Weather Cold, Bats Hot In TCU Baseball Home Opener
With ice and winter chill on the way, thousands flocked to Lupton Stadium for TCU baseball's home opener against S.F. Austin. Fans didn't have to stick around long to see all they needed from this game as TCU jumped to a 5-0 first inning lead and hit cruise control to an 11-1 win on Tuesday.
The Frogs (3-1) returned to Fort Worth after taking two of three games at the MLB4 Tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Cam Brown made the most of his first start of the year. He pitched five shutout innings, rung up seven (a career-high in strikeouts), and allowed only two hits. With a comfortable 9-0 lead in the sixth, TCU kept pitch counts low for both Brown and the bullpen. Connor Oliver, Storm Hierholzer, Gray Thomas, and Cohen Feser all saw action out of the pen.
The pitching staff's job was made easy as TCU's offense came out swinging. Six straight walks in the first inning and a pair of sacrifice flies put the Frogs up 5-0 to close out the first inning.
Freshman David Bishop recorded three hits and drove in five RBI on the afternoon. He scored on a bases-loaded walk in the first and hit in Elijah Nunez in the second. In the sixth, Bishop took a pitch he liked yard for a two-run home run.
S. F. Austin (1-3) tallied their only run in the ninth with an RBI single.
TCU has out-hit all four of their opponents this season and recorded at least one run in the first inning of all four games. The defense has been on point, having committed zero errors in their last three games.
Nunez extended his five game hitting streak (which dates back to last season) and stole three bases. Sam Thompson hit a late game home run, the second of his career, and Kurtis Bayne recorded his first multi-RBI game of the year.
Wednesday's contest against UTSA was postponed due to inclement winter weather.
The Frogs return to action Friday for a weekend series against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers were ultra-competitive last season, taking #2 Arkansas to the brink of elimination in the Super Regional Round.
TCU vs. Nebraska will be held at Globe Life Field. First pitch schedule is as follows:
- Friday, Feb. 25: 6:00 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Feb. 26: 2:00 p.m. CT
- Sunday, Feb. 27: 1:00 p.m. CT
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