TCU Bats Power Horned Frogs to Two Straight Wins Over Air Force

TCU overpowers Air Force in two-game midweek tilt.

Nolan Traeger on base against Air Force on Wednesday | X: @TCU_Baseball

TCU's offense sprang to life in back-to-back run-rule wins over Air Force this week, scoring 28 runs over 14 innings and giving the Horned Frogs a much needed bounce back following a weekend series loss to Southern Mississippi.

Tuesday's game against the Falcons saw TCU score 17 runs on 10 hits. Two Horned Frogs homered in the win. Third baseman Jack Bell sent a solo shot over the center field wall in the bottom of the third inning and center fielder Chase Brunson hit a three-run blast to left center in the fifth inning. Brunson finished the game with one hit, two walks and a team-high three RBI. Leadoff man Sam Myers also contributed three RBI, scoring one runner in the second inning due to a throwing error and two runs in the third with an RBI double.

Isaac Cadena, Anthony Silva and Sawyer Strosnider all contributed two RBI. Silva and Strosnider led the unit with two hits apiece.

Junior right-hander Louis Rodriguez got the start on the mound for TCU and turned in a solid 3.2-inning outing. While five Air Force runs were scored under his watch, only one of them was earned; the other four runs came thanks to a pair of defensive errors in the first and fourth innings. Rodriguez allowed three hits, walked two batters and struck out four.

Redshirt freshman righty Carson Cormier entered the game in relief of Rodriguez in the fourth inning. Cormier pitched 1.1 innings and struck out three of the four batters he saw, holding the Falcons runless and hitless and earning the win. Mason Bixby threw nine pitches in the sixth inning, but allowed one run and was pulled before recording an out.

Freshman Nate Stern pitched the last two innings of the game, allowing just one hit and striking out five Falcons. The game ended following the top of the seventh inning due to a run-rule. TCU won the ballgame 17-6.

The Frogs picked up right where they left off on Wednesday, the second night of the two-game series with Air Force. After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, TCU scored 11 unanswered runs on its way to an 11-1 win.

Right fielder Strosnider was hot once again. He went 3/4 and led the team with three RBI thanks to a two-run double down the right field line in the second inning and a one-run single in the third. Silva stood out again, racking up another two RBI on a two-run double in the sixth inning. Myers, Cramer, Brunson and Franco all recorded RBIs as well.

TCU only deployed three pitchers compared to Tuesday night's four-pitcher arsenal. Zack James started the game for the Horned Frogs and picked up his second win of the season, pitching four innings, allowing three hits and one run. Franco took over in the fifth and struck out five batters over two innings of work. In the seventh, Kole Klecker made his long-awaited season debut, allowing no runs or hits and recording one strikeout. Once again, the game was called early due to a run rule, and TCU won 11-1.

The Frogs' dominant two-game display brought the team's record to 9-4. TCU will host Fresno State this weekend, with the first pitch of the three-game series taking place on Friday at 6 p.m.

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