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Frogs
not overlooking Saint Louis, coach says At first look of Saint Louis, TCU’s opposition this weekend, it may seem as if the Frogs will be facing a relatively easy foe. However, baseball head coach Lance Brown said that appearances can be deceiving. “I think they are better than what their record is,” Brown said. “They have solid pitching, and their defense is not the best, but it is okay. They just find a way to score runs, whether it be by bunting or the hit and run. So it’s a team your gonna have to score on because of their pitching.” Brown said pitching will be the key element in this three game series as the Frogs (17-17, 8-4 C-USA) face the Billikens (13-16, 4-8 C-USA) at the TCU Diamond, with game one scheduled for 3:05 p.m. Friday. Saint Louis brings in a pitching staff that presents a challenge, Brown said. The Frogs will face a Billiken predominantly right-handed staff that has a 4.29 ERA, with opponents batting averages at .255. The staff is anchored by its ace, Corey Lawson. Lawson sports a 6-1 record, with a 1.83 ERA, and is currently 3-1 in C-USA games. He throws generally on Sunday, in accordance to the scheduled pitching rotation, and plays first base when he is not pitching, boasting a .292 batting average. Senior outfielder Terry Trofholz, C-USA’s league-leading hitter, said that the team will not overlook the first two games in preparation for Lawson. “We’re not going to be concerned with the guy on Sunday until we get to Sunday,” Trofholz said. “We got to win Friday and Saturday, that’s gonna be just as tough. Then Sunday, we’ll step up to another level. We’ve faced some of the best pitchers in the country already, and we feel like if we can have success against them, we can have success against these guys. On the Frogs’ side, Brown said the pitching has done extensive work this week, especially the bullpen. He said that they are making nice progressions. “I think we made some progress,” Brown said. “Some people did some things, such as throwing with a little better control. That’s something we will have to work on all year to get it where we want it, but nice progress was made this week.” After Friday’s contest, the series will continue with games on Saturday and Sunday, both scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. Danny
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TCU Daily Skiff © 2002 |
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