Inconsistency plagues TCU baseball team
Commentary by Danny Gillham

Near the halfway point of the baseball team’s conference schedule and already halfway past the total schedule of games, it seems there is one thing the Frogs continue to seek.

Balance.

At 17-17, the team has had its share of ups and downs.

Whether it’s their record, their level of opponents, or even the components of the team, TCU baseball has gone from one extreme to the other this season.

One variance is the difference in their level of opponents. The Frogs seem to step up when it comes to playing against some of the higher level teams in the country. TCU is currently 7-2 against ranked teams this year. They have defeated ranked opponents Texas, Baylor (twice), Notre Dame and East Carolina (three times).

At the same time, the team has lost some games against teams that traditionally have not had quality teams. These include losses to Southwest Texas, Texas Pan-America, Texas-Arlington and losing two of three in a conference series to Southern Missisisipi in what head coach Lance Brown called “our worst three games of the year.”

TCU has also played Texas Tech six times this year, going 0-6.

At opposite ends of the pole are different areas of the team.

The hitting remains well above average for the Frogs. TCU has no problem putting up lofty numbers at the plate, and it shows up in the statistics. They currently rank high in many categories in the conference, including batting average (.308, 3rd), hits (368, 2nd), home runs (32, 2nd) and runs scored (239, 3rd).

However, the pitching has struggled, and the defense has its share of lapses.

The Frogs struggled through the early parts of the season with pitching. Although the starters have been giving quality starts of late, the bullpen has been erratic and hasn’t always stepped up to meet a challenge.

Brown attributes this to the relatively young staff the team has.

“We don’t have many experienced guys back,” Brown said. “Many of the people we have pitching now are coming from either junior college or straight from high school. They must get adjusted to the higher level of play.”

Brown also said that injuries in the fall to the staff hampered the ability of the coaching staff to work and evaluate.

However, things have been improving for the Frogs. TCU is currently in a three-way tie for second in the conference at 8-4, just one game out of first. And it’s not like the Frogs are playing in the Western Athletic Conference anymore either.

In their first season of Conference USA play, the Frogs have played teams with more established baseball programs in a trial by fire method.
“We really don’t know about these teams until we play them,” Brown said. “Now we basically go on the stat sheets we get and what little we have seen on footage.”

The balancing act continues this Friday when the Frogs take on Saint Louis in a three-game series at the TCU Diamond.

Danny Gillham is freshman broadcast journalism major from Brock.
He can be contacted at (d.r.gillham@student.tcu.edu).

credits

TCU Daily Skiff © 2002