once.
STINGY STAFF
Over the last two seasons, the TCU pitching staff has been a dominate force. The Horned Frogs have played 113 games over the last two seasons and in 75 they have held the Frogs to two or fewer runs. Twenty-three times, they have shutout an opponent. An opponent has scored more than five runs just 21 times over the last two seasons.
COMING ON STRONG
Tyler Alexander found himself sporting a career-high 3.67 ERA on March 31 after getting touched for five runs at UT Arlington. Since then, he has gone 4-0 in six starts and posted a 2.25 ERA in 44 innings pitched.
A NICE COMPLIMENT
One of the unsung bullpen heroes is junior college transfer Preston Guillory. The junior has made 15 appearances and tossed 17 2/3 innings this season and has allowed just one unearned run. This weekend, Guillory made two appearances and picked up his second save to help the Frogs complete the sweep of Oklahoma. In two appearances, he allowed three hits in 2 2/3 innings pitched.
