Horned Frogs Hand UCLA First Loss of the Season.

TCU takes Game 1 against #20 UCLA off the back of some clutch performances out of the bullpen.

TCU LHP Payton Tolle got his first win of the season after No. 5 TCU beat No. 20 UCLA 4-3. 

Contrary to last week's everyday shootout that occurred between TCU and FGCU, this series already has a CWS series feeling surrounding it. The Horned Frogs took Game 1 of a 3-game series against the #20 UCLA Bruins courtesy of some huge at-bats by Kurtis Byrne and Brody Green. Byrne ended the game going 3-for-4 with a homerun tallying two RBIs. Green went 2-for-3 including the eventual go-ahead home run for TCU he hit in the 5th inning. 

Sweet swing @BrodyGreen17 😎#FrogballUSA | #GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/F9VjDo9M2u

— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) February 24, 2024

While TCU's hitters did their job in clutch moments during the game, it was the pitching that was impressive for the Frogs tonight. Payton Tolle set the tone for the pitching staff by tallying seven Ks in 5.0 innings pitched. While he gave up two earned runs in his outing, the lefty looked much better toward the 4th and 5th inning compared to last week. 

Kyle Ayers allowed one run in relief in 1.1 innings pitched but shut the door on what could have been a huge inning for the Bruins in the 6th. In the 7th inning, the TCU bullpen was asked to do it again with runners on 1st and 2nd after UCLA came within one. Zachary Cawyer was in relief for Ayers and got out of a jam with a couple of flyouts to cancel any momentum UCLA had gained. 

Coach Saarloos, turned to his star closer, Ben Abledt, in the 8th inning. Once again, Abledt delivered for the Frogs, pitching 2.0 innings without allowing any additional baserunners and earning himself his 3rd save of the year in the process. 

While starter for UCLA, Luke Jewitt, may have struggled tonight, the UCLA bullpen showed why it's considered one of the best so far this season. Though it was a relatively short workload for Landon Stump and Cody Delvecchio combining for 2.0 innings, they allowed zero runs to score against a Horned Frog offense that was seeing the ball well against Jewitt. 

The Horned Frogs are back in action on Saturday at 4 p.m. where Kole Klecker will get the start in an attempt to take the series against #20 UCLA. 

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