What Did We Learn After TCU Swept Utah?

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' regular season has just one weekend left, and after a critical sweep over the Utah Utes, they find themselves in a precarious position, looking to fight their way into the postseason still.

So after a wekeend sweep, and with one series remaining, what did we learn from the Frogs this past weekend, and what does it tell us about the rest of the season, however long that might be.

The Frogs Bought Themselves Another Chance

TCU outfielder Sawyer Strosnider throws up the Frog symbol after hitting his first homerun of the year vs. the Vanderbilt Commodores. | Brian McLean KillerFrogs/ TCU on SI

The last week of the regular season is here for TCU Baseball. Now, whether that's a sigh of relief or just the beginning of anxiety depends on how the season has been viewed. It was a rollercoaster, with more twists and turns than one would like, but performance weekends have kept the Frogs' postseason hopes alive and well.

A sweep two weekends ago, at the hands of the Oklahoma State Cowboys, left little room for error with the Utes coming to town for the last home series of the year. The Frogs, as they have grown accustomed to doing this season, performed with their back against the wall.

That's important, and often times overlooked, as the "expected" thing to do, but not always. For the Frogs, in a critical season under head coach Kirk Saarloos, the year isn't done, and with a season finale against the red-hot West Virginia Mountaineers, the story isn't done being written yet either.

TCU currently sits at No. 44 in RPI and will face a Mountaineers squad that is the highest RPI-ranked team in the conference, currently at No. 18. By all accounts, and it feels weird to say, but at the bare minimum, the Frogs can't afford to be swept (but that can be said about any weekend of the season).

Let's say the worst-case scenario does happen, and the Frogs get swept by WVU. Well, based on Warren Nolan, one of the leading sites for college baseball RPI, they have the Frogs being swept, and it would only drop their RPI down to No. 46. Not horrendous, and not bad enough to ruin anything, and with a good showing in the Big 12 tournament, it should get them in.

Perhaps more importantly, though, the weekend presents itself as another Quad One opportunity. An area they desperately need some markup applied to, to keep them safely on the right side of the bubble if they enter that conversation. The Frogs are 5-10 in that category, and can, at minimum, make themselves 8-10. A better mark that carries more weight.

Why "Just Getting In" Matters

Tommy LaPour's Return — TCU Horned Frogs Starting Pitcher Tommy LaPour coming off the mound | TCU Baseball X

Baseball is a finicky sport. It always has been. That quirk, which allows any given team to win on any given day, potentially, is the cinderella story that keeps fans coming back for more. Calling the Frogs a "Cinderella" team might be too much, since they were a top-ranked preseason team, but an argument could be made that's what they will be if they make the dance.

What matters more is getting hot at the right time, which is exactly what a weekend against a surging Mountaineers team could do. That success, if they have any, could easily snowball into Big 12 tournament wins, into regional performances, and beyond.

Fans saw it happen last season, when a school like Mercer, which was red-hot, became the unlikely storyline of Omaha. The Frogs have the talent, are getting their gusto back, and now just need the wins to propel them into that streak.

The tournament, for which it is so dearly loved, is a weekend series with the potential for one extra game. The Frogs have four quality starting pitchers, which other teams don't have. They have a lineup that has proven what it can do, albeit with struggles at times, and they have proven what their capabilities are one through nine.

The Frogs won't get a high seed, and there is no effective guarantee they will be in at all, but building on a sweep against the Utes is the priority here. The roster is still a team that no one wants to see when the tournament begins, and now it's just a matter of proving that.

What's Next for TCU Baseball

TCU's finale regular season series is Thursday @ 5:30 PM, Friday @ 5:30 PM and Saturday at noon. All games game be streamed on ESPN+.

The Horned Frogs are 11-7 when playing the Mountaineers in Morgantown.

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