Baseball: No. 22 TCU opens 2025 season with sweep at San Diego

The Horned Frogs took all four games over the Toreros this past weekend.

The 2025 baseball season opened in a big way for the TCU Horned Frogs, who ventured out west and took all four of their nonconference games against San Diego for a sweep of the Toreros. After an extra-inning victory on Friday, TCU broke out the bats over the next three contests, averaging almost 10 runs per game to end the four-game set with a 4-0 record. The Horned Frogs will return to Texas and take on a trio of tough opponents during the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington. TCU will face Michigan, Arkansas and Kansas State over a three-day weekend period beginning this Friday.

Friday: TCU 5, San Diego 4 (10)

Caedmon Parker took the mound to start the season-opener, throwing four and one-third innings with five strikeouts, three walks and three earned runs. The Horned Frogs trailed early, facing a 2-0 deficit after two innings before the Toreros added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Isaac Cadena drove in TCU’s first runs of the season, belting a two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning for his first home run as a Horned Frog.

TCU tied the game in the top of the seventh inning, where Karson Bowen launched a ball to deep center that evaded a diving defender and rolled to the wall, enabling Bowen to hustle all the way around the bases for a two-run, inside-the-park home run. On the mound, TCU turned to left-hander Braeden Sloan, who relieved Parker and fired eight strikeouts over four innings. Sloan, who didn’t allow an earned run over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, helped the Horned Frogs keep the game tied at 4-4 after nine frames to go to extras.

Cole Cramer earned his first RBI as a Horned Frog in the top of the 10th inning, sending a sacrifice fly into right field to give TCU a 5-4 lead. Louis Rodriguez relieved Sloan in the ninth inning and returned to the mound for the bottom of the 10th inning, keeping the Toreros off the board to seal the victory. TCU drew seven walks in the victory.

Saturday: TCU 9, San Diego 2

Wichita State transfer Tommy LaPour turned in an excellent debut for the Horned Frogs, throwing six innings while striking out five and holding San Diego scoreless. TCU took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, where Chase Brunson smashed his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field. Freshman Nolan Traeger crushed his first career homer in the top of the fifth inning, sending one over the right-field wall to put TCU ahead 3-0.

An RBI single from San Diego and an RBI groundout from TCU’s Cole Cramer gave the Horned Frogs a 4-1 lead entering the top of the ninth inning, where TCU sealed its win with a five-run outburst highlighted by a grand slam from Texas A&M transfer Jack Bell. Anthony Silva started the rally with an RBI single up the middle to bring home Jack Arthur. Cohen Feser took the ball to close the game, throwing one inning in his return from a injury.

Sunday: TCU 13, San Diego 5

The Horned Frogs lit up the scoreboard in Game 3, exploding for nine runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 10-0 lead over the Toreros. Freshman Noah Franco was a one-man highlight reel during the fourth inning, belting a pair of two-run homers as the Horned Frogs hit around the order. Chase Brunson laced a two-run single after his sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning gave TCU a 1-0 advantage. Cole Cramer added an RBI single and Karson Bowen powered a two-run triple into center field to drive home Cramer and Brunson.

Freshman Trever Baumler took the ball to start the game, firing five innings with five strikeouts while holding the Toreros to three runs in his collegiate debut. Mason Bixby followed Baumler with two frames of relief, striking out four San Diego batters and limiting the Toreros to one unearned run. Nate Stern and Kaden Smith hit the bump for the eighth and ninth innings, combining for two strikeouts and one earned run in their TCU debuts.

TCU carried a 10-3 lead into the top of the seventh inning, where Ohio State transfer Isaac Cadena pulled a two-run shot over the right-field fence for his second home run of the season. Franco scored on a wild pitch in the top of the eighth inning to cap off the Horned Frog victory. TCU drew nine walks and accounted for 13 hits and 12 RBIs in the win.

Monday: TCU 7, San Diego 6

The Horned Frogs trailed early in their series finale, falling behind 4-1 after San Diego homered twice and scored on a steal of home over the first two innings. TCU surged ahead in the top of the fourth inning, where Isaac Cadena smacked a two-run double into right-center before Chase Brunson launched a two-run homer to the opposite field in right. Sawyer Strosnider sparked the rally with a RBI single that brought home Jack Bell.

San Diego earned one run back in the bottom of the fourth inning, but TCU retook the lead after Cole Cramer’s solo shot over the right-field fence in the top of the fifth inning. The Washington State transfer added a second home run and broke another tied score later in the game, bombing a ball over the left-center field fence to give TCU a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth inning. Cramer went 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs to lead the TCU offense.

Freshmen Mason Brassfield and Kade Eudy combine to throw two innings of shutout relief over the eighth and ninth frames, with Brassfield earning his first career win while Eudy recorded his first career save. Junior right-hander Louis Rodriguez was also steady in relief, firing three frames while striking out seven batters and allowing only one earned run. Washington transfer Gianluca Shinn made his TCU debut in the third inning, throwing one and one-third innings with one strikeout and one run allowed in relief of starter Zack James.