Killer Frogs

TCU Baseball: Frogball Dominates in Series-Opener against #22 Kansas

A Tommy LaPour masterclass and a relentless TCU lineup result in a 14-1 TCU win.

Carson Wersal

Jack Bell jogs around 3rd base after a 2-run moonshot over the right field fence.
Jack Bell jogs around 3rd base after a 2-run moonshot over the right field fence. / TCU Baseball X/Twitter

Final. 1. 462. BB 4/11 KU. 14. 466

On a night with a packed house at Lupton Stadium, the TCU Horned Frogs were firing on all cylinders as the Frogs throttled the Kansas Jayhawks by a score of 14-1. TCU moved to 9-4 in conference play and 26-9 on the season with the win, while the Jayhawks fell to 9-4 in conference play and 27-8 on the season.

The pitching matchup in the series-opener included Wichita State transfer, Tommy LaPour, while Kansas threw their usual Friday night arm, Dominic Voegele. LaPour set the tone for the TCU pitching staff early in this one as he retired the side in order. On the final batter of the 1st inning, the righty hit 100mph with a fastball up and away to secure his 2nd strikeout of the game.

Little did Frogball fans know, this would be the precedent set for the entire evening as LaPour would throw seven complete innings, only allowing one run on three hits while striking out 11 in the process. While we've seen similar outings from LaPour before, it hasn't been this dominant and in as big of a game as this one.

To put LaPour's outing into perspective, the Jayhawks entered the series boasting the most potent offense in the Big 12—and one of the most dangerous lineups in the country. Holding a lineup like Kansas's to only three hits through the entire ballgame is shocking, to say the least.

Potentially fueled by LaPour's opening statement, the Frog offense also set the tone in the 1st inning with back-to-back triples from Karson Bowen and Sawyer Strsonider. Cole Cramer followed the triples with a single just out of the shortstop's reach to score Strosnider from 3rd base.

The TCU offense only built on their first inning success as they struck for 7 runs in the 2nd inning including homeruns from Jack Bell and Chase Brunson. Bell hit his 5th homerun of the season as he pulled a ball into the trees behind right field for a 2-run shot to put the Frogs up by 4, and Brunson had a 3-run blast to put the Frogs up 9-0 in only 2 innings.

The Frogs only built upon this lead as Nolan Traeger lined out to center field to score Brunson from 3rd base in the 5th inning. The Jayhawks finally broke the seal in the 6th as Derek Cerda hit a solo-homerun that scraped over the shortest part of the right field fence. After avoiding the shutout, the Frogs responded in kind to Cerda's homerun by striking for 2 runs of their own.

Bell and Bowen both singled to start the inning followed by a loud RBI single from Strosnider to score Bell from 2nd base. While Cramer did fly out, it was an extremely productive out as it scored Bowen on the tag from 3rd making it 12-1. The Frogs scored 2 more in the 7th with RBIs from Preston Gamster and, you're not going to believe this, Sawyer Strosnider.

For those counting, Strosnider ended the game going 4-for-5 at the plate with 3 RBIs and a triple. The true freshman is now batting an unbelievable .408 on the season in 134 at-bats. The freshman has gained national attention this season but the buzz around his name has now risen to new heights. Even Kendall Rogers from D1 Baseball has frequently taken note of the freshman's ability this season, including tonight.

After LaPour's day on the mound was over, the TCU bullpen took care of business with 2 shutout innings from Cohen Feser and Carson Cormier to seal the win in the series-opener. Cormier had the cherry on top in Game 1 as he struck out 3 in the 9th after giving up a leadoff walk.

Frogball is back in action Saturday at Lupton Stadium with first pitch being set for 2 p.m. Kole Klecker will get the start for the Frogs while Kannon Carr is expected to get the start for the Jayhawks.

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Carson Wersal
CARSON WERSAL

Carson is a graduating senior at TCU with a General Communications degree with a emphasis in journalism. While his main focus in journalism centers around TCU Baseball, Carson has covered other sports as well such as TCU Track and Cross Country, TCU Men's and Women's Basketball, and TCU Football. One event of note that Carson has covered was the 2023 Men's College World Series which featured TCU finishing 4th in the country. 

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