By Chris Harrison staff reporter For the first time in three years, the TCU Horned Frog (4-6) baseball team will play the Baylor Bears (5-2) in a three-game series this weekend, playing the first game today at home and the next two games in Waco Saturday and Sunday afternoon. TCU is in a seven-game stretch over the next 12 days against teams in the Big 12 Conference. Overall, the Horned Frogs will play 12 games against Big 12 teams. Currently, the Horned Frogs are ahead, 2-1. Junior catcher Jason Price said Baylor is going to be a tough team to play.
Price said he thinks the pitchers will continue to throw the ball this weekend the way they have the past couple of games. "The pitching is going to be fine," he said. "The pitching was great last game, actually, the last couple of games. We just need to go out there and help out this weekend by putting a couple of runs on the board for them." Price said the Horned Frogs are coming off an important victory over Texas Tech last Tuesday. "The victory over Tech brought up everybody's spirits I think," he said. "Everybody realized how much talent we really have on this team. Everything came together, and we really hit the ball well. We need to carry it into this weekend. "This series coming up is an important one. I think we need to take at least two out of these next three games to put us in a really good position going into next week." Coach Lance Brown also said the Tech victory was an important one. "We weren't really down going into the Tech game," Brown said. "It was just frustrating because we couldn't put all three aspects of the game together. We played some great games were we would get great pitching and bad defense or couldn't hit and then we would hit and couldn't pitch. When we played Tech, everything came together: good pitching, good defense and great hitting." Since the Tech game, Brown said the team is trying to get into a set routine were it can start to improve whenever it takes the field. "The signs were there that maybe we could put it all together, so I hope it continues into the Baylor Series," Brown said. "What we are basically doing now is trying to get comfortable with a set lineup and getting better every time we go onto the field to play." TCU will play the last two games of the series in Waco, where they are anything but strangers. "It has been a while, but we have won the 11 out of the last 12 games we have played in Waco," Brown said. "It has always been a good series. It's seems like we always break even or wind up coming out ahead every year. Regardless, we have had some really great ball games over the past few years." The Horned Frogs will play the first game at home with the first pitch set for 2:05 p.m. The next two games will be a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. in Waco. Chris Frazier is scheduled to pitch the first game, followed by Chris Bradshaw on Saturday and Mark Hamilton on Sunday.
Chris Harrison
By Danny Horne staff reporter The Lady Frogs proved something Thursday night against Texas-El Paso. They can win without playing their best game, said women's basketball head coach Jeff Mittie. "We were not very good tonight overall, but we had some players step up and play very well for us in clutch situations," Mittie said. "We need to be able to win games like this." The Lady Frogs (14-12, 5-6 Western Athletic Conference) defeated UTEP at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 79-71 despite playing from behind most of the night and being out-rebounded 45-27. "We have not been out-played on the glass like that all season," Mittie said. "I have to give UTEP a lot of credit. They came in focused and played very well." The Lady Frogs turned the ball over just seven times for the game while they forced the Miners (5-17, 2-8 WAC) into 18 turnovers. "The only reason we won tonight was because we took care of the ball," Mittie said. "Our guards were able to protect the ball all night, and that kept us in the game. (Junior guard Jill) Sutton did an outstanding job with handling the team." The Lady Frogs trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but a 15-4 run gave TCU its first lead of the game with 20 seconds left in the first half. The Lady Frogs took a 38-37 lead into the break. Behind the play of freshmen center Heidi Walker (23 points, 14 rebounds) and freshmen forward Amy Pack (15 points), the Miners were able to take the lead back and stretch it to eight points with 7:30 remaining in the game. The Horned Frogs caught a break when Pack, the WAC's second-leading scorer, fouled out with 11 minutes left in the game. "Pack fouling out was huge for us," sophomore guard Tricia Payne said. "We were trying to get their big players in foul trouble, so when she went out, we felt like we could make a run." The Lady Frogs outscored UTEP 24-8 over the final seven minutes of the game. Payne scored nine of her team-high 18 points in the final stretch. "Someone had to step up for us at the end. I knew I could get it done," Payne said. "I just had the ball in my hands at the right time." Junior guards Diamond Jackson and Sutton both hit for 16 points and combined to go 12 for 28 from the field. Payne said the Lady Frogs still have a good chance at winning the conference tournament, and their second straight win can only help. "We really needed this win tonight because it is good for us to get on some sort of a streak going into the tournament," Payne said. "We want to continue this again through the rest of the season." The game was tied 68-68 with three minutes remaining, but a final 11-3 run by TCU finally put the game away. "I am happy with how we finished the game," Mittie said. " I felt like we took a lot of bad shots early, but we kept our poise. Once we made a few runs at them, we got the momentum and were able to force turnovers." TCU plays the second of a three-game homestand at 7 p.m. Saturday night against Fresno State (10-12, 3-5 WAC). With a win against the Bulldogs, Mittie will set a record for the most wins by a first-year women's basketball coach at TCU with 15.
Danny Horne |
"They are going to (be) better than Texas Tech,"
Price said. "I have played with some of the guys on their team, and
I know that (they) are good. I know that we can't afford to take them easy."| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |