TCU Baseball: Cal Wins with a Walk-off

The TCU Horned Frogs tried to make the Lupton Magic, Arizona Style, happen for the second day in a row, but it just wasn't in the cards. Frogs lost 7-6 after they scored two runs in the top of the ninth. Cal was able to get a runner at third base. One wild pitch later, that runner was crossing Homeplate, and Cal won the game.

TCU started off strong, scoring two runs in both the first and second innings to take an early 4-0 lead over Cal. In the first inning, Tommy Sacco came to bat with two outs and bases loaded. He took the first pitch and dropped it into short center. Brayden Taylor and David Bishop both scored. Taylor and Bishop had back-to-back RBI singles in the second inning to make the score 4-0.

The Frogs would not score again until the critical top of the ninth inning. In the meantime, Cal got one run in the bottom of the fourth. Then in the sixth inning, Dylan Beavers, Cal's right fielder, came to the plate for a solo home run over the fence in center field. The score was 4-2, Frogs, after six innings.

Riley Cornelio started for the Frogs, and he pitched 5 1/3 innings. He gave up three hits and two runs. He walked two and had five strikeouts. Then head coach Kirk Saarloos started rotating in many of his new pitchers, both transfers and freshmen. Caleb Bolen, a grad transfer from Arkansas took the mound in the 6th inning and into the seventh.

Tommy Vail, a grad transfer from Notre Dame, came in for the end of the seventh inning. In the 8th, he got the bases loaded, and Cohen Feser, a freshman, took over. The damage was done. Cal scored twice to tie the game. Then in came TCU veteran pitcher Augie Mihlbauer and then shortly, another freshman, Gray Thomas. By the end of the 8th inning, Cal was up 6-4.

Hope came in the top of the ninth, Elijah Nunez got a one-out walk followed by a base hit by Luke Boyers. Taylor came to bat and got a single that scored Nunez. Two batters later, Gray Rodgers worked a bases-loaded walk to tie the game.

In the bottom of the ninth, Cal brought in Rodney Green, Jr. as a pinch hitter who hit a triple. One pitch later, Thomas was still on the mound and threw a wild pitch. Green crossed the plate to end the game.

Next up: TCU concludes the MLB4 tournament in Scottsdale with an early game against Houston. First pitch is 11 a.m. CT on Sunday.

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