TCU defeated No.22 Kansas 14-1. The TCU hitters showed out tonight as they scored 14 runs on 16 hits with five of those being extra base hits.
First baseman Karson Bowen led the game off with a triple on a line drive to left-center field. It kicked away from the outfielders allowing Bowen to reach third. Designated hitter Sawyer Strosnider followed up with a triple of his own as he ripped the ball down the first base line and into the right field corner.
Second baseman Cole Cramer would bring him home on a single that the shortstop couldn’t corral, making the score 2-0 in the first inning.
The second inning was a big one for TCU. They plated seven runs on six hits. Third baseman Jack Bell got the scoring started as he launched a two-run home run. It was his fifth of the year and it came off the bat at 107 miles per hour.
Cramer added to his RBI total with a two-run single. Center fielder Chase Brunson capped the inning off with a three-run home run. That was his eighth home run of the year. This made the score 9-0.
TCU would extend their lead to double digits in the fifth inning when catcher Nolan Traeger hit a sacrifice fly to center field, which scored Brunson.
Kansas starting pitcher Dominic Voegele allowed 10 runs in five innings of work on 11 hits with three strikeouts and two walks.
Kansas would get on the board in the sixth inning with a solo home run from center fielder Derek Cerda, his seventh home run of the year. This cut the TCU lead to 10-1.
The Horned Frogs would put their lead back into double digits in the sixth inning. Strosnider would deliver with a RBI single and Cramer would add onto it with a sacrifice fly to score Bowen, putting 12-1 on the board.
In the seventh inning, pinch hitter Preston Gamster added a run on a fielder’s choice to third base. Strosnider would add onto the lead with a RBI single, giving TCU a 14-1 lead.
Every TCU hitter that started the game got a hit. Strosnider went four-for-five with three RBI’s and two runs scored. Cramer went two-for-three with four RBI’s and a run scored.
Right-hander Tommy LaPour set his career-high strikeouts with 11 in seven innings while only allowing one run on three hits along with three walks.
LaPour talked about his approach and what went well. “I had really good feel for my pitches. I got some chases out of the zone and I was aggressive early and that really worked,” he said.
Right-hander Cohen Feser pitched a perfect eighth inning and picked up a strikeout. Carson Cormier pitched a scoreless ninth inning with no hits and struck out the side.
Coach Kirk Saarloos talked about what worked well for his team saying,”Extra base hits are huge in baseball, you can poke someone’s eye out with a bunch of singles. Sometimes when you can those extra base hits, those can be huge for an offense.”
Game two of the series will be on April 12 at 2 p.m. as TCU looks to win the series.
