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BB: Winkler Strikes Out 12 in Win Over Rebels


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May 27, 2010

San Diego, CA - Sophomore right-hander Kyle Winkler struck out 12 in a complete-game performance Thursday night as No. 1-seeded TCU beat No. 5 seed UNLV 5-2 in the 2010 Conoco Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship at San Diego State's Tony Gwynn Stadium.

The win advanced the Horned Frogs (45-11) to Friday's championship game at 7 p.m. PT. TCU will be making its fourth appearance in the title game in five years as a member of the Mountain West. The Frogs will face either UNLV (29-28) or No. 2 seed New Mexico (35-20), which advanced with a 7-6 win over No. 4 seed BYU on Thursday. Should the Horned Frogs lose on Friday, the championship game would take place at 1 p.m. PT on Saturday.

TCU, which is 32-4 when scoring first this season, broke on top in the third inning against UNLV when sophomore left fielder Jason Coats' drive to right was misplayed, allowing leadoff batter Brance Rivera to score from second base. Coats later scored on a sacrifice fly by junior designated hitter Joe Weik.

The Rebels cut the deficit to 2-1 in the fourth on an RBI single by Nolan Clark, then pulled even in the fifth when Hunter Beaty, aboard on a leadoff triple, scored on Jarred Frierson's groundout.

But the Horned Frogs, ranked No. 6 in the nation by Baseball America, regained the advantage in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI groundout by Matt Curry and Weik's second sacrifice fly of the game.

Winkler scattered nine hits and walked just two in improving to 10-1 on the season. In two games, TCU pitchers have combined for 26 strikeouts. Freshman Matt Purke struck out 14 in a 13-2 win over Utah on Wednesday.