TCU's Bats Fall Silent in Series Finale vs UCF, Horned Frogs Fall to 2-4 in Big 12 Play

It was a rough day at the ballpark for the TCU Horned Frogs. After shutting out the UCF Knights on Saturday to even the series, TCU struggled to get anything going in the series finale, dropping the matchup by a score of 9-1.

The Knights jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, and really controlled the pace of the game for the rest of the afternoon. Trever Baumler got the start for the Frogs, but lasted just two innings. Zack James logged 4.2 innings in relief for TCU, but a relentless UCF lineup still managed to reach 17 hits on the day.

With the loss on Sunday, TCU moved to 13-10 on the season and 2-4 in conference play. While both the Knights and the Sun Devils have both gotten off to hot starts this season, many surrounding the TCU baseball program expected this team to be further along by late March.

While TCU is certainly dealing with some notable injuries, the Horned Frogs mustered just three hits on the day. Sawyer Strosnider's solo home run in the seventh inning was the only reason TCU didn't get shutout by UCF's pitching staff.

Where the Frogs Go From Here

If there was one clear takeaway from Kirk Saarloos’ post‑series presser, it’s that this team cares. The “players‑only” meeting made that obvious. TCU, like several other talented programs that have underachieved early, is determined to sort out its struggles sooner rather than later.

"They had to get some stuff right as a group, in terms of upholding our core values...," Saarloos said. "...We talked about it, and they ultimately needed to get some stuff out about what this place and what these standards mean...Sometimes you need to have a family get-together and make sure everyone's on the same page."

"Them doing it (the meeting) with themselves, I think a lot more things come out when coaches aren't in there. I think it's a positive in terms of their care factor of wanting to get this thing going in the right direction."

And let’s be clear: the Frogs do need to snap out of this funk sooner rather than later. After knocking off Arkansas and Vanderbilt on opening weekend, their only series win since has come against Tulane and New Haven. It’s still early, but TCU is already falling behind some of the other programs in the Big 12.

When HornedFrogBlitz's Jamie Plunkett asked Saarloos about how he and assistant coach Dave Lawn were approaching the pitching struggles, the head coach responded by saying that Saturday-starter Lance Davis has given the pitching staff the blueprint to success. It just comes down to execution.

"It's simple, and we've shown the numbers, and we've shown exactly what we need to do," Saarloos said. "When we're up, just like Baumler was today, we're not good. When we execute pitches down, like Davis did, we're good."

"Is it not relying on your training and trying too hard? Probably. Is there some belief and doubt? Yeah, probably. But ultimately, you've got to break down that door and be able to be consistently at the bottom (of the zone). It's staggering in terms of when we're at the bottom of the zone as opposed to when we're at the top of the zone."

The last statement stuck out to me, personally. For those that don't know, I'm an assistant coach for a high school-level baseball team that travels around Texas during the summer. While I won't claim to know as much as Saarloos, his statements reminded me that, at the end of the day, players have to execute when necessary.

I don't say that as a dig at TCU's players, nor the coaching staff. Execution is a fundamental law of baseball. Until the Horned Frogs start executing the little things consistently, especially on the pitching side, the results won't change. As Saarloos said, the blueprint for success is there. TCU isn't playing good baseball right now, but that doesn't mean they can't turn a corner.

What's Next for the Frogs?

TCU goes on the road to face Dallas Baptist on Tuesday, March 24, needing a clean, confident response after another tough weekend. From there, the focus shifts to a huge home Big 12 series against conference rival, Texas Tech, from March 27-29. If the Frogs can't take that series, the climb in conference play gets a lot steeper. They'll then return home to face Lamar on March 31.

A strong midweek could steady TCU before conference pressure intensifies.