Knudson: Frogs Begin Monster Homestand
FacebookBy Mark Knudson, The Mtn. Insider
March 23, 2011
At first glance, it wouldn’t seem like a series of home games against Texas State, Houston, Air Force and struggling New Mexico would be that big a deal for the vaunted TCU Horned Frogs.
Guess again.
The season’s longest homestand – 13 games in all – may among the biggest games of the season for TCU.
These are the same Horned Frogs ranked No. 1 by several preseason college baseball publications and the same Horned Frogs that dropped seven of their first 19 games, including five in the opponents’ final at bat.
No longer on top of the polls, TCU is having to work hard to stay in the Top 10 at the moment.
Injuries have played a part as well as inconsistency and some plain old bad luck. But the facts say that going into the first game of the homestand against Texas State, TCU needed to win 12 of those to get back to being TCU.
No pressure, right?
At first glance, Texas State would not seem like much of an obstacle to start with. But remember: TCU had already dropped games to Dallas Baptist, Texas Arlington and Houston Baptist this season, so overlooking an opponent, any opponent, would seem to be a bad idea. Plus, these TSU Bobcats came into the game 15-4 and with an RPI of 9 as opposed to TCU’s RPI of 41.
In fact, Texas State came in with the best RPI in the state of Texas.
Backs to the wall?
Of course not.
A chance to make a statement?
You bet.
Consider the first statement made. Scoring three times in the bottom of the 7th inning, the Frogs toppled the Bobcats behind more stellar pitching, winning 3-1 to get their 13th win and start the 13-game homestand off the right way. Maybe most importantly, closer Erik Miller came in and picked up his fifth save with a game ending double play, restoring order to the bullpen which has been troubled at times in the early going of the season.
Is TCU back to form? The rest of the homestand will give us a good indication. These are the kind of situations where great teams go on long winning streaks.
Starting pitchers Kyle Winkler, Matt Purke and Steven Maxwell have certainly held up their end, along with fourth starter (and weekend reliever) Andrew Mitchell. Mitchell began his college career by throwing 24 innings without giving up an earned run until the Bobcats reached him for a single earnie in the second inning. Poor kid now has an ERA.
Meanwhile, Winkler didn’t allow an earned run himself until losing on a walk off HR at UNLV. He’s 4-1 with a miniscule 0.99 ERA. Purke is back from early season blister problems with a 3-1 record and a microscopic 0.47 ERA, while Maxwell is 2-0.
Brance Rivera has ignited the offense from the leadoff spot, carrying around a stellar .413 batting average. He’s on a 20-game hitting streak that’s included lead off home runs in two of three games at UNLV last weekend. The whole offense is clicking again and coupled with the stellar starting pitching, could make for an almost unbeatable combination.
As they continue to get settled and find their grove, some stern tests lie ahead. TCU was able to take two of three games against a resurgent UNLV team last weekend, but the Rebels won’t be going away. They visit Fort Worth in late April.
The rest of the MWC is sort of sick of hearing about how good TCU is. The Frogs figure to get everyone’s best shot.
On top of their Conference slate, there are still several RPI-critical games with highly ranked Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Baylor from the big bad Big 12 coming up. This weekend features a non-conference series with the Houston Cougars, who enter the series with a better RPI than the Horned Frogs.
Many of us figured this season would be easy for TCU; a stroll through the Conference and a return ticket to Omaha. They’re certainly still the strong favorite to win the MWC and could very well get back to the College World Series, but the early going has shown it’s going to be anything but easy.
ALL TIMES MOUNTAIN
