Frogs to focus on baseball, not beaches this Spring Break

By Brandon Ortiz
Skiff Staff

Wish you had a flight leaving today for Hawaii to spend Spring Break sitting on the beach and basking in the sun?

The TCU baseball team will spend its Spring Break in Hawaii, but it doesn’t plan on having much fun in the sun.

The Frogs will play three games against Hawaii (8-13, 3-9 Western Athletic Conference)and three against Hawaii-Hilo (3-17, 2-10 WAC) before returning home March 25.

Sophomore first baseman Walter Olmstead said the Horned Frogs are more focused on baseballs than beach balls after going 1-5 in Hawaii last season.

The Frogs had their minds on sandy beaches and not the sandlot last season, Olmstead said.

“It was the initial down time that we were interested in (last season), it wasn’t about baseball,” he said. “We all hung around the beach. Guys did what ever they wanted.”

Hawaii has historically had somewhat of a home-field advantage. In some seasons it has paid big dividends, like in 1999 when the Rainbow Warriors were 26-10 at Rainbow Stadium.

The eight-hour flight and four-hour time zone difference can also have an effect on teams, head coach Lance Brown said.
“It is a pretty taxing road trip,” Brown said.

But the troubles don’t end there. It is even tougher for the team to adjust to the time difference coming back because players miss a night of sleep, Brown said.

Brown said another performance like last season’s could spell doom for the Frogs’ hopes of keeping up with Rice (18-5, 8-1 WAC.) TCU sits in second place with a 5-2 record in the WAC.

Olmstead said the Frogs have a chance to distance itself from WAC competitors.

“We have got to stay up with (Rice),” Olmstead said. “Those are games we know we can win. We have to get a cushion.”
Forgive the Frogs if they leave their sunscreen at home.

They have work to do.

Brandon Ortiz
b.p.ortiz@student.tcu.edu