Feb. 26, 2008
Final Stats
FORT WORTH, Texas - A pair of three-run innings and outstanding pitching led the TCU Horned Frogs to a 6-1 victory over Dallas Baptist Tuesday night at Lupton Stadium. The Frogs put up three in the first inning and never looked back as the trio of
Paul Gerrish,
Trent Appleby and
Sean Hoelscher held the Patriot bats in check.
Bryan Kervin and
Matt Carpenter each drove in two for TCU.
Ben Carruthers took a Victor Black offering off the left side with one out in the first to start the rally. Matt Vern followed with a walk and Hunt Woodruff drew a two-out walk to load the bases.
Carruthers looked like he would be thrown out trying to retreat to third base on what was almost a wild pitch, but Patriot catcher Brandon Bantz's throw ricocheted off Carruthers arm and he was able to score on the error to give TCU a 1-0 lead. Kervin laced a single up the middle to clear the bases and put the Frogs in the driver's seat.
Gerrish (1-0) was light's out in his 4 2/3 innings of work as he held the Patriots to just four hits. He walked one and struck out four. The only blemish on his line was a third inning run that cut the Frog lead to 3-1. JT Bloodworth took a one-out pitch off the arm and Jason Krizan reached on an error to put two on. Austin Knight doubled home Bloodworth and the Patriots had two runners in scoring position.
Gerrish worked out of the jam, getting Evan Bigley to pop out to Vern at first base and Kervin squelched the inning with a nice play on a slow roller off the bat of Nick Santos to preserve the Frog lead.
In the fifth, the Patriots once again looked poised to crack into the Frog lead, but another outstanding play from the Frogs' defense ended the threat. With two outs, Knight drew a walk and Bigley followed with a single. Relief pitcher Trent Appleby gave up a line drive single to left that Knight tried to score on from second. Left fielder Aaron Schultz unleashed a perfect throw that beat Knight to the plate and catcher Bryan Holaday applied the tag to end the inning.
The Frogs tacked on three runs in the seventh inning to extend their lead to 6-1. Carruthers was hit by the pitch for the second time in the game and moved to second on a Vern base knock. The duo executed a double steal, with Carruthers sliding into third just under the tag to put two runners in scoring position. Matt Carpenter doubled off the wall in center to drive in the two runs, but was erased trying to stretch it into a triple. Woodruff followed with a solo home run to account for the final score.
Appleby worked 3 1/3 scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits, while striking out three. Sean Hoelscher made his collegiate debut in the ninth. After walking the first two batters, he settled in and struck out two of the next three batters to seal the Horned Frog victory.
The Frogs improve to 2-2 with the victory. They will get their first taste of life on the road this weekend when they head to Minneapolis, Minn. to take part in the Dairy Queen Classic hosted by Minnesota. TCU will square off against the host school on Friday night at 6:35 p.m.
Game Notes:
• The Frogs have now won 69 straight contests when leading after eight innings. They are 148-2 in that situation under Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle.
• Hunt Woodruff's home run in the seventh was the first one of the season for TCU.
• Matt Vern and Hunt Woodruff have hit safely in all four games this.
• Aaron Schultz had two outfield assists in the contest and is riding a three-game hitting streak.
