Baseball: TCU takes rubber match to win series at Texas Tech

The Horned Frogs outlast the Red Raiders in extras on Sunday.

TCU baseball went into extra innings during its rubber match against Texas Tech on Sunday, when the Horned Frogs outlasted the Red Raiders for a four-run victory that enabled TCU to clinch its first Big 12 series win of the season. The Horned Frogs (17-7, 3-3 Big 12) are back to .500 in the conference standings and will return to action with a two-game midweek set against UTRGV on Tuesday and Wednesday. TCU will play at Houston this coming weekend.

Friday: TCU 13, Texas Tech 2

Tommy LaPour took the ball for the series opener and earned his third victory of the season, firing six strong frames while striking out five batters and limiting the Red Raiders to two runs on six hits. Gianluca Shinn, Louis Rodriguez and Zack James combined to shut down the Texas Tech offense over the final three innings, striking out four batters without allowing a hit or an earned run. Sawyer Strosnider went 4-for-6, while Nolan Traeger and Anthony Silva each recorded four RBIs to ignite the TCU offense in Friday’s series-opening victory.

TCU broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the third inning, where Nolan Traeger’s two-run triple and Anthony Silva’s two-run homer sparked a five-run frame for the Horned Frogs. Cole Cramer slapped a run-scoring single in the top of the fourth inning and Silva reached on a fielder’s choice in the top of the fifth inning, resulting in two more runs for the TCU offense. Leading 9-2, TCU capped off its lopsided victory with a four-run surge in the top of the eighth inning, where Traeger drew a bases-loaded walk before Silva and Jack Bell each delivered sacrifice flies to plate two more runners. A wild pitch allowed Chase Brunson to touch home as well.

Saturday: Texas Tech 7, TCU 6

The Horned Frogs fell behind early on Saturday, with Texas Tech tallying five runs in the bottom of the second inning. Noah Franco started on the mound but struggled to find his zone, walking four batters over one inning of work. Franco didn’t slouch on the offensive end, though, as the freshman blasted a three-run homer over the left-field wall to make the score 5-3 in the top of the third inning. Cohen Feser entered in relief and helped steady the ship, throwing two and two-thirds innings and holding Texas Tech to one earned run.

Anthony Silva’s two-run single in the top of the fifth inning allowed TCU to tie the score at 5-5, but a solo homer and a run-scoring double enabled Texas Tech to retake a two-run lead after six innings. Chase Brunson cut the Texas Tech lead to one after belting a solo homer in the top of the ninth inning, but the Horned Frogs were unable to complete their comeback. Braeden Sloan helped keep TCU in the game, throwing the final four innings while striking out four batters and limiting the Red Raider offense to one run on two hits.

After recording 10 hits on Friday, TCU finished with 12 hits in the Saturday matchup. Five players including Sawyer Strosnider, Cole Cramer, Chase Brunson, Nolan Traeger and Anthony Silva totaled multi-hit games. Brunson and Noah Franco each scored two runs.

Sunday: TCU 9, Texas Tech 5 (11)

A four-run frame in the bottom of the third allowed the Red Raiders to hold a 4-1 lead over the Horned Frogs in the rubber matchup on Sunday. Sawyer Strosnider ripped a two-run single in the top of the fourth inning to bring the Horned Frogs within one, but Texas Tech answered with one run on an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kole Klecker started on the mound, but his outing was cut short, as the junior allowed four runs on five hits over just two and one-third innings. Mason Brassfield entered in relief and kept the Red Raider offense at bay, holding Texas Tech without a run over three and two-thirds innings.

Strosnider tied the game in the top of the seventh inning, where the freshman outfielder crushed a two-run homer over the right-field wall to make the score 5-5 after seven innings. After scoreless eighth and ninth innings, the game went into extras, where Strosnider once again delivered a huge at-bat for the TCU offense. Facing a 1-2 count, Strosnider bashed his second homer of the game, sending another ball out to right field and giving the Horned Frogs a 7-5 advantage. Chase Brunson and Karson Bowen followed with insurance for the TCU offense, as Brunson smacked an RBI double and Bowen notched an RBI single.

Louis Rodriguez pitched the final inning for TCU, striking out two batters to finish off the Horned Frog victory. Kade Eudy and Gianluca Shinn each turned in shutout performances in relief, with Eudy firing three scoreless frames while Shinn pitched the 10th inning and took home his first win as a Horned Frog. Strosnider went 3-for-5 with a game-high six RBIs for the TCU offense, which recorded a series-best 13 hits in Sunday’s rubber matchup.