It may not be the Red River Shootout, but one team from Texas and one team from Oklahoma will be meeting in Fort Worth this weekend for a chance to gain some national recognition.The No. 16, Horned Frogs (3-1) baseball team will be matched with the No. 27 Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles (2-0) in what could be an early season preview of a postseason contest.
“We’re excited to play against a program that is a perennial NCAA tournament team,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said.
The Horned Frogs will be putting Jake Arrieta (1-0) on the mound in game one of the series against Chris Ashman (1-0) of ORU in a battle of right-handed aces.
“Jake is a power arm, but Ashman is a competitor and he is the kind of guy you have to worry about,” Schlossnagle said.
Arrieta was a preseason All-American nominee who posted a 14-4 record last year and a team-leading 2.35 earned-run average. While on the mound against the Golden Eagles, he will have to find a way to cool off an offense which has scored 25 runs in its first two games.
Ashman had comparable numbers to TCU’s ace with a 10-1 record and a 2.17 ERA.
“Ashman is a tough kid and an athlete,” Oral Roberts’ head coach Rob Walton said, but he said he’s concerned about his younger players.
“We’ve got a newer group on the mound and they will take their lumps early, but we’ll have the opportunity to develop them throughout the year.”
The Frogs’ offense will be keyed by senior outfielders Keith Conlon and Austin Adams and senior third baseman Steven Trout. Trout is leading the team with seven RBIs this season.
On paper, Conlon’s 2006 statistics measure up close to those of the Golden Eagles’ senior infielder Jake Kahaulelio. Both hit four home runs last season and had an average of more than .300, but Kahaulelio had more RBIs during the 2006 campaign. Conlon is riding a recent surge in which he is hitting .643 through the first four games of the season.
“I’m seeing the ball really well right now,” Conlon said. “I am trying to keep the ball up the middle or go the other way with it.”
Though no scouting report has come out about the ORU pitching staff, Conlon said he will keep his same approach at the plate.
Walton said the Golden Eagles biggest offensive threat will come from senior infielder Chad Rothford. Rothford had a home run and a pair of doubles in last weekend’s sweep of the Missouri Southern Lions. Rothford’s 2006 numbers are almost identical to those of junior Horned Frogs catcher Andrew Walker. Walker’s 42 RBIs in 2006 had him second to Chad Huffman on the TCU leader board.
Walker scored the game winning run against the Patriots after stealing home in the twelfth inning.
The near identical line statistics from 2006 show power in both pitching and at the plate from both teams, but the true test will be on the field at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Lupton Stadium.
“They are well coached, and are traditionally a strong program who won’t beat themselves,” Schlossnagle said.
