The No. 7 TCU Horned Frogs (10-2) held onto their one run lead to down the Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-7) Friday night at Lupton Stadium, 8-7.

The win was sealed after Texas Tech’s Jamodrick McGruder was picked off by redshirt sophomore third baseman Aaron Schultz in the final inning.

TCU’s starting pitcher, junior Steven Maxwell, tallied four strike outs in the first three innings of play.

But it was junior Trent Appleby that came through for the Horned Frogs, earning his first win of the season after pitching four innings without walking a batter.

“Trent’s always been a strike thrower, which is what you need,” said head coach Jim Schlossnagle. “I thought he threw well.”

Texas Tech took advantage of TCU’s two lone errors in the first inning, which gave the Red Raiders a 1-0 advantage, their only lead of the game.

The Horned Frogs established their lead during their first at bat. Sophomore Jason Coats singled up the middle, driving in two runs.

A single by freshman Kyle Vontungeln and double by senior Matt Curry paced the Frogs four runs in the second inning.

TCU’s starting pitcher, junior Steven Maxwell, tallied four strike outs in the first three innings of play. Maxwell allowed only two hits, one of which was a three-run homer hit by Red Raider Scott LeJuene.

One additional run in the third placed TCU at a 7-4 advantage before Appleby was brought in from the bullpen at the top of the fourth.

Jeremy Mayo of Texas Tech, the first batter to face Appleby, produced a two run homer on a full count pitch.

Appleby didn’t let this hit faze him. “I knew we still had the lead; I just needed to go out, keep the lead, and get everyone back to the dugout.”

TCU capitalized off of Texas Tech’s mistakes in the sixth. Coats reached on a fielding error by third base, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and even made it to third on a passed ball. He eventually scored on a ground out to second by Curry.

A triple by Texas Tech’s McGruder put him in position to score when teammate Joey Kenworthy fouled out to left field in the seventh inning, which cut TCU’s lead to only one run.

Sophomore Erik Miller pitched for an inning before fellow sophomore Kaleb Merck closed the game, earning his second save of season and clinching the victory for the team.