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Frogs
commit 6 errors, go 1-1 in weekend series with Nevada The TCU baseball team committed six errors in two games against Nevada this weekend, but head coach Lance Brown said he does not plan on changing the Horned Frogs’ practice routine any time soon. “We won’t change any workouts,” Brown said. “We don’t ever change. We work on the same things, everyday.” After committing only five errors in their last nine games going into this weekend’s series, the Frogs’ (13-8, 5-2 Western Athletic Conference) defensive hot streak came to an end when errors contributed to a split in two games against Nevada (9-12, 5-6 WAC) Friday and Saturday. Wet weather has followed the team for a month and has limited the team’s fielding practice, because the wet playing fields make it tough for infielders to practice fielding ground balls. “We haven’t been on the field — it is bound to catch up with you,” Brown said.
Sophomore first baseman Walter Olmstead said missed practice time hurt the team against Nevada. Brown said he will decide today who will start against Iowa State Wednesday at the TCU Diamond. He said either senior David Tombrella or senior Chad Durham would start. Durham has pitched in only two games since Feb. 19. Tombrella pitched more recently, having thrown two innings Saturday against Nevada. Regardless of who starts Wednesday, senior outfielder Tom Bates said the Frogs will probably have to play better defense than they did against Nevada to have a chance of winning. The Frogs won game one 8-5 Friday, despite giving up three unearned runs. Leading 3-0 through five innings of game one, the Frogs gave up three unearned runs on two errors in the sixth to tie the game. Nevada knocked senior starter Chris Bradshaw out of the game in the seventh, adding one more run and taking the lead. Junior reliever Patrick Newburn picked up the win. Bradshaw pitched 6 2/3 innings and struck out nine. He gave up only one earned run but four runs overall. The Frogs regained the lead on a five-run rally in the eighth inning. With two runners on, senior Cade Harris pinch hit for sophomore second baseman Ramon Moses. Harris bunted to reliever James Holcomb, who threw the ball wide of first baseman JaRell McIntyre. McIntyre had to step off the bag and was unable to tag Harris to get the out. With the bases loaded, senior outfielder Rudy Rivera singled to right field to score two runs. After striking out sophomore third baseman Mike Settle, Holcomb intentionally walked Olmstead to load the bases and faced junior shortstop Erick Macha. Macha, who homered for the third consecutive game in the fifth inning and has a 14-game hitting streak, said he wanted to make Holcomb throw strikes. Holcomb only threw onestrike, and he walked Macha on five pitches to score another run. Pitcher John Teepe replaced Holcomb and walked Bates to score another run. Olmstead scored on a fielder’s choice later in the inning to give the Frogs an 8-5 lead. TCU took the lead despite getting only one hit in the inning. “It was a good win to come from behind like we did,” Macha said Friday after the game. “We just need to make the plays defensively.” Saturday, the Frogs didn’t, and they lost 5-3. Facing Darrell Rasner, WAC pitcher of the week from Feb. 26 to March 4, the Frogs were not likely to score many runs, considering Rasner had a 2.67 ERA in his last four starts and had struck out 31 in 30 1/3 innings during that span. With two runners on, junior starter Justin Crowder got designated hitter Alex Rangel to hit a grounder to Macha. But Macha bobbled the ball, allowing a run to score. Had Macha made the play, it would have been the third out of the inning. Nevada third baseman Mike Gillies tripled with the next at bat to give the Wolf Pack a 3-0 lead. The Wolf Pack led the rest of the way. Crowder pitched six innings and struck out nine. He gave up five runs, three of which were unearned. Olmstead said it was a lack of focus on the field that cost the Frogs the game Saturday. Sunday’s game was postponed. It was the Frogs’ seventh rainout of the season. The game is tentatively rescheduled to be played April 5 in Reno, Nev.
Brandon Ortiz |
