TCU Baseball Clinches Series Behind Dominant Pitching Performance

It was all smiles from Kirk Sarloos and his squad today! The stellar pitching carried over for the Frogs in Game 2. TCU claimed the series with a 3-1 victory behind a complete game from Lance Davis. Davis became the first TCU pitcher to accomplish the feat since Payton Tolle did so in 2024.

The Horned Frog pitching staff came to play this weekend, allowing just one run through the first two games of the series. It was pretty much all Frogball in this one, as the Utes were muted once again in Game 2. Let’s dive into the Frogs’ dominant performance Saturday afternoon.

Frogs Ride Lights Out Pitching From Lance Davis in Series-Clinching Win

It was pretty much all Frogs in this one, as Lance Davis got on a roll and never slowed down. He threw a complete game, and it was quite spectacular. Davis was incredible across his nine innings of work, showcasing great pitches, including a fastball that sat around 97 mph. In the dominant performance, he allowed six hits, two walks, one run, and four strikeouts on 111 pitches, 82 of them strikes. He was so fun to watch this afternoon.

A 1-2-3 first for @Lance_Davis23 #GoFrogs | #FrogballUSA pic.twitter.com/WI1O9MEPxX
— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) May 9, 2026

It was also a solid performance from Utah’s Payton Riske, who went five innings while giving up seven hits, no walks, three runs, and three strikeouts. He pitched well, but the Frogs were able to capitalize on a few pitches left in the zone.

We witnessed nearly four full innings without any scoring until Utah’s Cameron Gurney broke the silence with a moonshot over the green batter’s eye in center field. The ball was absolutely massacred, and it looked like Utah might seize control of the game after that. However, Lance Davis locked back in and shut them down the rest of the way.

Sawyer Strosnider followed with a homer of his own to left-center, tying the game in the bottom of the inning. It was great to see, as Strosnider has been in quite a slump lately. He responded at the perfect time, allowing the Frogs to keep all of their momentum.

NO DOUBTER

No. 13 for @sawyerstro ties the game at one!#GoFrogs | #FrogballUSA pic.twitter.com/dqKGh7n64P
— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) May 9, 2026

TCU was not done yet. Jack Bell doubled in the fifth inning, and with two outs, Cole Cramer answered with a base hit up the middle to score Bell and break the tie, making it a 2-1 ballgame.

The Frogs continued to shut down Utah at the plate, and they returned in the sixth to create more havoc. Chase Brunson led off the inning with a single, then Nolan Traeger followed with a single of his own to advance Brunson to third. Rob Liddington then lined a base hit into the outfield to score Brunson and extend the lead.

adding runs in the sixth!@Rob_Liddy7 drives in Chase Brunson for a 3-1 lead.#GoFrogs | #FrogballUSA pic.twitter.com/b0c13dYqby
— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) May 9, 2026

The Utes made a pitching change to Demetri Diamant, who shut down the Frogs for the remainder of the game. He was dominant over three innings, allowing just one hit with no walks, no runs, and four strikeouts. He held TCU scoreless over the final three innings, but the damage had already been done, and Lance Davis was pitching far too well to let this game slip away.

Utah threatened a few times late in the game, including in the ninth inning when they hit a two-out single that prompted a mound visit from TCU head coach Kirk Saarloos. However, the crowd chatter urging Saarloos to leave Davis in allowed the redshirt freshman to close it out, giving the Frogs a 2-0 lead in the series.

U love to see it 🙌🤪

series dub for the frogs! #GoFrogs | #FrogballUSA pic.twitter.com/Tn4GNIBIA9
— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) May 9, 2026

It was an exciting game to watch in person and gives the Frogs the energy and pitching depth they will need tomorrow as they try to complete the sweep.

What to Expect in the Series Finale?

The Frogs have a slew of talented relievers who have not seen action this weekend, such as Walter Quinn and Nate Stern, so expect tomorrow to look similar to the first two games with solid pitching and low scoring. TCU will have Zack James on the mound, who has been pretty much dominant this season.

The Frogs’ offense has been a bit somewhat sluggish this weekend, but Utah's pitching staff deserves credit for keeping TCU hitters off balance. Still, TCU's pitching has continued to set the tone throughout the series, and the Frogs will look to carry that momentum into Sunday's finale with a chance to make the sweep.

What's Next

Sunday's matchup also falls on Mother's Day giving the Horned Frogs an opportunity to celebrate with a series sweep in front of their families and fans. After this weekend, TCU will have just one regular-season conference series remaining before the Big 12 Tournament.

The Frogs will travel to Morgantown next week to face West Virginia, a team currently sitting near the top of the Big 12 standings. TCU has not won a series in Morgantown since 2011, making next weekend another important test as postseason positioning continues to take ship

Add us as a preferred source on Google