No. 16 TCU Baseball rode an early offensive explosion and a strong bullpen performance in their 12-4 win over the Abilene Christian Wildcats.

Robert Salazar gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but his error in the bottom half of the frame extended the inning and the Horned Frogs took advantage by way of two-out singles by Josh Watson and Austin Henry to take a 5-1 lead.

“It was a dream come true,” said Henry after playing his first home game in Division I baseball. “I remember these teams with my dad and now that I’m here it’s surreal.”

The redshirt junior transferred to TCU from Walters State Community College.

After TCU starter Haylen Green exited the game in the fourth inning, the TCU bullpen allowed only one run on one hit the rest of the way, but head coach Jim Schlossnagle made it clear there is still work to be done.

“Look at how many guys we walked,” Schlossnagle said. “At one point our bullpen had thrown 43 pitches and 20 of them were strikes.”

Green allowed three runs on three hits in 3.2 innings pitched. He struck out four batters while also walking four.

Catcher Alex Isola added a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth and Hunter Wolfe added a two-run double in the seventh to give TCU its second-straight game with double-digit runs.

Despite his offensive output, Wolfe was more focused on his error in the top of the eighth inning after the game.

“That’s unacceptable,” Wolfe said. “I just lost my focus and the ball sailed on me.”

Both Austin Henry and Hunter Wolfe highlighted the team trying to stay focused during the almost four-hour game.

“I just tried to make a scenario for myself,” Henry said. “Like, what if this is the College World Series and we’re in a one-run game?That’s how I stay focused.”

TCU heads into their weekend series with Grand Canyon University on a three-game win streak that includes a win over number one ranked Vanderbilt.