Defending The Homestead: TCU Baseball Hosts Houston For Early Weekend Series

At 2-7 in Big 12 play, the TCU Horned Frogs have to figure things out quickly. They host the Houston Cougars for an early Easter weekend series.

Debuting inside the top five nationally, the TCU Horned Frogs (17-7) had to bear the weight of expectation in 2024. At 2-7, most within the program would likely say they'd wish things began differently. TCU fell completely out of the rankings at D1Baseball, bringing the total number of Big 12 representatives in the top 25 to two – Oklahoma and Kansas State.

This weekend, TCU hosts the Houston Cougars (15-9, 4-5 Big 12). The water of the Big 12 doused the red-hot start Houston got off to; the Cougars have lost five of their last eight, all five being conference games. Teams can get hot at any time – we saw that last year when TCU (13-11 in Big 12 play) crashed the party in Omaha, making it to the national semifinals – but it's time to do something. Urgency must be at an all-time high in Fort Worth.

Houston at TCU begins Thursday at 6:00 p.m. CT, with the Easter holiday bumping games back a day. Game 2 begins Friday at 6:30 p.m. and the series finale kicks off Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Watch the Cougars vs. Horned Frogs on ESPN+, broadcast on the radio at 88.7 FM KTCU, or see it for yourself at Lupton Stadium.

Calling To Action

Back in January, it wasn't too farfetched to predict that TCU would be in sole possession of a spot in the Big 12. Who would have guessed that sole possession would be of last place?

Believe it or not, the Horned Frogs do have a couple things going their way this weekend. First, they are 11-3 in the friendly confines of Lupton Stadium, with all three losses coming to a dominant Oklahoma squad. Second, Houston is rapidly cooling off since it dove into Big 12 conference play. The Cougars notched wins in each of their first four league games, but that included a sweep of Baylor (8-16, 3-6) and a Friday night victory over BYU (11-11, 4-5).

A home series loss to Houston would move the needle from "concerned" to "panicked."

The Frogs have an opportunity at hand. Following this series against Houston is a road series at Cincinnati (15-11, 3-3) with three midweeks against UTRGV and Abilene Christian. The Cougars top the group in D1Baseball's DSR ranking at 57th, but none of the follow-up teams breach the top 100 nationally. This should be a stretch where TCU picks up wins.

Perhaps playing as the underdog will give TCU the boost it needs to start filling the win column.

No-Fly Zone

Lawrence, Stillwater, and Fort Worth have been a collective no-fly zone for all the wrong reasons since the calendar turned to March. Since entering Big 12 play, TCU is averaging a paltry four runs per game, a mark that would rank sixth worst nationally on the season.

Peyton Chatagnier is batting 4-37 (.108) since the start of Big 12 play. Chase Brunson, who started the year on fire, is just 4-29 (.138). Even Logan Maxwell, the top hitter on the team entering last weekend, went 2-11 (.182) in Stillwater last weekend. Last weekend marked a season-low .118 team batting average across the entire series and that average has declined every weekend without fail. If there's any silver lining, it's that the average doesn't have much more room to decline.

With runners in scoring position on the season, TCU bats just .204 – with any runners on base, just .228. Perhaps the most frustrating, the Horned Frogs hit just .316 with the bases loaded. The bats across the lineup went silent the second conference play began.

Although the Frogs return home, this isn't a cupcake get-right spot for the offense. Houston stands eighth nationally in ERA (3.54). It rosters a rotation of five potential starters, all with ERAs better than the team average. This team throws strikes and doesn't allow many runs.

Pitching Matchups

Houston rolls out ace Antoine Jean (2-1, 1.33 ERA) on Friday night. In six starts, the senior's allowed four earned runs and a .243 opposing average. Jean allows the highest slugging percentage of the starters this weekend (.417), a result of throwing consistent strikes.

Junior Jaxon Jelkin (0-0, 3.54) takes the mound Saturday. Most impressive about the righty is his 5.8% walk rate issued – a potential neutralizer for one of the few offensive advantages TCU carries. Jelkin also nearly eliminates extra base hits, stifling opponents to just a .321 slugging percentage, best among the weekend starters.

Lefty Kyle LaCalameto (2-0, 3.38) finishes the series Sunday. He's started just twice so far this year (six appearances), being brought up from a relief spot to an opener. Last outing, LaCalameto threw just 35 pitches in two innings before giving way to the bullpen. On the season, the grad transfer averaes 2.2 innings per outing, but has 14 strikeouts in 13.1 innings and just three walks issued.

TCU is shaking things up this weekend. Louis Rodriguez (2-0, 2.04) starts Friday, Payton Tolle (2-1, 3.73) moves to Saturday, and Sunday's starter has yet to be announced. Tolle notably rung up 15 batters in a complete game shutout over Oklahoma State last Friday. Rodriguez leads the team in ERA.

Kole Klecker (0-2, 6.15) was pulled from last week's game against the Pokes after another shaky outing. Last year's emerging star has allowed 35 hits in 26.1 innings and allowed a team-high 18 runs. Braeden Sloan (3-2, 6.23) hasn't fared much better since dominating the early midweek slate. West Virginia transfer Ben Hampton (0-0, 6.43) hasn't found his rhythm either.

A Key To A TCU Victory

Only so many times can you say "hit better with runners in scoring position" and "get the core of your lineup going" before it becomes moot. At this juncture, TCU is going to have to find other ways to win. Kirk Saarloos is a proven winning coach and each year at the helm, he's made terrific adjustments that paid off in the long run.

Shaking up the starting rotation (even pulling preseason All-Conference players) is a necessary adjustment at the moment. With not much run support to rely on, TCU is going to have to go on the defense. Bringing new arms like Rodriguez into the weekend rotation might be a spark to get the team going.

Houston is not an offensive team. Its shortcomings this season come at the plate, with the team not having broken 10 runs in a game since March 3. In fact, they've only crossed that threshold three times all year, once coming on a midweek game against Prarie View A&M (263rd in DSR).

Power is not TCU's forte and Houston doesn't give up a lot of power at the plate. This series is going to have to be won the old fashioned way – with small ball. And to win defensive slugfests with small ball, you have to have impeccible starting pitching.

Player To Watch

Welcome to the weekend rotation, Louis Rodriguez! The sophomore started just one game before, but has 17.2 innings of work under his belt in 10 appearances. Most encouraging is Rodriguez' strikeout-to-walk ratio, with currently stands at 22 Ks and just five walks.

Last season, Rodriguez got five starts, but ultimately settled into a closing role by midseason. This year, he's been called upon for a few innings of relief. But last Sunday, he was called upon to make his first start. In just 1.2 innings, Rodriguez allowed three hits, an earned run, and struck out a batter. He gave way to Sloan in the second.

Houston as a team bats just .270 – 10th in the Big 12 and behind TCU.

How To Watch TCU Vs. Houston

When: THURSDAY, Mar. 28, 6:00 p.m. | FRIDAY, Mar. 29, 6:30 p.m. | SATURDAY, Mar. 30, 2:00 p.m.

Where: Lupton Stadium (Fort Worth, TX)

TV/Streaming: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM

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