The Horned Frogs notched a much-needed 5-2 midweek win over the Patriots.

Before tonight, TCU hadn’t won a midweek game since March 19 when the Frogs beat UT Arlington at home 7-3. Led by outfielder Sam Myers, catcher Karson Bowen and first baseman Kurtis Byrne offensively, TCU scored five runs on seven hits.

Head coach Kirk Saarloos said the Frogs, coming off a series loss against Texas, will bounce back by going through the same process as usual. He compared it to the recent buzzer-beater shot by Jamal Murray in the NBA Playoffs.

Murray had missed double-digit shots in a row and wanted to get his team more involved, but they persisted that he keep shooting, leading to his game-winner.

“That’s the same thing,” said Saarloos. “Sometimes, internally, you’re not telling yourself the right things. I don’t think [Murray] does that if it wasn’t for what his teammates were telling him in a tough stretch.”

Bowen said the team’s mentality has been exactly that.

“We’re all going through the same struggle, so everyday we just come in with a great mindset and build each other up,” he said. “The more we build each other up in this hard time, the better we’re going to be.”

Bowen said last year, the team felt like they all got hot right after beating DBU, so the win tonight could be a turning point in the season.

Scoring early and often

The Frogs offense started early when Byrne singled up the middle to score Bowen. Byrne would go on to have two hits and two RBIs.

Myers added on two more runs with a two-out triple in the second. Despite a stumble over second, he knew he was going three all the way.

“I saw him still picking up the ball when I was rounding second,” said Myers. “Honestly, I kind of stumbled going around second, so I freaked out there for a second, but I was going hard out of the box thinking I could get to third.”

Bowen, who has been hitting the ball hard lately with little to show for it, was finally rewarded tonight with a couple hits that were hit pretty soft. He used some baseball wisdom to explain his mindset on it all.

“I saw somewhere that said every time you hit the ball hard you deposit into the bank and when you get a hit you withdraw,” he said. “So when I lined out I’m like ‘alright, I just deposited,’ then tonight I got rewarded.”

Saarloos talked about Bowen’s trend as well and they both agreed: “It’s just baseball.”

The Frogs added a couple more insurance runs–one in the fifth and one in the sixth. After that, it was up to the bullpen.

Pitching prowess

Defensively, the Frogs were sound, committing no errors behind a pitching staff that was perhaps one bad pitch away from shutting out the Patriots.

Starter Caedmon Parker threw two scoreless innings recording two strikeouts, one walk and no hits. He was relieved by Storm Hierholzer, who had the same line as Parker plus two more strikeouts.

“[Parker] got us off to a good start,” said Saarloos. “And I think it was really good to see Storm out there–he threw the ball extremely well.”

Hierholzer handed the ball off to Zack Morris in the fifth, who gave up a pair of hits and struck out three. He gave up one earned run, but it was only a runner he was responsible for after giving the ball to Hunter Hodges.

Hodges came into the game, threw one pitch and gave up a two-run home run. However, he came back and struck the next three batters out in order to keep the Frogs up by three.

“[Hierholzer] and Morris right there in the middle of the game I thought was pivotal,” said Saarloos. “Hunter did everything right, he came in and threw a breaking ball and the guy looked like he was sitting on it, but the big thing was after the homer he strikes out the side–that tells you a lot right there.”

From there, Saarloos went to the big lefty Ben Abeldt for the eight inning setup role, when he notched his 100th career strikeout. Saarloos said he didn’t want Abeldt to have to sit after the eighth and start the ninth, despite the attractive lefty-lefty matchup.

So, Saarloos gave Louis Rodriguez the ball, who was “chomping at the bit” to get the bad taste out of his mouth from his Saturday start when he gave up five earned runs in just 1.2 innings against Texas.

Rodriguez did his job, shutting the door on the Patriots and securing TCU’s 24th win of the season.

Up next

The Frogs will stay at home to host 25-15 Kansas State. The Wildcats are sitting five spots ahead of TCU in the Big 12 standings with a 9-9 conference record. First pitch will be at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday to celebrate Mexican Heritage Day where the Frogs will wear new Ranas Cornudas uniforms.

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— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) April 22, 2024