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TCU baseball avoids elimination with 9-4 win over Kansas State in Big 12 Tournament

steven johnson
·2 min read

The Horned Frogs staved off elimination for one more day at the Big 12 baseball tournament with a 9-4 win over Kansas State Thursday at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

The Horned Frogs advance to the next round where they’ll face the loser of No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Kansas at 9 a.m. Friday.

After being shutout by the top-seeded Sooners on Wednesday, TCU didn’t take long to get on the board against the Wildcats. Logan Maxwell drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning.

The Horned Frogs piled on in the second with three RBI singles from Karson Bowen, Brody Green and Sam Myers to take an early 4-0 lead. With how inconsistent TCU’s offense has been at times this season, it was an encouraging sign to see the bats get warmed up so early.

Byers added another big RBI at the top of the fourth as his single drove in runs from Chase Brunson and Luke Boyers. Kansas State would finally get on the board with a run in the bottom of the inning, but the damage had already been done.

TCU’s lead grew to 7-1 before K-State made its comeback attempt. The Wildcats put the pressure on the Horned Frogs in the bottom of the sixth driving in three runs to make it 7-4.

With the pressure mounting Brody Green delivered at the biggest moment as his RBI single drove in Boyers and immediately took back momentum from Kansas State.

The Horned Frogs added runs in the top of the seventh and eighth innings to ice the game and bounce the Wildcats from the Big 12 tournament. Myers was 3-of-4 at the plate with three RBIs, Maxwell had two RBIs while Kurtis Byrne also had three hits and a RBI.

Ben Abeldt picked up the win with nine strikeouts and just one run given up in five innings of work. Now the focus for the Horned Frogs will be preparing for the Sooners or Jayhawks as a spot in the semifinals will be on the line Friday morning. If TCU wins the Horned Frogs would play the semifinal at 12:30 p.m. Friday against the winner of the Sooners and Jayhawks.