The 12th-ranked TCU baseball team will travel north to Norman, Okla., Tuesday night for a showdown with No. 14 University of Oklahoma.
Tuesday’s game will be the first time the Frogs have played on opposing turf since March 20. TCU has played 13 consecutive home games, finishing that stretch 10-3.
Despite the implications that go along with two top 25 opponents facing off in April, head coach Jim Schlossnagle said this game doesn’t make or break the season for TCU.
“No game or series defines any season in baseball,” Schlossnagle said. “We have been playing good baseball, and so we look forward to the chance to continue that against Oklahoma.”
The Sooners fell four spots in Baseball America’s Top 25 rankings this week from No. 10 to No. 14 after going 2-2 this week.
Oklahoma lost two out of three games in its last series against Kansas State. That series followed a five-game win streak in which the Sooners put up a combined 58 runs.
The Frogs climbed from No. 15 to the No. 12 spot after a 4-1 record during a busy week.
Schlossnagle said the team was feeling good about things at this point in the season.
“I think we are playing with confidence right now, which is good,” Schlossnagle said. “We have different guys giving us something different every day.”
Senior Steven Maxwell was named the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week after his complete-game performance against New Mexico. Maxwell gave up just two runs in the game. The honor is the fifth of the season for the TCU pitching staff.
Schlossnagle said the pitching staff is in a better place now than it was a couple weeks ago.
The Frogs’ pitching staff has been strong thus far, with an overall earned run average of 2.51.
The Achilles’ heel for TCU pitchers this season has been the ninth inning, with the Frogs outscored 23-7. It is the only inning in which the Frogs have a combined deficit. The Frogs’ strongest inning has been the first inning, in which they have combined to outscore opponents 25-6.
The Frogs plated 89 runs over their season-long 13-game homestand. Junior shortstop Taylor Featherston said the offense has been better lately because the players aren’t trying to do it by themselves.
“We just try to scratch a run or two every inning and trust the guy next to you,” Featherston said.
Oklahoma is the first 2010 College World Series team the Frogs have played this season. The Sooners lost to Clemson in the second round of the College World Series last season.
The Frogs go to L. Dale Mitchell Park with a road record of 6-2 on the year, while the Sooners boast a 17-3 home record.
TCU at Oklahoma
When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: L. Dale Mitchell Park, Norman, Okla.
Radio: KTCU-FM 88.7
Online: Watch live on gofrogs.com or follow on Gametracker.