Feb. 25, 2009

Final Stats

FORT WORTH, Texas - Another solid outing by No. 16 TCU led to its fourth straight victory as the Horned Frogs defeated Texas State 8-2 Wednesday night at Lupton Stadium. The Frogs tallied 12 hits in the game, led by three each from Taylor Featherston and Chris Ellington.

A rocky start to the game saw the Bobcats jump out to an early 2-0 lead. Tyler Sibley walked, but TCU starter Greg Holle eliminated him with a great move to first for the pick off. The out proved big as Bret Atwood singled and Paul Goldschmidt connected for his first home run of the season, putting Texas State in front, 2-0. Holle settled in after the home run and struck out the final two batters in the innings.

The Frogs wasted no time getting the game tied up as they pushed across two runs in the bottom of the first. Matt Carpenter drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a base hit from Ellington. A wild pitch moved the runners up 90 feet and Matt Curry worked another walk to load the bases. A two-out single off the bat of Featherston tied the game at two.

On the mound, Holle (1-0) kept the Bobcats in check as he retired 12 of the next 14 batters he faced, allowing the Frogs to gain control of the contest.

TCU took the lead in the third inning, picking up two runs on three hits to go up 4-2. Carpenter doubled to lead off the frame and moved to third on an error by the shortstop. Another wild pitch by Bobcat starter Michael Russo allowed Carpenter to score the go-ahead run. A Curry double scored Ellington with the second run of the inning.

Texas State tried to mount a two-out rally in the fourth inning as they loaded the bases, but Eric Marshall got Goldschmidt to bounce out to second, ending the inning with the Frog lead still intact.

The Frogs put the game out of reach with a four-run sixth inning. Nine batters came to the plate for the Frogs as they scored four times on five hits. Jimmie Pharr opened the inning with a double for his first hit of the 2009 campaign. Brance Rivera pinch ran for Pharr and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Carpenter. Ellington followed with his second hit of the night, driving in Carruthers, who had reached on an infield single.

A walk to Curry and a base hit by Jason Coats loaded the bases for Featherston, who delivered the second sacrifice fly of the inning. Matt Vern drove in the final run of the inning with a base hit up the middle to make it an 8-2 contest.

The Frog bullpen dominated the final 4 1/3 innings as they limited the Bobcats to just three hits. Following Marshall's 1 1/3 innings of work, Paul Gerrish and Kaleb Merck each tossed a scoreless inning. Kyle Winkler and Derek VerHagen combined to close the door on Texas State in the ninth to give the Frogs the win.

Holle earned his first victory of the season, allowing two runs on three hits with three walks and five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings of work.

The Frogs will hit the road for four straight beginning with a three-game series at No. 11 Ole Miss on Friday. TCU will be playing in its second straight road series against a ranked-opponent this season. First pitch for Friday's opener is set for 6:30 p.m. at the newly-renovated Oxford-University Stadium.