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Frogs
improve despite recent rain outs A TCU baseball team’s game was rained out for the eighth time this season Wednesday. The Horned Frogs (20-9, 11-2 Western Athletic Conference) were scheduled to play Texas-Arlington at the TCU Diamond. A make-up date has not been determined yet. Head coach Lance Brown said the rain out will not alter who he plans to start this weekend against WAC front runner Rice (25-6, 14-1 WAC). The plan is to start senior Chris Bradshaw Friday and junior Justin Crowder Saturday. Brown said he would pick either senior Chad Durham or senior David Tombrella to pitch Sunday. Brown said he will pick who ever does not pitch in relief the first two games. A day before the Frogs departed to play six games in Hawaii March 17, Brown said he has never coached — or played — in a season with so many rain outs. “I have never seen anything like it since I have been here — even when I played here,” said Brown, who pitched for the Frogs from 1963 to 1964 and is in his 15th year as head coach. This week’s rain has prevented the Frogs from “having a real work out,” Brown said. The Frogs have not been able to work out on the field this week. Brown said he was not sure if the Frogs would be rusty defensively against Rice because of missed practice time. “You don’t know how they are going to do when you take a week off,” Brown said.
Frogs boast low walk totals, other improved statistics On the path to winning 20 in 29 games, the Frogs have posted some impressive statistics. The Frogs are hitting .330, have a 3.73 ERA and are fielding .968. They have outscored their opponents 247-126. This is just a year after the Frogs hit .291, posted a 5.53 ERA, fielded .956 and were outscored 358-310. But perhaps the biggest turnaround has been the pitching staff’s low walk total. Last season, TCU pitchers walked 210 in 481.2 innings for an average of 3.92 walks for nine innings. This season, the Frogs have walked 64 batters in 246 innings for an average of 2.34 walks for nine innings. The Frogs have walked the fewest batters in the WAC. Crowder said Brown’s emphasis on throwing strikes is a reason the team walk total is so low. “Coach Brown preaches strikes,” Crowder said. “He wants somebody who is going to throw strikes. He emphasizes that a lot — keeping your pitch count low. It’s a great way to keep your arm fresh for a long season.” Brown said the low walk total is a major reason the Frogs have a low team ERA. “I think maybe they have finally figured this out,” Brown said. “If you are throwing quality strikes, then they are not going to hit it. If you make quality pitches, they aren’t going to hit. It is harder to convince pitchers of this sometimes.” In the fall, Brown said that the Frogs had a drill where pitchers tried to retire batters in three pitches or less. All season, the Frogs have been charting how many three-pitch at bats pitchers throw, Brown said. It gives the Frogs a dual advantage in that it forces pitchers to throw quality strikes, and it keeps pitch counts low. Crowder said the drills have helped the pitching staff. “(Of) the stuff we worked on in the fall, it has been the key,” Crowder said. Brown said strict pitch counts have also forced pitchers to throw better strikes. “They are going to throw 100 pitches,” Brown said. “If they want to be out there a lot of innings, they better throw strikes. It’s their choice if they want to throw three innings or seven.” Notes: The Frogs’ current seven-game winning streak is the teams’ longest since 1996. Sophomore second baseman Ramon Moses raised his average to .295 from .143 last week. Bradshaw was named National Pitcher of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Wednesday for his no-hitter against Hawaii-Hilo Friday. He is the first Frog to be named pitcher of the week by the organization this season. The Frogs are two wins shy of tying last season’s win total of 22.
Brandon Ortiz |
