TCU Sweeps New Mexico To Close Out Regular Season

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The TCU Horned Frogs completed the sweep of New Mexico with a 12-8 victory Saturday afternoon to conclude the regular season. The victory is the sixth straight for TCU and gives it just its third 40-win regular season in school history. Jason Coats led the offensive charge with four runs driven in.

Erik Miller (6-6) surrendered eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits in six innings of work. He didn’t walk a batter, hit two and struck out two. Nick Frey pitched two scoreless innings, giving up just two hits. Stefan Crichton pitched a scoreless ninth to help lock up the victory for the Frogs.

Similar to the first two games of the series, the Horned Frogs pushed across a run in the first inning to take the early lead. Kyle Von Tungeln led off the game with a hustle double to left field. A ground out off the bat of Jantzen Witte moved Von Tungeln to third where he scored from on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Coats.

TCU left the bases loaded in the second and the Lobos took the momentum and turned it into a four-run bottom of the second. With the bases loaded and one out, Trey Porras doubled in two to give New Mexico its first lead of the series. Logan Lippert followed with a two-run single to make it a 4-1 game in favor of the Lobos.

The lead wouldn’t last as the Frogs struck for five runs in the top of the third to take a 6-4 lead. Witte doubled to open the inning and scored on a triple off the bat of Josh Elander. A base hit from Joe Weik made it a 4-3 game. With two on and two out, Lobo starter Jake McCasland unleashed a wild pitch and Brance Rivera made it hurt with a two-run single that gave the Frogs the 5-4 lead. After two stolen bases, Rivera was standing on third and he scored easily on a double from Jerome Pena.

New Mexico tallied a pair of runs on three hits in the third to tie the game at six. A lead-off single scored on a triple by Luke Campbell and he scored easily on a base hit from Mitch Garver.

TCU bounced back with a run in the fourth to regain the 7-6 advantage. Witte walked to lead off the inning and stole second. An errant throw allowed him to reach third and he scored on a base hit from Elander.

The Lobos rallied again to tie the game at seven with a run in the sixth inning. A two-out rally by New Mexico began with a DJ Peterson double. He moved to third on a miscue in the outfield and scored on a single to left from Campbell.

A Lobo error on a bunt attempt by Von Tungeln proved costly as he scored on a long home run off the bat of Coats that gave TCU a 9-7 lead. New Mexico got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning when a lead-off single eventually scored on a wild pitch to make it a 9-8 game.

TCU milked the one-run lead until the eighth inning when it exploded for three runs on two hits and an error. Von Tungeln drew a one-out walk and stole second. He moved to third on a base hit from Witte and scored on a base hit off the bat of Coats. Another errant throw on a stolen base by Coats allowed Witte to score from third and Elander capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to make it a 12-8 game.

Frey and Crichton shut down the Lobo offense in the final two innings to close out the game.

The Frogs finish the regular season 40-15 and 20-3 in league play. TCU will open play in the 2011 MWC Postseason Tournament Wednesday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium in San Diego, Calif. It will play the lowest seed to advance from Tuesday’s opening round action.

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