Baseball team opens crucial series with win

skiff staff

Sophomore outfielder Terry Trofholz hit a three-run home run in the bottom of ninth inning to extend TCU’s lead to 11-7, and the Frogs went on to break a four-game losing streak Thursday with a,12-7, victory against Nevada.

The Frogs (21-13, 12-5 Western Athletic Conference) and the Wolf Pack were playing in the first game of a key four-game series. The Frogs were swept last weekend by top-ranked Rice, ending a seven-game winning streak.

evada (18-15, 9-9 WAC) has won 13 of the last 16 games, including two of three last weekend at Fresno State.

Both the Frogs and the Wolf Pack brought their top offenses to the ballpark Thursday. TCU pounded out 14 hits, while Nevada recorded 17 hits.

Tim Cox/SKIFF STAFF The TCU baseball team managed to find itself in a bit of a pickle upon losing four consecutive games after a 20-9 start to the season. The Frogs started a four-game series Thursday at Nevada with 12-7 win.

But the difference was timely hitting as the Frogs came through in clutch moments. The Wolf Pack stranded 13 base runners.

“I was glad our offense played so well,” junior pitcher Patrick Newburn said on 88.7-FM KTCU. “We put up four runs in the first inning, and that really helped to take the pressure off.”

After TCU got out to the 4-0 lead, Nevada rallied for four straight runs to tie the score. But every time the Wolf Pack scored, the Frogs had an answer.

TCU scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning, highlighted by back-to-back RBI hits by senior catcher Jason Price and sophomore third baseman Mike Settle.

Following a Nevada home run in the fifth inning, sophomore first baseman Walter Olmstead hit his team-leading sixth home run.

The Wolf Pack, in a final rally, cut the Frogs’ lead to 8-7 in the seventh inning. But again, the TCU answered as Trofholz and junior shortstop Erick Macha each hit ninth-inning home runs.

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