Frogs Walk it Off for the 3rd Time This Season
One thing you can say about this game is that it was not for the faint of heart. TCU threatened multiple times but couldn’t find that one hit to put the game away for good. On the other side of the diamond, this is what people mean when they say that you are getting every team’s best shot. While the USC Trojans went into this game 2-6, they gave the No. 5 ranked Frogs everything they could handle.
Peyton Chatagnier leaps up to keep a ball in the infield.
Brian McLean/KillerFrogs
The first three innings of the game went how most TCU games have gone so far this year. The starting pitcher looks dominant to start the game but runs into more trouble every inning, and the hitting gets off to a slow start but eventually breaks through in the 3rd or 4th inning. TCU’s starting pitcher Payton Tolle seemed to be in and out of his rhythm as the big lefty especially had trouble in the 2nd and 3rd. His final line was 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 walks, and 8 Ks. The Horned Frogs pitching staff went on to tally 19 strikeouts for the second game in a row.
In the middle three innings, it was big-time hit after big-time hit for both teams. As they went to the bottom of the 5th inning, both teams were tied at 3. While USC took the lead on a 2-out double by Ryan Jackson in the top of the 6th, TCU came right back and tied it on a Logan Maxwell bases-clearing single. Payton Tolle then earned a bases-loaded walk for the Frogs to take the lead once again 6-5.
Beginning the final three innings at Globe Life, USC threatened to tie it up again, but a huge performance by Caedmon Parker kept the 1-run lead for TCU. It was after the 8th inning that things in this game got hectic.
Coach Saarloos turned to his favorite lefty Ben Abeldt to close the game out. Unfortunately, Friday wouldn't be Ben's day. Free passes to first base were a plague in this one, and Ben was no different. The lefty gave up 3 earned runs in only 0.2 innings pitched, causing the Frogs to need another big inning with only 3 outs remaining.
For the pitching staff, Kyle Ayers was the hero tonight throwing two scoreless innings in the 10th and 11th, setting TCU up for victory. He also earned his first win of the year. On the hitting side, Chase Brunson and Ryder Robinson were the magic TCU needed to send this one into extras. Both hitters had RBI singles in the 9th to give the Frogs a chance at taking this one home. Finally, after 1.5 innings that seemed to last an hour, Sam Myers called game and walked it off on a single to right field for a final score of 9-8.
TCU is now 10-0 on the season and is back in action at Globe Life Field tomorrow at 6 p.m. vs Arizona State.
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