TCU Baseball Hosts San Diego This Weekend

Looking to rebound from a midweek loss, TCU hosts the San Diego Toreros at Lupton Field this weekend. What do you need to know about the series going in?

Nothing comes easy. Just 12 games into the season, the TCU Horned Frogs (7-5) have faced three ranked opponents and a half-dozen quality more ones. This weekend, TCU looks for their first series sweep of the year against the San Diego Toreros (5-6-1).

Despite their five losses, D1Baseball ranks TCU 10th nationally, a testament to their schedule that would leave most programs in tatters.

Catch the start of the series with San Diego on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT. Saturday's first pitch comes at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday's finale begins at 1:00 p.m.

TCU Baseball Hosts San Diego

San Diego rides a six-game losing streak coming into this series after a hot 5-0-1 start. As a team, the Toreros are scoring 6.2 runs per game and have a 6.84 team ERA. They scored significantly fewer runs throughout their six-game skid, which came to respectable West Coast teams UC Irvine, Oregon, and Oregon State.

Friday's game will be just the second matchup ever between these two teams. San Diego beat TCU in 2019, a standalone weeknight matchup.

Emphasis needs to be placed on smart base running in this one for the Frogs. While the lineup is stacked with dangerous baserunners like Elijah Nunez and Austin Davis, San Diego catcher Andrew Semo has thrown out 8-of-16 base stealers (50%!).

Player To Watch 

TCU has an impressive catcher of their own, Karson Bowen. Bowen will start behind the plate and deservedly so – the true freshman has thrown out 7-of-10 base runners and added seven RBI as a batter.

He'll have opportunities to catch more base runners, as San Diego has been thrown out eight times in 12 games as a team.

Bowen comes in as a decorated recruit from Southern California and teammate of pitcher Louis Rodriguez. In 30 plate appearances, Bowen is hitting an impressive .400 with 10 hits, seven runs scored, and just six strikeouts.

Pitching Matchups For TCU Vs. San Diego

Depth and new faces will be tested this weekend as TCU is shorthanded a few pitchers. Garrett Wright, Luke Savage, and Louis Rodriguez will all sit this series out, but are expected to return next week, per D1 Baseball's Kendall Rogers.

As has been the case this year, Ryan Vanderhei (1-1, 2.70 ERA) gets the opening night start against San Diego's James Sashin. Vanderhei leads the frogs in strikeouts (20) and innings pitched (16.2) so far on the season, just the step forward the team had hoped from last year at Kansas. In his last outing, Vanderhei threw six scoreless innings en route to a 6-0 win over Michigan at the Shriners Classic.

Kole Klecher (0-1) gets his second start of the season Saturday afternoon. Kletcher's first start came against the hot bats of Louisville, where he pitched four innings and allowed three runs. He squares off against San Diego ace Garrett Rennie, who leads the Toreros in strikeouts (20) and innings pitched (16.2) and has issued just five walks this year.

Cam Brown (1-0) cleans up Sunday afternoon after a dominant last performance. Brown threw seven scoreless innings and run up eight against Rice in his best outing of the year. TCU is 3-0 in games which Brown was the starting pitcher.

How To Watch San Diego At TCU

When: Friday, Mar. 10, 6:30 p.m. CT | Saturday, Mar. 11, 2:00 p.m. | Sunday, Mar. 12, 1:00 p.m.

Where: Lupton Stadium (Fort Worth, TX)

TV/streaming: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM

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