TCU Baseball Eliminated From Big 12 Tournament as Unbelievable Comeback Falls Short

The Frogs trailed 9-0 after one inning but roared back to tie it in the seventh, ultimately losing 11-10 to Kansas.

X: @TCU_Baseball

The Jayhawks could not be stopped in the first inning, as they sent 14 batters to the plate. Chase Hoover got the start for TCU and couldn't get out of the inning. Jake English singled to left field to make it 2-0. Three batters later, Chase Diggins singled to center field and extended the lead to 4-0.

It was up to Kole Klecker to try to get the Frogs out of the inning, but the nightmare continued. A two-RBI double from John Nett and a bases-clearing double from Kodey Shojinaga put a massive dent into this game and made it 9-0 through one.

It wouldn't take long for the Frogs to respond as a solo shot from Jack Basseer breathed some much-needed life into the offense. After a Jack Arthur double, Karson Bowen hit a two-run shot off the left field foul pole to make it 9-3.

The comeback continued in the third, but not before one of the strangest reviews in baseball. Sam Myers bunted himself on, but he was called out. An appeal was made, and a 20-minute review followed. The result ended up keeping Myers at second, but the lengthy review hurt the Jayhawks as they had to sit and wait on the field. After Anthony Silva was hit by a pitch, Kurtis Byrne made Kansas pay as he smoked a three-run homer to left field to cut the deficit to three.

The Jayhawks would get a run back in the bottom of the third from a fielder's choice, but their bats went stone cold as the TCU bullpen held strong. Colt Taylor kept the Horned Frogs in the game, going 3.1 innings, giving up one hit, no runs, and a pair of strikeouts. Byrne's big day continued in the fifth as a solo shot off Dominic Voegele made it 9-7.

The unbelievable comeback kept rolling in the seventh inning. Back-to-back singles from Myers and Silva put runners on first and second. A four-pitch walk to Byrne loaded the bases for Chase Brunson. The result was a double-play, and while it wasn't exactly what TCU wanted, it put another run across the plate to make it 10-8. The next batter, Luke Boyers, crushed a ball over the right field wall to tie the game, and the TCU faithful went crazy. It was a brand new ballgame.

🤯🤯🤯 @Luke_Boyers #FrogballUSA | #GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/G26vJWYN7g

— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) May 24, 2024

However, the job was not finished. The Jayhawks put together some good at-bats against Hunter Hodges to load the bases with two outs. Hodges found himself in a 3-2 count with Nett, and a bold decision by Kirk Saarloos was made. He went to the bullpen and called upon Braeden Sloan to deliver the biggest pitch of the ballgame. He got a swinging strike to get TCU out of the inning.

After a scoreless eighth from the TCU offense, Kansas finally punched back. With one out, Jake English came through with a solo homer to left field to put the Jayhawks back in front. TCU wouldn't go away easily as Myers and Silva led off the ninth inning with a pair of singles for Kurtis Byrne. Unfortunately, he grounded into a double play and left Myers at third for Brunson. A fly ball to right field ended the game and eliminated TCU from the Big 12 tournament.

A game that looked to be over before people could have their morning coffee turned out to be one of the wildest games you could ever see. A combined 23 hits and 21 runs saw the seventh-seeded Kansas Jayhawks advance to the Big 12 semifinal.

Hunter Cranton picked up the win while Sloan suffered the loss after the home run. Regardless of the outcome, it was tremendous effort by the Horned Frogs to claw their way back into the game and gave themselves a great chance to win. Following the game Coach Saarloos said, "I have never been more proud of a team in a loss. In defeat, we can look at good things to take from this."

Kansas will face Oklahoma in the semifinal on Thursday while TCU will await their fate on Monday to see where they'll travel for the regionals.

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