TCU completes sweep of Air Force
FORT WORTH, Texas – The TCU Horned Frogs scored early and often to secure a 10-5 win over Air Force Sunday afternoon at Lupton Stadium. The victory completes the second sweep of the season for the Frogs. Taylor Featherston paced the offense with four hits and Steven Maxwell tossed seven strong innings for the win.
Maxwell (4-0) allowed a run on three hits in seven innings of work. He walked one and fanned four. Tony Maxwell sat down the first 11 batters he faced and 12 of the first 13. Rizzotti was touched for four runs on four hits with a walk in 1/3 of an inning. Trent Appleby retired all five batters he faced to close out the game.
With one swing of the bat, Jantzen Witte put the Frogs in front in the first inning. His third home run of the season just cleared the left field fence to put TCU up 1-0.
In the third, the Frog bats came to life as the first five hitters reached base. Brance Rivera got the inning started with a base knock. Witte laid down a perfect bunt and Featherston followed with a single to left to load the bases. Jason Coats made it a 2-0 ballgame with a base knock to left. Josh Elander followed with a two-run single through the right side, making it a 4-0 contest.
A two-out rally in the fourth produced another TCU run. With Rivera standing on first, Witte and Featherston stroked back-to-back singles to load the bases. Coats stayed patient at the plate to work a walk, putting the Frogs up 5-0.
Air Force cracked the scoreboard in the sixth inning, scoring a run on two hits. Maxwell plunked
Vai Schierholtz with one out. A stolen base and a wild pitch put him on third and he scored easily on a base hit by Nathan Carter. The Falcons looked poised for more damage as Alex Bast doubled to put two runners in scoring position with only one out. Maxwell got a huge strikeout for the second out and Rivera tracked down a soft line drive in right to end the inning.
TCU took the momentum and turned it into another three run inning in the bottom of the frame. Featherston doubled with one, Coats was hit by the pitch and Elander walked to load the bases. Jerome Pena lined a double to right to drive in a pair of runs. A wild pitch allowed Elander to race home, giving the Frogs an 8-1 lead.
The Frogs tacked on a pair of runs in the seventh to take a commanding 10-1 lead. Rivera reached on a hit by pitch to open the inning. Featherston singled to center and a misplay in the outfield allowed Rivera to score all the way from first. Standing on third with two outs, Featherston scored easily on a pinch-hit single off the bat of Kyle Von Tungeln.
Air Force put together a furious rally in the eighth inning, scoring four times on four hits and a walk. The big hit of the inning was a two-run single off the bat of Seth Kline. With a runner on second and only one out, Appleby came on and needed just two pitches to get out of the inning. The senior pitched a perfect ninth to lock up the victory.
TCU improves to 18-9 on the season and 5-1 in league play. The Frogs will host UT Pan American for a pair of midweek contests beginning Tuesday night. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Lupton Stadium.
