What Did We Learn From the TCU Weekend Series Win vs. Kansas State

Welcome back to another edition of What Did We Learn. With the return of the baseball season, my weekly article returns, a two-year-long tradition now. At the end of every weekend, I release my weekly "what did we learn"—an opinionated editorial detailing what Frog fans can take away from the week before that might not appear in the box score.

The TCU Horned Frogs may have found something that is contributing to their success, as they have won their second Big 12 series in a row after taking down the Kansas State Wildcats over the Easter weekend.

What exactly can Frog fans take away from the weekend series that might not show up on a box score or as numbers on the season?

You Have to Get Knocked Down

Zack James delivers a pitch vs the Texas Tech Red Raiders | TCU Baseball X/Twitter

It wasn't even more than two weeks that the sky was falling in Fort Worth around Lupton Stadium, as the Frogs dropped their second straight conference series of the season, this time in a home series against the UCF Knights. Now, two weeks later, fans slowly reach out, skeptical if they are allowed to be excited once again this season about the success they have found.

It's funny how baseball works that way. A series loss to the Knights was awful at the time, but so far, they are dominating the rest of the conference and find themselves in first place. The second-place team, you ask? The Kansas Jayhawks, whom the Frogs beat in a mid-week game that wasn't as close as the final score would suggest.

That's baseball, though. Any given day, right?

That's been their mantra this season, and for good reason. They have gone through trials and tribulations this season, spurred by unfortunate injuries, such as the one suffered by their ace Tommy LaPour, or the one that kept two-way sensation Noah Franco sidelined for the season, or even the two that kept critical bullpen pieces such as Louis Rodriguez and Kade Eudy unable to pitch the entire season.

Still, the common theme has been not to quit at any point. That can be said with the utmost confidence. No matter what the score said, or what their situation was, there wasn't a point where you could see them mailing it in, just going through the motions to get to the end of the game.

That stuff is important. That is the difference between a team that will eventually run into luck and uses it to their advantage to turn it into a winning streak, and a team that purposely wastes the good karma heading their way because they don't want it. This team wants it. They know how good they are. They know what they can do when things go their way, and right now, things are going their way.

To Know What It's Like to Get Up

Sawyer Strosnider TCU Baseball TCU Horned Frogs On SI — Sawyer Strosnider doubles into the gap vs the Fresno State Bulldogs. | Brian McLean/KillerFrogs On SI (TCU On SI)

The success isn't blind luck, though, don't get that twisted. Their recent wins have come from players stepping up when they're needed most. Both from new faces and also from players who have been around the sport for a while.

Zack James continues to be an electric arm. He turned in the best outing of his career in the Sunday shutout to secure the series against the Wildcats, and that comes after a gem last weekend, when he had to exit early after being struck by a line drive. Lance Davis continues to show he can be consistent, delivering solid outings. That right there is a lethal 1-2 punch for the Frogs.

That's not even to mention Mason Brassfield, who has had his struggles this season, but if he can turn things around, he is one of the best pitchers in the league. They have found consistency in the bullpen from transfers Tanner Sagouspe and Walter Quinn, both capable of completely neutralizing a lineup.

Freshman catcher Brady Dallimore has become a tremendous piece to a lineup that is clicking at the right time. He hits for power, and more importantly, has become a wall of a backstop. Transfers Jack Bell, Preston Gamster, and Colton Griffin are finally stepping into the roles they thought they could be when they came to Fort Worth.

All three have become valuable pieces of the lineup, giving the Frogs a dangerous one through nine. Then, of course, you have the normal top-end bats: Cole Cramer, Sawyer Strosnider, and Chase Brunson, who can be a pitcher's worst nightmares, with each doing it in completely different ways.

The season is far from over. No one knows what the rest of the season holds, but if this team isn't frisky, or fun, or able to make a run because the talent is still there, well, then that's a negative viewpoint as a fan. This team can win 20-19, or they can win 1-0.

It's any given day, just as baseball was intended.