Frogs gear up for first place Louisville after faltering against the Green Wave
By Danny Gillham
Skiff Staff

For many sports teams, the halfway point of a season is a time to measure the team’s success.

At the halfway point of TCU’s first tour of Conference USA baseball, things were looking very hopeful for the team. The Frogs were in first place and seemed poised for a favorable position in the conference tournament.

Erin Munger/SKIFF STAFF Junior pitcher Tim Collinsworth follows through with his motion after releasing a pitch against Texas Arlington Tuesday in a 15-1 loss. Crawford is batting .231 for the season.

But in just one weekend series against Tulane, the team has managed to fall from a tie, to first, all the way to fourth place in the conference, keyed by a three-game sweep at the hands of the Green Wave.

Two non-conference losses, including a 15-1 loss to UTA Tuesday, have the Frogs with their backs against the wall and seeing their postseason hopes rapidly fading. TCU is in the midst of its longest losing streak of the season, and for the Frogs (20-22, 11-7 C-USA), the situation does not get any easier.

Head coach Lance Brown said he is uncertain on what to state as the cause of the problem.

“At first I thought they didn’t take (the Tulane series) seriously,” Brown said. “But Tuesday was really a disappointment. We didn’t even come out and attempt to play against a cross-town rival, and that’s very disappointing.”

The team now must look forward to face Louisville (26-10, 13-5 C-USA) today, who is on the opposite side of the spectrum. Sitting at first place in the conference standings, the Cardinals have won seven straight.

With the series being so critical to the Frogs tournament positioning, sophomore pitcher Clayton Jerome said that the team must come out ready to play.

“I think we need to go out with some intensity,” Jerome said. “We’ve gone a little easy these last couple of games. I think we need to come back to be ready for this series.”

Brown said he agrees that the intensity of the team must pick up.

Erin Munger/SKIFF STAFF Senior Infielder Trey Crawford checks to make sure he’s on the bag after sliding into third base against Texas Arlington Tuesday. Collinsworth has a 12.64 earned run average for the season.

“You have to go in and play as hard as you can,” Brown said. “You better go from the first pitch on Friday to the last pitch on Sunday. If you don’t go in with that attitude against anybody, you have a good chance of getting beat.”

After today’s game at 5 p.m., the series will conclude with games at noon in Louisville on Saturday and Sunday.

Danny Gillham
d.r.gillham@student.tcu.edu

credits

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