TCU Baseball Takes To The Queen City For Weekend Series Against Cincinnati

The TCU Horned Frogs have an opportunity to get the train back on the tracks as they travel to face the Cincinnati Bearcats this weekend.

A three game sweep in conference play couldn't have come at a better time for the TCU Horned Frogs (20-8, 5-7 Big 12). At 2-7, another Big 12 series loss might have begun to nail the coffin shut on the 2024 college baseball season. But now TCU sits just 3.5 games back of conference leader Oklahoma. This weekend, the Frogs have an opportunity to get the train back on the tracks. They visit the Cincinnati Bearcats (16-13, 4-5) for a three-game weekend series.

Head coach Kirk Saarloos is a master of adjustment. In each year at the helm, he's tweaked something – the rotation, starting lineup, or both – that eventually paid off for TCU. This year is no different; he shook up both the starting rotation and lineup and it paid off for at least one series.

TCU at Cincinnati begins Friday night at 4:00 p.m. CT. Saturday's Game 2 starts at 1:00 p.m. CT and Sunday's first pitch comes at 11:00 a.m. Catch the games on ESPN+, 88.7 FM KTCU, or – like some of the KillerFrogs team will be doing – in person at UC Baseball Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Road Woes

TCU's school-best 13-0 start came exclusively playing baseball in Tarrant County. The first time the Frogs hit the road, they suffered a series loss at Kansas. The second time they hit the road, they dropped two of three to Oklahoma State. On the season, their road record technically stands at 3-5, but remove games played in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and that record is 2-4.

Perhaps it was due to shaking up the rhythm the team built for itself while spending all that time in the comfort of home. But TCU's road struggles are real at this juncture.

On Tuesday, TCU dropped a stinker at UT-Arlington (154th in D1Baseball's DSR ranking). In order to excel in the postseason, you must be able to win your road games.

Left on the road slate for TCU this season is Texas and Baylor, plus a midweek at Abilene Christian.

Sizing Up Cincinnati

Let's be transparent here: this is a series TCU is expected to win. The Bearcats rank 130th in DSR and dropped two of three to Baylor (11-17, 5-7). Cincinnati is just 1-4 against teams ranked inside the top 50 in RPI and was non-competitive against Coastal Carolina early in the season.

Inconsistency is the name of the 2024 season for Cincinnati. They allowed 25 runs to Coastal, but also tossed a two-hit shutout against Kansas. They followed up being no-hit in Game 1 by Kansas State with 24 runs in two days against the same Wildcat team. When both pitching and hitting come together for Cincinnati, they're a decent ball club. But most of the time, you either get bats or pitching.

Junior Josh Kross poses the biggest threat at the plate, already logging 11 home runs on the year (tied for the Big 12 lead). Kross plays first and catcher, rotating with another power hitter, Tommy O'Connor. The duo accounts for over half of Cincinnati's total home runs and a third of their RBI.

Kross is one of the toughest outs in the conference. In 140 plate appearances, he's struck out just 15 times and drawn just 12 walks. When he takes the plate, he hits the ball at an exceptional rate. O'Connor is much more patient, drawing 22 walks, but also has 34 strikeouts on the season, most on the team.

Pitching Matchups

TCU isn't the only club shaking things up in the rotation. Cincinnati has two featured starters – sophomore Tommy Boba (2-3, 6.82 ERA) and freshman Nathan Taylor (5-1, 6.67). Friday night, however, has been tricky for the Bearcats.

Seth Logue (1-3, 9.79) had several rough outings that culminated in allowing nine runs to St. Louis in just 2.2 innings two weekends ago. Last week against Baylor, Cincinnati opted to run out opener Brendan Garula (2-0, 2.10) before sending in Logue. The senior fared much better, allowing just two runs and picking up a win in 6.1 innings.

Given Friday was the lone win of the series, Cincinnati may again opt to utilize the versatile Garula – who has a save on the year – as an opener. After all, there's no save opportunity when the starter digs a multi-run hole to climb out of.

Team pitching has been Cincinnati's top issue this year. They sit dead last in the Big 12 in ERA (6.38) and walks issued (138), second-worst in extra base hits allowed (93), and third-worst in strikeouts issued (215). This is an opportunity for TCU to turn the bats around.

The Frogs have not yet announced a starting pitcher for Sunday's game, but the rotation may look like this:

• Friday: Payton Tolle (3-1, 3.38)
• Saturday: Louis Rodriguez (3-0, 1.40)
• Sunday: Kole Klecker (0-2, 6.16)

A Key To A TCU Victory

Cincinnati allows extra base hits: take advantage of it. Power hitting hasn't been TCU's forte this year as they've hit the second-fewest homers in the Big 12 (just 23). Tolle, who was brought on for both his power hitting and pitching prowess, hasn't been in the batting order lately. Instead, Saarloos has reserved him as the team's current ace; Tolle leads the Big 12 in strikeouts (68).

Peyton Chatagnier (now batting ninth) improved from his 4-37 slump, going 4-9 with a couple of drawn walks. This is his weekend to break the slump and resume his extra-base hitting. On the season, Chat has three triples and is still tied for the team lead in extra base hits (11).

This is a weekend where there's no excuses should TCU's bats continue to be quiet.

Player To Watch

Freshman Camden Sos has been thrust into a new role. Last weekend, he suited up as a DH twice and was inserted as a pinch hitter on Sunday. Friday started well enough, Sos notched two hits in four at-bats, including a seventh-inning double. But the other two days didn't go as planned, where he went a combined 0-4 with two strikeouts.

With Tolle on the mound exclusively (and batting just .182 when in the lineup), TCU is in need of some pop at the DH spot. Sos was called upon to be that pop.

Sos wasn't on the radar heading into 2024. The true freshman stands 6-foot-3 and, while still thin in the frame (200 pounds), he has the opportunity to grow into one of TCU's premier power hitters. As a junior in high school, Sos logged 21 extra base hits (92 total hits) with 58 RBI. That kind of production is now dire for the TCU lineup.

Look for this young face to evolve as he gets a chance against a team willing to give up extra base hits.

How To Watch TCU Vs. Cincinnati

When: Apr. 5, 4:00 p.m. | Apr. 6, 1:00 p.m. | Apr. 7, 11:00 a.m.

Where: UC Baseball Stadium (Cincinnati, OH)

TV/Streaming: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM

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