Frogs, Saarloos Silenced in Stillwater

A viral ejection, a weekend collapse, and a growing question about where TCU baseball goes from here.

TCU Horned Frogs baseball suffered a devastating sweep in Stillwater | Emma Swinney for KillerFrogs.com

‘Don’t Let Your Love Flow’

Warning: Do not let your love flow for the 2025-26 TCU Horned Frogs baseball team.

Granted, this warning is late in being issued, but perhaps it can save you from suffering a second, third, or even a fourth broken heart during what remains of this collegiate baseball season.

This edition of TCU’s baseball team is not worthy of your love, outside of the fact that it may be your favorite collegiate baseball team for one reason or another. Despite what those who wear purple-tinted shades may tell you, this Horned Frogs baseball team simply is not that good, despite the immense potential some of the Frogs possess and the occasional patches of brilliance the team has displayed during the season.

That brilliance included the Horned Frogs carrying a seven-game winning streak into a mega-important three-game series against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma, May 1 - 3. 

Not only did the winning streak evaporate in Stillwater, the Frogs left Oklahoma branded with a three-game losing streak, their horns dragging on the ground behind them and with a suspended head coach who embarrassed himself, the university and the program with an animated ejection during the second game with the Cowboys.

Warning: Do not let your love flow for this TCU Horned Frogs baseball team.

TCU should have known it was going to be a miserable weekend in Stillwater. In addition to the baseball series, the annual Calf Fry Festival was held in Stillwater April 30-May 2. And, yes, calf fries – deep-fried calf testicles – were sold through vendors and food trucks throughout the three-day country music event.

It would have been appropriate if frog legs also were sold during the event. 

The Horned Frogs lost all three games to the Cowboys, by the scores of 7-6, 9-2 and 11-10.

In the first-game loss, the Cowboys narrowed a TCU 6-3 lead to one run at 6-5. Then it became the Kollin Ritchie show.

What began as a must-win weekend for TCU ended in a sweep by Oklahoma State | Emma Swinney for KillerFrogs.com

The Oklahoma State junior outfielder hit his second homer of the game in the seventh inning to tie the game at 6-6. He delivered his third home run of the game and 25th of the season in the bottom of the ninth inning to deliver for the Cowboys a 7-6 walk-off win and a heartbreaking loss for the Frogs and their doting fans. 

TCU reliever Nate Stern was the victim of Ritchie’s game-winning home run. Stern, who worked one inning in relief, suffered his first loss of the season, against two wins. 

Trevor Baumler started the game on the mound for the Horned Frogs. He allowed four runs on four hits in four innings of work. Reliver Mason Brassfield allowed two runs on four hits in 3.1 innings of work. He also committed two costly errors.

Nolan Traeger, Chase Brunson, and Brady Dallimore hit home runs for the Horned Frogs in a losing cause.

Warning: Do not let your love flow for this TCU Horned Frogs baseball team.

Game two was a pitchers’ duel until the sixth inning. 

Brunson started the offensive fireworks with a two-run double for TCU in the top of the sixth inning. Oklahoma State tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, and while the Frogs’ offense fizzled during the remainder of the game, the Cowboys erupted for seven more runs for a 9-2 victory.

Lance Davis was TCU’s starting pitcher. He allowed two runs over six innings. Tommy LaPour and Walter Quin followed Davis to the mound. LaPour, who was making his second appearance since recently returning to action from an injury, was torched for five runs in one inning of relief. Quinn allowed two runs in his one inning of relief. LaPour took the loss for his first win-loss decision of the season.

The Moment That Defined the Weekend

In the bottom of the game’s seventh inning, Horned Frogs head coach Kirk Saarloos had a (former TCU head football coach) “Gary Patterson-hissy-fit-moment” and earned from the umpiring crew an ejection from the game and a two-game suspension for coming onto the field and unnecessarily and excessively arguing an overturned call. The overturned call resulted in an Oklahoma State runner being ruled safe at third base, rather than out, as had been called on the field. 

TCU baseball coach Kirk Saarloos had a viral moment Saturday with his slow walk to center field after being ejected for arguing an overturned call@MacEngelProf caught up with Saarloos, who explains why the Big 12 replay system needs an overhaul:https://t.co/YsKDEBhjHv

— Jim Barnes (@JimBarnesLV) May 4, 2026

As if his antics on the field weren’t enough, after being ejected, Saarloos returned to TCU’s dugout, grabbed a leather briefcase, and then slowly strolled across the infield and the outfield to the visitor’s clubhouse, which is located behind the left-field wall at Oklahoma State’s O’Brate Stadium. 

The video clip of Saarloos leaving the game went viral, even though Saarloos said he had no intention of the incident becoming viral. Yeah, sure, coach.

Some TCU fans thought the incident was Saarloos standing up for his team, and they applauded him. Some fans went further, foolishly immortalizing the fifth-year head coach for his antics. But, more than likely, the reason for the tirade probably was because Saarloos became sick and tired, like so many others, of watching his team underperform.

Yep. Tough weekend.
Still riding with a coach who backs his guys 💼🐸#FrogballUSA #GoFrogs @TCU_Baseball pic.twitter.com/cHdRQm8Dqw

— KillerFrogs.com (TCU On SI) (@Killer_Frogs) May 3, 2026

In any regard, Saarloos abandoned his team during battle, and his ejection failed to inspire his troops. The Frogs meekly succumbed to the Cowboys, suffering another nauseating loss. Meanwhile, Saarloos was cooling his heels somewhere else besides with his players.

Warning: Do not let your love flow for this TCU Horned Frogs baseball team.

With Saarloos serving the first of his two-game suspension in the series finale between TCU and Oklahoma State on Sunday, May 3, the Frogs leaped to an 8-3 lead after three innings, highlighted by a seven-run second inning. 

However, the Horned Frogs’ backbone was so brittle that they couldn’t carry their lead to a much-needed victory. Over the remainder of the game, the Cowboys outscored TCU 8-2 to earn an 11-10 win and an impressive sweep of the three-game series between the Big 12 rivals. 

Brunson, Jack Arthur, Dallimore and Rob Liddington hit home runs for the Frogs.

The Cowboys hit five home runs in the game, including two by Aidan Meola and one by Kollin Ritchie. It was Ritchie’s 26th homer of the season.

Zack James was TCU’s starting pitcher. He gave up six hits and six earned runs in 3.2 innings. In relief, Noah Franco allowed two earned runs on three hits in 1.2 innings. Relievers Walter Quinn, Stern, and Tanner Sagouspe were tagged for one run each. Stern received the loss. The sophomore’s record fell to 2-2. 

Warning: Do not let your love flow for this TCU Horned Frogs baseball team.

Over the three games, Oklahoma State slugged 11 home runs, including four by Ritchie. 

TCU smacked six home runs during the series, including two each by Brunson and Dallimore.

The Numbers Behind the Collapse

Overshadowing TCU’s home runs were the Frogs’ 39 strikeouts over the three games, including 17 in the first game. TCU also left 27 runners on base for the series, including 15 in game three.

Sophomore right-fielder Sawyer Strosnider had another challenging series. He was hitless (0-10) and struck out seven times. For the season, Strosnider has struck out 40 times. That’s third-most on the team, behind Cole Cramer’s 42 strikeouts and Jack Bell’s 41 whiffs. His .573 slugging percentage is tied with Brunson for tops on team.

The Frogs’ much-heralded 2025 recruit, freshman shortstop Lucas Franco, also continues to struggle. He played in only one of TCU’s games against Oklahoma State. He went hitless, with three strikeouts, in four trips to the plate. For the season, he is hitting .198, with three home runs and 21 RBI. He has struck out 37 times.

As a team, the Frogs have a .278 batting average. They have scored 349 runs in 47 games, for an average of nearly eight runs per game. In 1,534 at-bats, TCU has struck out 386 times, or nearly once for every four at-bats. The Horned Frogs have hit 63 home runs. 

Warning: Do not let your love flow for this TCU Horned Frogs baseball team.

Where This Leaves TCU Now

When TCU entered the series with the Cowboys, the Horned Frogs were fifth in the Big 12, ahead of sixth-place Oklahoma State. After losing all three games to OSU, TCU fell to 29-18 overall and 13-11 in Big 12 play, tied for sixth place with Cincinnati. Oklahoma State leapfrogged the Toads into fifth place, with a 14-10 conference record. The Cowboys are 31-17 overall.

Kansas leads the conference with a 20-4 Big 12 record. The surprising Jayhawks are 37-11 overall. West Virginia and Arizona State are tied for second place at 16-8. The Mountaineers are 31-12 overall. The Sun Devils are 33-15 overall. UCF follows, sitting ahead of Oklahoma State at 15-9. The Knights are 27-16 overall. 

In the latest Division 1 baseball top 25 rankings, three Big 12 Conference teams are ranked: Kansas, West Virginia, and Arizona State. 

The conference standings are important when it comes to Big 12 postseason play. The top six teams receive a first-round bye in the Big 12 Baseball Tournament. The tournament, which will feature the conference’s top 12 teams in a single-elimination format, will be played May 19-23, at Surprise Stadium, in Surprise, Arizona.

Surprise Stadium is the spring training facility for Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals.

Conference standings and overall records also will help determine seeding and placement for the 64 teams selected for the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Championship. Kansas is projected as one of the top 16 seeds for the NCAA Championship. The Frogs are hopeful of securing a spot in one of the 16 regionals. 

Can the Frogs rally in the last two weekends of conference play? | Emma Swinney for KillerFrogs.com

What's Next For the Frogs?

TCU still has time to steady itself, but the margin for error is gone.

TCU will host Utah in its final home series of the regular season, May 8-10. Utah is the Big 12’s eighth-place team. The Utes have an 11-13 conference record and a 23-19 overall record.

Saarloos will serve the second game of his two-game suspension during TCU’s opening game against Utah on Friday, May 8.

The Frogs will conclude the regular season with a three-game road series against West Virginia, in Morgantown, May 14-16.

The Frogs potentially could sweep Utah and West Virginia.

The Frogs potentially could win the Big 12 Baseball Tournament and earn an automatic NCAA tournament bid.

Join the Conversation on KillerFrogs.com

The schedule offers opportunity. Whether TCU takes advantage of it will determine if this weekend was a wake-up call... or a warning sign.

Was Saarloos' ejection a spark that backfired...or just a symptom of bigger issues?

Sound off now on the forum: Did the moment help - or hurt TCU?