TCU Baseball: The Frogs Cruise to a Series Opening Win vs UCF

The TCU Horned Frogs (29-10) opened up a 3-game series against the UCF Knights (20-17) in Orlando on Thursday evening with a 6-1 win. Tommy LaPour got the start on the mound for the Horned Frogs, and Camden Wicker got the start for the Knights.

TCU came into the series against the Knights having won their last eight conference games, while UCF entered the series coming off a series loss to the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan. With the Frogs' win, TCU moved to 12-4 in conference play, while the Knights fell to 4-12.

Neither team had much success at the plate early in the game as both pitchers looked comfortable in their first couple of innings. TCU finally opened the scoring in the 3rd inning when Sawyer Strosnider grounded into a double-play, scoring Nolan Traeger from 3rd. Cole Cramer extended the Frog lead with a clutch 2-out single to score Jack Bell.

Cramer, the TCU second baseman, ended the night going 3-for-3 at the plate while also making some key defensive plays for the Frogs in the field, including a massive inning-ending double play in the 4th inning. With his performance at the plate on Thursday night, the Washington State transfer is now batting .320 on the season for the Frogs.

a two-out RBI for @cramer_cole gives the Frogs a 2-0 lead in the third. pic.twitter.com/zll8vozoCn
— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) April 17, 2025

The Knights responded in the 4th with their first run of the ballgame with an RBI single from Lex Boedicker. 2 hits and an error resulted in the UCF run, but a double play by the Frogs with runners on the corners ended the rally for the Knights.

It was in the 6th inning that TCU extended their lead with a 2-run opposite field homerun from Chase Brunson. It was Brunson's 10th homerun of the season as he continues to build off of a stellar freshman year for the Frogs in 2024.

double-figures for @ChaseBrunson7 as he extends the tcu lead! pic.twitter.com/ADznFG8X7L
— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) April 17, 2025

Noah Franco was the final TCU hitter to log RBIs in the game. After a Nolan Traeger single into left field, the Frogs saw two quick outs. After stolen bases from Cole Eaton and Strosnider, Cramer walked to load the bases with two outs in the inning. With the bases loaded, Franco had a clutch 2 RBI single up the middle to put the series opener out of reach.

TCU adds two more in the seventh on a bases-loaded knock from Noah Franco. pic.twitter.com/nW6CmyFzSN
— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) April 18, 2025

It was in the latter half of the game that LaPour showed why he's had such dominant outings for TCU this year. While other pitchers see a decrease in their velocity, LaPour has the ability to stay consistent with his fastball even when the pitch count gets up to and over 100.

In the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings, the Wichita State transfer held the Knights scoreless, even pitching around some baserunners in the 7th inning. LaPour threw 7.0 innings on the night, only allowing one run on four hits, logging his 5th straight quality start for the Horned Frogs. LaPour also brought his ERA down to 2.15 with his outing on Thursday night.

Louis Rodriguez closed the game by throwing two scoreless innings in the 8th and 9th to get the Frogs in the win column to open the series in Orlando. The two solid innings from Rodriguez brought his season ERA down to 3.12.

Some other notable performances in the TCU win include Nolan Traeger, along with Karson Bowen. Traeger went 2-for-3 at the plate, logging his 8th career multi-hit game as a Horned Frog, while Bowen logged his 150th career hit with his single in the 3rd inning.

Career hit No. 150 for @BowenKarson pic.twitter.com/u94aQyAZWk
— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) April 17, 2025

TCU is back in action tomorrow with first pitch against UCF set for 5 p.m. Mason Bixby will get the start for the Horned Frogs on Friday as they will look for their 5th straight series win.

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