TCU Falls To New Mexico
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FORT WORTH, Texas – TCU had the tying run standing on second in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t push him across as they fell 6-5 to New Mexico Saturday night. The loss snaps the Horned Frogs’ five game winning streak. Brance Rivera paced the offense with three hits.
Stefan Crichton (5-2) took the loss, giving up six runs on seven hits in four innings of work. He walked one and struck out two. Trey Teakell tossed a career-high five innings, giving up just three hits and striking out one. Thanks to a pair of double plays and a caught stealing, Teakell faced just one batter over the minimum in his five innings of work.
TCU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Kyle Von Tungeln singled and moved to third on a base hit off the bat of Josh Elander. Jason Coats bounced into a double play, but Von Tungeln was able to score to give the Frogs the lead.
Miscues in the top of the second allowed the Lobos to tie the game at one. Ryan Padilla led off the inning with a single and a one-out base hit had runners on first and second. It looked like John Pustay hit what could have been an inning-ending double play ball, but an error at second turned into a bases loaded, one out situation. On the ensuing pitch, Crichton plunked Kyle Stiner to plate the tying run. TCU got out of the jam as Jantzen Witte started an inning-ending double play to minimize the damage.
The Lobos took a 3-1 lead in the top of the third, capitalizing on another lead-off single. With one out, DJ Peterson connected for a two-run home run to left field.
Three more Lobos came around to score in the top of the fifth as they opened up a 6-1 lead. Back-to-back singles to open the inning came around to score on a triple off the bat of Ben Woodchick. Teakell came on and gave up a base hit that drove in Woodchick, but got an unconventional double play to end the inning. DJ Peterson over ran third base on a double play attempt and was tagged out trying to get back to third.
TCU got the three runs back in the bottom of the inning to pull back within two, 6-4. Rivera led off the inning with a base hit. A balk moved him to second and a base hit by Keaton Jones had runners on the corners. Von Tungeln hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the first run of the inning. Coats singled with two outs to drive in Jones. An error kept the
inning alive and Kevin Cron made it count as he doubled to drive in Coats.
The Lobos spoiled multiple attempts by the Frogs as they tried to creep closer in the latter innings. TCU drew a pair of one-out walks in the seventh, but Lobo reliever Bobby Mares battled back to strike out the final two batters of the inning.
Odell led off the eighth with a single, but a pair of catches thwarted the Frogs’ chances. Brett Johnson hit a line drive to deep center that was tracked down for the first out. Rivera just missed a game-tying home run by a few feet as left fielder Chris Nunez hauled in the second out with his back against the wall.
Josh Elander started a one-out rally in the ninth and moved to second on a wild pitch. Witte singled to pull the Frogs within one, 6-5. Another wild pitch had pinch runner Davy Wright standing on second, but Mares was able to get the final out to end the game.
TCU falls to 28-16 overall and 12-5 in league play. The Frogs and the Lobos will play the rubber match Sunday afternoon beginning at 12:30 p.m.
