TCU Falls In MW Tournament
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LAS VEGAS, Nev. – With the score tied at nine, San Diego State scored three two-out runs to take a 12-9 lead and eventually went on to hand TCU a 12-11 loss Saturday afternoon. Derek Odell had three hits, including his second career home run.
Odell, Jerrick Suiter and Kevin Cron were each named to the MW All-Tournament squad.
After falling into a six-run deficit in the fourth inning, the Horned Frogs battled back to tie the game at nine with a pair of two-out runs in the eighth. Odell reached on an infield single and moved to second on a walk to Jantzen Witte. A wild pitch allowed Odell to score and a base hit by Kevin Cron tied the game at nine.
Kevin Allen (5-3) got two quick outs in the ninth but issued back-to-back walks. Justin Scharf came on and a catcher’s interference loaded the bases. Spencer Thornton reached on an infield single and an errant throw allowed two runs to score. Jake Romanski followed with a base hit to make it a 12-9 game.
The Frogs fought back in the bottom of the ninth as they loaded the bases with two outs. Josh Elander reached on an infield single as Josh Gonzales beat the third baseman to the bag, allowing Kyle Von Tungeln to score. Zac Jordan drew a bases-loaded walk to pull the Frogs within one, 12-11. Davy Wright scorched a ball up the middle, but it was speared by Aztec pitcher Justin Hepner who beat Wright to first for the final out.
Greg Allen started the Aztecs offense early with a lead-off home run in the first inning. The Frogs responded with a run of their own to tie the game at one in the bottom of the inning. Jantzen Witte singled with
one out and raced home on a Josh Elander double to deep right field.
The teams traded runs once again in the second inning to make it a 2-2 contest. Seby Svala singled with two outs to start the rally. Two more ground balls on the infield had the bases loaded when Tim Zier was plunked on the hand to give the Aztecs a 2-1 lead.
Jerrick Suiter led off the bottom of the frame with a single to right. He moved to third on a two-base error in left field. Brance Rivera hit a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game at two.
San Diego State pushed across two more runs in the third inning to open up a 4-2 lead. A lead-off walk scored on a one out double by Jake Romanski. With two outs and runners on the corners, Mitchell balked to bring in another run.
The Aztecs opened up a six run lead as they put a four-spot on the board in the fourth inning. The first five batters of the inning reach on two infield singles, two walks and a base hit to left. The Aztecs drove in a run in four straight at-bats to make it an 8-2 lead.
TCU got three of the runs back in the Aztecs committed a costly error to open the inning. With one out and runners on the corners, Keaton Jones hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Suiter. Derek Odell followed with a two-run blast to right center to make it an 8-5 ballgame.
After the Frogs held the Aztecs off the scoreboard in the fifth, TCU pulled within two with another run. Kevin Cron doubled with one out. A walk and a base hit by Suiter loaded the bases. With two outs, Rivera was plunked on the backside to make it an 8-6 ballgame.
In the sixth, the teams traded runs again to keep it a two-run ballgame. Four straight hits to open the Aztec half of the inning had a run in and the bases loaded with nobody out. Witte started a 5-2-3 double play then Crichton got Evan Potter to line softly to Odell to end the inning with just the one run scoring.
TCU’s sixth-inning run came on a two-out single off the bat of Cron. Odell led off the inning with a double to right center and scored to make it a 9-7 game, setting up the crazy end to the game.
TCU falls to 36-19 overall. The Frogs will await their postseason fate as the field of 64 will be revealed Monday morning. The selection show will air at 11 a.m. on ESPNU.
