By Chris Gibson staff reporter The TCU track and field teams are set to continue their outdoor season Saturday at the Fort Worth Recreational Meet at Clark Stadium in Fort Worth. The Frogs are coming off their first outdoor meet of the season at the LSU Quadrangle. The men were able to gain three NCAA automatic qualifying marks and an additional preliminary qualifying mark. The women didn't have any qualifiers but surprised many people by taking second in the 4x100-meter relay event. Automatic qualifiers on the men's side include junior Lindel Frater in the 100-meter dash (10.17), junior Darvis Patton in the long jump (26-4 1/2) and the 4x100-meter relay team of Frater, Patton, junior Kim Collins and senior Ricardo Williams (39.02). Collins also posted a NCAA preliminary mark in the 100-meters (10.20). Frater's performance not only earned him a spot in nationals but Western Athletic Conference track athlete of the week honors as well. "I had a good indoor season, and I just wanted to put all I had into the outdoor season," Frater said. "I am pleased with my times, and now I'm just focusing on trying to stay healthy and keep running well." Frater also said that he and his teammates are excited about getting the opportunity to run against some of the elite in college track and field at the Texas Relays Thursday to April 8 in Austin. "We are all really looking forward to running at the Texas Relays," he said. "There will be some of the best runners and teams in college there, and it gives us a chance to defend our relay wins." Other runners agree that the Texas Relays will be a great opportunity for TCU to show what they have. "We are sort of using this weekend to prepare for the Texas Relays," Collins said. "That is the meet that we are focusing on and we really want to do well at." The women are still battling the injury bug. With junior Heather Hanchak missing the outdoor season due to a foot injury and sophomore Chaunte Baldwin out this week with a leg injury, the women will depend on senior Dywana Crudup, sophomore distance runner Katie Singleton and junior Glady's Keitany to perform well. Events start Saturday at Clark Field in Fort Worth and continue with finals on Sunday.
Chris Gibson
By Chris Ray Skiff staff With No. 8-ranked junior All-American Esteban Carril out of the lineup with illness, head coach Michael Center knew it would be a hard-fought match for the No. 15-ranked TCU men's tennis team. Facing the unranked University of Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans Thursday at home, the Frogs took command of the match early, and junior Trace Fielding clinched the win with a victory that decided the match for the Frogs. Fielding, who stepped up to the No. 1 singles spot in place of Carril, who withdrew himself from action prior to the match, was down two match points in the final set and rebounded to pick up the win. Fielding's win broke a 3-3 tie to win the match overall. With Fielding's win, the Frogs took the match and improved to 12-3 on the season. "Trace picked up a huge win for us. It is nice to know with Esteban out that the rest of the team can step up and win. This win was huge, and it will only help us down the stretch," Center said. "We were plagued with poor doubles play today, but the team rallied in singles and picked up the win." Fielding was pleased at how well he played at the No. 1 singles spot - a spot he is not used to occupying. The move helped the Frogs win the match. "I just tried to stay out there as long as I could; I was down the two match points, but I came back for the win. It was a huge win for me and the team," Fielding said. Carril's absence seemed to slow the Frogs against unranked Arkansas-Little Rock, but the team banded together and got the win. "Knowing that Esteban (Carril) was there rooting for me was a big support and it helped a lot," Fielding said. "The team got behind me and that made the difference in the match." "As it turned out, we needed one win from either Scott (Eddins) or Trace (Fielding) to win the match. Trace came through for us in a big way, and Scott played his heart out," Center said. Despite losing two of three doubles matches en route to losing the doubles point, the Frogs rebounded by winning four of six singles matches. The Frogs' only losses came at the No. 2 and No. 4 singles spots. "You haven't seen the best from these guys just yet. With WAC play less than a month away, we are getting things together," Center said. "We have some big matches coming up, and this team hasn't shown what it can do just yet," Center said. Center attributes his winning season to the all-around good play of the team. With just the three losses coming to highly ranked opponents such as Baylor, Pepperdine and Duke, the Frogs see WAC play as just another hurdle in the road to the top. "It has been a new person stepping up each time we play," Center said. "Everyone has played a big part in our season and our 12-3 record. WAC play will be tough, but I think things are looking up for us as a team." The Frogs return to action against Virginia Tech, who was a final 16 team last season, 1:30 p.m. today at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Chris Ray
By Danny Horne staff reporter It is the bottom of the ninth inning with nobody out, and TCU trails by a run. The game-tying run stands at second base. Historically for TCU baseball, head coach Lance Brown said he would let the batter swing away in this situation. However, times have changed for baseball at TCU. Now, in the same situation, Brown would probably play the "small-ball" game of bunting to move the runner over instead of waiting to see his players power the ball out of the park. "This season we have definitely been thinking more towards manufacturing runs instead of waiting for the bomb," Brown said. "Our team really didn't buy into the new style of play in the beginning of the season. I do think, though, that the six games in Hawaii and the last four games (against Texas Wesleyan and Tarleton State) were a wake-up call for everyone." TCU was 4-6 in those 10 games, but Brown said the team has finally accepted
that execution of little things like defense and situational hitting will
make a difference. "In Hawaii, we had guys trying to hit the ball out of the park, but (they) didn't come close because those fields are so big," Brown said. "We realized how important it was to just get hits. If we play defense in the last inning, we win a game. But, we made errors which wound up costing us." In 1999, with Royce Huffman and David Wallace, the Horned Frogs hit 66 home runs. When the 2000 campaign began, players and coaches had to find ways to fill those spots in the lineup. Junior centerfielder Marshall Wilson said the team has just tried to get more runners on base combined with more runners in scoring position. "We have had some problems this season with runners in scoring position," Wilson said. "We cannot afford to strand runners in crucial situations because we aren't scoring the amounts of runs that we have in the past." At this point in 1999, TCU had scored in double figures 12 times. Going into this weekend's series at Rice, the Horned Frogs have managed 10 runs or more on just four occasions. Brown said the NCAA implemented a new guideline that changed the aluminum bat so it performs more like a wooden bat found in the major leagues. "It's obvious that we haven't scored runs like we used to," Brown said. "We have had to work on improving other parts of our game like bunting, bat control and defense. It's been a tough transition because these guys are used to swinging the bat for more power." Junior pitcher Chris Bradshaw said the change in offensive philosophy has put more emphasis on consistent pitching because the pitchers can no longer expect to give up seven or eight runs and still win. "We cannot afford to walk people," Bradshaw said. "That is really always the case, but it's even more important when you have a smaller margin for error."
Danny Horne
Two years ago, the TCU baseball team set a club record with 76 home runs, but a lot has changed since 1998, head coach Lance Brown said. "In the past, our idea was to get four or five guys in the lineup that can hit home runs," he said. "There was no hint of the style that we have to play now." The style Brown and other collegiate coaches across the nation must switch to is known as "small ball" style of play. Here are the keys to playing and thinking "small ball" style of baseball: Getting on base The ability to get on base begins with pitch selection and the two aspects that emerge from this understanding. In "small ball," a walk is often as good as a hit so it becomes important to only swing at strikes. Also, certain pitches can be handled in a successful manner by taking different kinds of swings. For example, pitches on the outer portion of the plate are hit the best by making contact later in the strike zone and trying to drive the ball to the opposite field. A right-handed hitter, no matter how talented, will hit a ground ball to the shortstop if he tries to pull an outside pitch. Stealing bases Once a team gets a runner on base, the hitters must begin to work on getting the runner into scoring position. An easy way to turn a single or a walk into a scoring opportunity is by stealing bases. Not only does a player need speed to steal bases, he must pick up on the details of a pitcher's motions to the plate or pick-off moves to first base. A pitcher can mix it up by using a slide step, which quickens his approach to the plate, or using a big leg kick, which can make a runner pause for an instant. Bat control Along with stealing second base, a team can advance a runner using bat control. Whether the manager uses a hit-and-run or a hitter simply hits the ball behind a runner, bat control plays a part in manufacturing runs. With a runner on first base, the middle infielders - second baseman and shortstop - play closer to second base to make double plays easier. This lessens the range infielders can cover, and more holes can be opened by a hit-and-run. Since the runner gets a later jump on hit-and-run plays than on straight steals, the hitter has the responsibility of making contact with the pitch to protect the runner. The hitter must hit the ball on the ground, because a fly ball can result in a double play if the runner cannot get back to first base before the ball is caught and thrown to first. With a runner on second base, a hitter can move the runner to third by simply hitting to the right side of the field. A ground ball to second base will advance the runner while the fielder throws the ball to first, and a deep fly ball will allow the runner to move to third by tagging up. Bunting A man on first base can move into scoring position on a bunt, but the next hitters must still get a hit to score a run. Bunting with a runner on second or third shows a team is taking a different angle toward scoring. Squeeze bunts are used when a runner is on third base. The runner on third heads toward home, and the hitter is responsible for bunting the ball, no matter where it is pitched. The runner is almost at the plate by the time the hitter makes contact so the defense's only option is to throw the ball to first base. Throwing strikes Just as walks help a team on offense, they hurt a team's defense. Throughout all levels, walks, especially lead-off ones, turn into runs. A pitcher wants to throw strikes early in the count to get ahead of the hitter. This allows the pitcher to dictate the rest of the at bat. Having the freedom to throw a variety of pitches keeps the hitters off balance and decreases the success of their swings. Impatient hitters will swing at pitches they do not hit well and get themselves out. Defense A defense must give the pitcher enough confidence to throw strikes by proving he will make the plays. It is important to limit the number of outs the opposition gets by reducing the number of mistakes. Both teams get 27 outs, but when a team makes fielding errors or allows runners to advance because of mental blunders, it increases the oppositions' chance of winning.
Rusty Simmons is a junior broadcast journalism
major from Woodbridge, Va. |
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