By Rusty Simmons staff reporter After scoring 14 runs in a victory against No. 16 Texas Tech last Tuesday, the Frogs could only drive in eight runs in three games against No. 11 Baylor this weekend. In their first meeting since the Southwest Conference folded in 1996, the Bears (8-2) swept a three-game series from the Frogs (4-9): 8-3, 4-3, 11-2. Freshman first baseman Walter Olmstead said the Frogs matched up well with Baylor in the first two games of the series. "All in all, we played pretty good baseball Friday and Saturday," Olmstead said. "We just couldn't put it all together in the first game, and we couldn't complete the comeback in the second game." Baylor scored four runs in the fourth inning of the series opener Friday at the TCU Diamond, highlighted by a two-run triple by Preston Underdown, boosting the Bears' lead to 6-0. TCU got on the board for the first time in the bottom of the fifth inning on a two-run home run by senior third baseman Levi Groomer. Groomer added another run in the seventh on a single to right field. "He hit the ball consistently all day," Olmstead said. "We seem to have a different guy doing it every day, but never at the same time." But TCU got no closer than three runs as Baylor's Kyle Edens shut down the rest of the Frogs' offense for the final two innings. Junior pitcher Chris Frazier (1-1) struck out eight batters in seven innings for TCU, but suffered the loss, giving up six earned runs in the outing. Baylor added two insurance runs in the ninth inning off junior closer Chad Durham to capture an 8-3 victory. In game two, the Bears used a three-run home run by Steve Dorneman in the bottom of the seventh inning en route to a 4-3 win at the Baylor Ballpark Saturday. TCU gained an early advantage on an RBI double by Olmstead in the second inning. The Frogs added another run in the third inning to extend the lead to 2-0. Dorneman's home run gave Baylor its first lead 3-2, and Mike Huggins' RBI single in the eighth inning pushed the Bears' lead to 4-2. Olmstead hit his first collegiate home run in the top of the ninth inning to inch within one run of Baylor, but the Bears' Zane Carlson picked up his second save of the season by retiring the Frogs before they could tie the score or regain the lead. Olmstead said his first home run was special because it came against a ranked team. "I led off a couple of innings, so I was just going to the plate trying to get something started," he said. "In the ninth inning, I just happened to swing at the right pitch at the right time." Junior pitcher Chris Bradshaw took the loss in his first decision of the season, giving up three earned runs in six and one-third innings of work. Baylor wrapped up the sweep in the series finale with a six-run eighth inning as the Bears pulled away from the Frogs 11-2. A first-inning error by senior pitcher Shawn Thompson (1-1) allowed Baylor's Ross Bennett to score the Bears' first run of the game. "The whole game started off rocky," Olmstead said. "Then it looked like we'd come back, but they just started hitting the ball." TCU kept the game within reach with a solo home run by senior designated hitter Mark Hamilton, but Baylor cushioned its two-run lead in the seventh and eighth innings. The Bears scored a run in the seventh inning and drove in six more runners in the eighth inning. Back-to-back two-run doubles by Baylor's Matt Williams and Kelly Shoppach led to an 11-2 win. The Frogs complete their six-game stint with Big 12 competition at 2:05 p.m. today at the TCU Diamond.
Rusty Simmons
By Chris Harrison staff reporter The TCU men's golf team finished in fourth place in the Taylor Made/Waikola Intercollegiate Tournament in Waikola, Hawaii this weekend, shooting a three-round total of 87. The Frogs finished just 16 shots back of the tournament champion Georgia Tech, who finished with a one-under 855. Two Georgia Tech golfers tied for the tournament win. Bryce Molder and Matt Kuchar each shot a six-under, 208, to split the individual tournament title. The Horned Frogs were led by junior Aaron Hickman and sophomore Andy Doedon. Hickman earned his highest career tournament finish, placing fourth overall with a one-under, 213 score. Hickman was one of only six golfers who broke par for the three-round event. Doedon finished at even par for the event, tying with three other golfers for seventh place. Hickman said all the components of his game came together in Hawaii. "I felt like I was hitting the ball really well all week," said Hickman. "I was able to have the right mix of hitting and putting on that final day. I knew they were both there all week, and during the final round things just fell into place." Doedon said it was good to see Hickman play so well this early in the season as well. "He played really well, and it was great to see him with such a high finish," Dodeon said. "He tied the low score on the last round of the tournament shooting a 69. He finished the fall season playing some good golf and has picked up were he left off." Doedon thought the conditions for the tournament were similar to last year. "The course played kind of easy during the first two days of the tournament," Doedon said. "Those first couple of days were beautiful and the conditions were perfect for low scores. The wind picked up the last day making scoring conditions a little more difficult." Doedon said the way the team played this weekend was very encouraging. "I think the team is improving a lot right now," he said. "I think that it is important to have a top five finish this early in the season. Hopefully we can build on this last tournament giving us the confidence we need in the spring tournaments." Junior Scott Volpitto agreed with Doedon saying that the fourth place finish was really important to the team. "Out of the 24-team field there were a lot of national-ranked teams in the mix," Volpitto said. "Placing in the top five in Hawaii proves to us that we are as good as anybody in the country and we worked hard in the fall to get to this position that we are in. "We played really well in the tournaments in the fall but just couldn't put it all together," Volpitto said. "It was just a really good feeling for the team to have it come together like it did this past week in Hawaii. Now we can carry this confidence into our practice rounds and the upcoming tournaments." The Horned Frogs will resume practice to prepare for their next tournament after taking this week off. They will return to action March 20 with the two-day, three-round Morris Williams Intercollegiate Tournament in Austin, Texas.
Chris Harrison
By Chris Ray Skiff staff The TCU women's tennis team defeated Oklahoma and Lamar in non-conference action this weekend. The Frogs defeated the Sooners 5-1 Friday, winning five of six singles matches over the No. 70-ranked squad, keeping a stronghold on their No. 41 ranking in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls. Senior Lucie Dvorakova led the Frogs on the court at the No. 1-ranked singles spot. She defeated Viviana Mracnova in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, improving her to 9-5 on the season and 4-1 in dual match play. Freshman Dorrit Huppes, playing at the No. 2 spot, ousted Kristin Guilford in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. Huppes notched her 11th win of the season and is currently 4-1 in dual-match play. At the No. 3 singles spot, sophomore Leoni Weirch defeated Jennie Hamilton, 6-1, 6-3. TCU picked up wins from the No. 5 and 6 spots as well with action from freshman Brenna Shackelford and senior Stacey Sabala. Sabala who was victorious, was playing in her first match of the spring season after coming back from an injury The Frogs improved to 4-1 on the season, and head coach Roland Ingram said the entire team contributed to the victory. "The whole team put this win together for us," he said. "It was a coming out party for us. I am really proud of the team for the way they are playing against ranked competition." Ingram recorded his 270th career win as the Frogs won all six singles matches and split the doubles contests en route to a 7-2 victory over Lamar University on Saturday at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. Dvorakova defeated Barbara Schraml in a three set marathon, (6-4, 4-6, 6-4), that lasted just over two and a half hours. Dvorakova improved to 10-5 overall and 5-1 in dual-match play. Coming back after missing Friday's action with illness, senior Jessika Kjellgren returned to win over Kasia Finowska in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0. TCU returns to action 2 p.m. Wednesday taking on the Baylor Bears in non-conference action before hosting a double-header with Sam Houston and North Texas at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Chris Ray |
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