Fort Worth Super Regional: Indiana State At TCU College Baseball Preview

Indiana State comes to Fort Worth to battle TCU with a spot in the College World Series on the line.

Seth Montgomery, Indiana State Athletics

A month ago, the TCU Horned Frogs weren't supposed to make the NCAA Tournament. They sat sixth in the Big 12 standings and were dealing with a stretch of eight losses in 10 games. The pitching rotation was a mess and the offense wasn't making up for the deficiencies. TCU was dead to rights and their 2023 season would soon be over.

Now, the Big 12 Tournament champions have won 15 of their last 16 games – including nine straight – and upended Arkansas in their own Regional. Now, just two wins stand between TCU and their sixth College World Series appearance.

TCU hosts the Indiana State Sycamores in the Fort Worth Regional beginning Friday, June 9. Games will be broadcast on ESPN networks, with Game 1 kicking off at 4:00 p.m. CT and Game 2 on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. CT.

How Did Indiana State Get Here?

Indiana State (45-15) put together an incredible season and was named regional host for the first time in program history. They lost just three Missouri Valley Conference games and played a schedule jam packed with tournament teams. Despite being the 14th national seed and host of the Terre Haute Regional, the Sycamores were far from favorites in the last round.

They had a tough draw, including Iowa and North Carolina, but managed to outlast them both with late-game heroics.

Now, in the Super Regional, Indiana State has to get off to hotter starts in their games. In the clinching game of the Regional round, the Sycamores were gifted 10 hit by pitches from Iowa, ultimately winning that game 11-8. They also avoided playing North Carolina in that round.

But credit where credit is due, Indiana State went 3-0 in their regional to lock up a spot in the second round.

Why Isn't This Game In Terre Haute?

Indiana State's athletic facilities will play a vital role in the upcoming Indiana Special Olympics, held in Terre Haute.

"Due to prior commitments, accommodations not available and the community preparing to welcome Indiana Special Olympics for the 51st year," said a release from the Indiana State Athletics Twitter, "we are unable to host the NCAA Super Regionals in the coming week."

Instead, the NCAA awarded TCU with the host bid.

Scouting The Sycamores

Indiana State still has the weakest resume among the remaining teams. They have the lowest weighted batting average (0.367), granted, they've had no trouble scoring this postseason.

It's worth mentioning the shade of luck that the Sycamores had in getting here. Aside from the aforementioned 10 HBP against Iowa, Indiana State skirted by No. 4 seed Wright State in the opening game and required a late-game push in their first game against Iowa.

TCU has scored 12 or more runs in four consecutive games – including 20 in the Fayetteville Regional's penultimate game – and has the hottest offense in the tournament. With a potential onslaught of runs inbound, Indiana State cannot afford to fall behind early.

Third baseman Mike Sears leads the Sycamores with 19 home runs on the season, but also has 95 strikeouts (nearly double the next teammate). The tandem of second baseman Josue Urdaneta and outfielder Seth Gergely combined for 21 stolen bases on the season and both have batting averages near .300. Offensively, it's a team effort without one single huge threat.

What makes this team so dangerous is a trio of starters that TCU is sure to see most, if not all of. Senior Connor Fenlong (10-2, 3.33 ERA) has pitched four complete game shutouts this season, walking just 29 batters in 108 innings. Junior Matt Jachec (7-3, 4.02) leads the squad in strikeouts with 97 in 96.1 IP and senior Lane Miller (7-0, 2.77) leads Indiana State in ERA. Jachec also has three complete games thrown this year.

The starters have legs enough to keep the bullpen well-rested, making this rotation a tough one to handle. However, if TCU can dig into the bullpen, elite arms run out quickly. Primary closer Jared Spencer has seven saves in 24 appearances and boasts a 3.93 ERA.

TCU Horned Frogs: The Nation's Hottest Team

Once the pitching staff started clicking behind Kole Klecker (9-4, 4.18), Louis Rodriguez (2-1, 4.53), a healthy Cam Brown (3-2, 5.50), and some other helping hands, TCU began to collect wins by the bunches. Before their 15-of-16 run, the Horned Frogs stood just 25-21 and the season was looking more like a bust than anything else.

But when it comes to the postseason in any sport, and even more so in college baseball, momentum is everything.

Five Horned Frogs are batting over .300 and Elijah Nunez (.299) is right on the cusp. Regular starters batting under .300 have combined for 25 home runs between Austin Davis (7), Luke Boyers (8), and Kurtis Byrne (10). 

But the two current headliners are Brayden Taylor – who is now the career home run leader at TCU – and Tre Richardson after his historic 11-RBI, two grand slam performance in the Fayetteville Regional. Taylor is well on his way to capping his TCU career with an All America bid while Richardson, should he keep up his hot hitting, might earn a tournament MVP one.

During the tournament, TCU jumped in RPI from 36th to 24th and their odds to win the College World Series at sportsbooks slashed from 50-1 to now 12-1 – both the largest changes among any team.

How To Watch Fort Worth Super Regional

Game 1: Friday, June 9, 4:00 p.m. CT, ESPNU

Game 2: Saturday, June 10, 5:00 p.m. CT, ESPNU

Game 3 (if necessary): TBA

All games will be played at Lupton Stadium and broadcast on the radio at 88.7 FM KTCU.

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