No. 10 TCU TCU Makes Statement With Ranked Win Over No. 23 Vanderbilt in Season Opener

The Road to Omaha for the TCU Horned Frogs has officially begun. The Frogs squared off against the Vanderbilt Commodores for college baseball's first ranked vs ranked matchup of the year.

It was an absolute slugfest in Arlington, with the first five runs of the ballgame being scored via the home run. TCU right fielder Sawyer Strosnider and freshman shortstop Lucas Franco homered in the first and sixth innings, respectively, while Vanderbilt's Colin Barczi homered three times for the Commodores.

While starting pitcher Tommy LaPour didn't have his best stuff on Friday night, he still found a way to toss five innings before the bullpen took over. The Friday-night ace allowed just two earned runs on five hits and two walks, while recording five strikeouts.

Tanner Sagouspe, Nate Stern, and Walter Quinn were massive out of the bullpen for the Frogs, totaling 4.0 innings pitched and allowing just two combined runs.

Frogball Chaos is Once Again the Difference-Maker

TCU second baseman Cole Cramer receives a throw from catcher Nolan Traeger after pre-inning warmups. | Brian McLean/KillerFrogs (TCU on SI)

For the most part, the Vanderbilt pitching staff silenced a TCU lineup that looks to be even more dangerous than last year. The Commodores' starting pitcher, Connor Fennell, tossed 5.1 innings while only giving up two solo home runs. He also struck out seven Frogs, while only walking one batter.

It was in the seventh inning that Vanderbilt took the lead with Barczi's third home run of the game. While the Frogs were finding solid contact all over the field, they simply couldn't get anything to drop down for a hit.

For those who don't know, the Horned Frogs are widely regarded as a program that excels at causing chaos. Over time, that chaos has come to be widely regarded as "Frogball." In fact, it's the only term that can be used to describe how the Frogs pulled off a come-from-behind win over Vanderbilt on Friday.

With the Commodores leading 3-2 in the eighth inning, TCU needed to put together something offensively, and quickly. With one out in the eighth, Lucas Franco tripled into the left-center gap to give the Frogs a runner in scoring position. Shortly after, second baseman Cole Cramer doubled into shallow left-center field to tie the game 3-3.

After already homering once in the game, the Commodores elected to put Strosnider on base to put a force-out at third in play. That force-out got taken away after a wild pitch, moving Cramer and Strosnider to move to second and third with one out.

After Brunson flew out to right field, the pressure was on for TCU left fielder Noah Franco. After striking out on a ball in the dirt with runners on second and third, the Frogs finally caught a break at the plate, but not in the most traditional fashion. A wild throw from Barczi, Vanderbilt's catcher, allowed both Cramer and Strosnider to score.

That one error, or that one instance of "Frogball" in action, allowed TCU to hang on for its first win of the season. While it wasn't in the prettiest fashion, the Frogs secured a win over a dangerous Vanderbilt team that appears to be stronger than the national media had originally thought.

Frogball Chaos is Once Again the Difference-Maker

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