TCU Baseball Hosts Dallas Baptist For Midweek Rivalry

There's no breaks in the late-season slate as TCU welcomes Dallas Baptist to Fort Worth in the second of a midweek rivalry series.

Coming off a tough series loss at Texas, the TCU Horned Frogs (23-15, 8-13 Big 12) could use a breather. Unfortunately, they don't get one. On Tuesday, the Dallas Baptist Patriots (28-10, 7-5 CUSA) hit I-20 West for the second of a home-and-home series between these cross-Metroplex rivals. TCU took the first game in Dallas last month and looks to sweep DBU for the second straight year.

TCU vs. DBU begins Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. CT. Catch the game on ESPN+, 88.7 FM KTCU, or at Lupton Stadium.

TCU Hosts Dallas Baptist For Midweek Rivalry

For nearly 50 years, TCU and Dallas Baptist faced off in a cross-Metro rivalry. The Frogs have found themselves on top more often than not, holding a 54-31 record (.635) all-time, but the Patriots have controlled this series of late. TCU is 4-6 in the last 10 matchups and lost five in a row between 2019-22 (2020's games were cancelled). But TCU swept DBU for the first time since 2017 last year and look to complete another sweep Tuesday.

TCU comes into the game holding an active 18-inning scoring drought. The dropped the final two games at Texas without scoring a run after blanking the Longhorns 5-0 on Friday night. The Frogs now sit 7.5 games back of first place in the Big 12 with just 10 conference games to go.

Dallas Baptist also comes off a series loss, a surprising 1-2 tilt at home to Louisiana Tech. DBU has now lost six of its last nine Conference USA games, but did add a victory over Oklahoma State in the mix. As a result, Dallas Baptist fell outside of D1 Baseball's latest top 25 rankings, the first time since Week 2. In Week 7, they peaked at eighth nationally.

Sizing Up DBU

Although the bats haven't been all that explosive over the last three weeks, it's been Dallas Baptist's pitching that's let them down. During an 11-1 stretch from March 15 through April 2, the Patriots allowed just 2.92 runs per game, surrendering more than five runs just twice. Over their last 10 games, that's climbed to five runs per game and they've only held opponents under that mark once in their last six games.

But that's not to say blame isn't had for the offense in contests like a 4-1 loss to Western Kentucky or a 5-3 loss to Louisiana Tech. The rhythm hasn't been there for either side.

Historically, DBU focuses on a high team batting average. Currently, the lineup's .299 sits 54th and is exactly on-par with last year's final mark. But over the Patriots' last 10 games, that average dipped to .246, paired with a drop in scoring. The bats still pressure opposing offenses, putting plenty of guys on base – something TCU has not done effectively this season.

Third baseman Michael Dattalo leads the team with a .353 average while catcher Grant Jay tops any player in this game with 13 home runs. First baseman Chayton Krauss might be the most dangerous hitter in the lineup, batting both .346 and knocking 12 homers this year, although he has a propensity to swing and miss (40 strikeouts, second-most on DBU).

Overall, the lineup is aggressive, with no regular starter drawing more walks than times striking out. They don't dominate with extra-base hits, but DBU plans to overwhelm TCU's pitching staff with small ball and advancing runners.

Pitching Matchup

Sophomore Jerrod Jenkins (1-0, 5.20 ERA) likely takes the mound first Tuesday. He's gotten the nod each of DBU's last three midweek games, all of which resulted in victory. However, against Oklahoma State, Jenkins lasted just two innings, allowing four runs before giving way to a pitcher-by-committee approach in Stillwater.

In DBU's prior Tuesday matchup (April 2), Jenkins posted a bizarre outing, lasting only 2.2 innings against Tarleton State. Despite not allowing a single hit, he allowed three runs, earned by hitting three batters and issuing a pair of walks.

Given Jenkins' recent struggles, it wouldn't be a shock to see DBU change things up.

Braeden Sloan (3-3, 7.91) last took the midweek start but, given a seven-run inning meltdown against Abilene Christian, Kirk Saarloos may look elsewhere. Sloan turned in an inning of cleanup duty Saturday in Austin in the 7-0 loss.

Almost every arm on the staff saw some work this weekend with 13 total pitchers getting work in. Notably, Ben Hampton (1-1, 7.11) did not. Should Sloan not take the bump first, Hampton may be the man for the job.

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