TCU Baseball: Frogs Win Season Opener in Dramatic Fashion
Lupton Magic - The Arizona Version was on full swing in the desert last night. The TCU Horned Frogs opened up the 2022 season with a dramatic comeback win 5-3 over the San Diego State Aztecs.
TCU is playing in the MLB4 Tournament to open the season. The tournament is a round-robin event featuring the Horned Frogs, the Aztecs, the California Golden Bears, and the Houston Cougars. This was the first career win for new head coach Kirk Saarloos.
TCU got off to an early start. As the designated visitors, they were at the plate first. Brayden Taylor, batting third and with two outs, got his first double of the night. Next up at the plate was David Bishop who got his first collegiate hit on the first pitch he faced. Taylor was able to score from 2nd Base, giving the Frogs an early 1-0 lead. For the freshman, from Marietta, Georgia, this would not be his only RBI of the night.
Starting pitcher Austin Krob got into some trouble early in the game loading the bases in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Centerfielder Elijah Nunez saved the potential grand slam catching the ball near the wall in left center to end the inning. Krob pitched four innings with four hits, no runs, no errors, one walk, and seven strikeouts.
In the top of the sixth, Gray Rodgers doubled and was brought home on a base hit by Kurtis Byrne, giving the Frogs a 2-0 lead.
The wheels came off for the Frogs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Tommy Sacco got an error on a ground ball that put a runner on first. Augie Mihlbauer, pitching in relief, added a wild pitch and suddenly the Aztecs had the bases loaded. This led to a 3-run inning for the Aztecs, giving them a 3-2 lead that they carried all the way into the 9th inning.
Then it was Magic Time! Lupton Magic that is, with an Arizona twist. Nine Frogs would take to the plate in the top of the ninth. Logan Maxwell got a lead off walk. Nunez was up next and got a base hit putting runners at first and second. Taylor came to the plate with one out and got his second double of the night, scoring Maxwell and tying the game. Bishop, again attacking the first pitch, hit in the go-ahead run from Nunez, making the score 4-3. Later in the inning, a bases loaded wild pitch would give the Frogs one more insurance run, taking a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
River Ridings came in as the closer. He only allowed one hit, got one strikeout, and earned his second career save. Marcelo Perez, who pitched the 7th and 8th innings and retired all six batters he faced, was credited with the win.
Next up: The Frogs take on the Cal Golden Bears today at 2 p.m. CST. Cal beat Houston in the opening game of the MLB4 tournament on Friday. TCU will take on Houston tomorrow morning. Playing Cal today brings back a memory of that infamous Cheez-It Bowl game that was played in Phoenix. So, it's another meeting of the two teams in the same metro area. Surely we won't see the baseball version of that game!
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Killer Frogs message board community today!
Follow KillerFrogs on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest TCU news! Follow KillerFrogs on Facebook and Instagram as well. Download the KillerFrogs app on Google Play or in the Apple App Store.