In order to open their third consecutive Fort Worth Regional with a win, the Frogs needed Andrew Mitchell to step up or the bats to come alive. Instead, TCU got both as the Frogs used a dominant performance from Mitchell and several big innings at the plate to rout the Golden Eagles on Friday night, 10-2.
Coach Schlossnagle said he was pleased with Mitchell’s performance and confident going forward with Matt Purke and Kyle Winkler’s arms still fresh.
Michell picked up the win by going for seven innings, giving up no runs against just two hits. Kyle Starratt came in during the eighth inning and Tyler Duffie paired with Teddy Nowell combined to close out the ninth inning to preserve the victory for the Frogs.
Alex Gonzales was credited with the loss for Oral Roberts. TCU’s ten runs came off of twelve hits and the Frogs committed zero errors in the contest. The defensive effort meant that no Patriot runner advanced past second until the ninth inning. Jantzen Witte went three for four with three RBIs and a run of his own in a standout hitting performance.
Joe Weik kicked off the scoring barrage in the first when his outfield single brought in Kyle Von Tungeln, who walked to lead off the game.
In the second inning, the Frogs netted four runs with three scores coming with two outs. Jerome Pena’s single into the outfield scored Zac Jordan, but Pena advanced to second when right fielder Nick Baligod bobbled the ball. From there, Pena scored on Witte’s single. At the end of two innings, the Frogs had already built a 5-0 lead that Mitchell had no intention of relinquishing.
Throughout his seven innings, Mitchell used only 69 pitches in giving up just one walk along with his two hits. Oral Roberts only seriously looked like scoring once throughout the game.
After Mitchell hit the leadoff batter in the sixth, it looked like he was going to give up a two-run homer. But Brance Rivera robbed his second home run of the season, going over the rightfield wall and improbably coming down with the ball.
In the sixth inning, TCU added three more runs to their lead. A Zac Jordan sac fly brought in Taylor Featherston and Witte’s single two hitters later brought in Pena and Von Tungeln.
TCU got its last two of the night when Brance Rivera led off the eighth inning with a single and Brett Johnson, pinch hitting for Zac Jordan, jacked his second home run of the season.
In the ninth inning, Oral Roberts allowed two additional runs. A bloop single and a walked-in run saw Tyler Duffie’s night end early. Teddy Nowell came in and struck out the final batter.
TCU’s playoff run will continue tomorrow at 7 p.m. against Dallas Baptist University. DBU, which beat Oklahoma once earlier in the year, beat the Sooners 3-2 in ten innings of play. TCU was swept in their two-game series against DBU earlier this year, however none of TCU’s usual weekend starters have seen action against the Patriots.