TCU got some late-season Lupton Magic to get a pair of wins against Kansas.
Friday night the Frogs got a stellar performance from Nick Lodolo on the mound in what was almost surely his last game at Lupton Stadium. The lefty was racking up the strikeouts and ended up with 11 in six innings, allowing two hits and two runs. The bullpen allowed an unearned run and the Frogs were knotted at three going into the bottom of the ninth inning.
In a drizzly night, Conner Shepherd was the hero as he blasted a walk off home run over the right field fence. The Frogs started the scoring in the second inning with a home run off the bat of Andrew Keefer. The Kansas pitcher, Ryan Zeferjahn was hard to get to, as he is likely an early-round pick in the upcoming draft.
The Frogs tallied two more in the fourth inning after Johnny Rizer doubled to start the inning off. Shepherd delivered with an RBI single and then Adam Oviedo brought home another with a fielder’s choice ground out. The Jayhawks finally got to Lodolo in the fifth inning after he walked a batter and hit one. With two outs the Kansas drove a ball off the left field wall just out of the reach of Watson’s glove for a two out, two RBI triple.
In the seventh, the Jayhawks scratched across the tying run by way of a bases loaded walk. Augie Mihlbauer was able to escape the jam with minimal damage and the game was knotted at three going into the bottom of the seventh.
The drama continued Saturday at Lupton. Charles King threw 7 1/3 innings of two-run baseball and the bullpen did the rest.
The Frogs managed to get four runs across on the Kansas starter who was extremely efficient. Despite giving up four runs, three earned, he threw only 87 pitches in 8+ innings of work. The Jayhawks started the scoring in the four-h with a two-out RBI double. The Frogs took the lead back in the bottom half of the inning when Rizer reached on a throwing error by the shortstop. Keefer drove in another run with a sac fly and the Frogs led 2-1 after four.
In the fifth, the Jayhawks led off the inning with back to back singles and then tied the game on a sac fly. The pitchers did their jobs for a few innings and the game was tied at two going into the eighth. The leadoff hitter doubled for Kansas and then was brought home after a passed ball on a third strike and a throwing error. Haylen Green came on to work out of the jam, but a throwing error ended his night after facing only one batter. Kansas extended the lead 4-2 on a fielder’s choice and we were off to the bottom of the inning.
The Frogs couldn’t get anything working in the eighth, but the ninth was a different story. After Jake Guenther doubled to start the inning, Austin Henry walked and that drove the Kansas starter out of the game, leaving him responsible for both runners. Rizer popped up to first and there were two outs. Keefer then doubled to bring home Guenther and Henry to tie the game with two outs. After Friday nights hero Shepherd was intentionally walked, Alex Isola was up to the plate. On a full-count Isola turned on a pitch and drove it on top of the practice facility in left field. The Frogs walked it off for the second day in a row and clinched the conference series win.
In what was Brandon Williamson’s best outing of the year, the offense couldn’t get anything going to help him. The long lefty threw 8+ innings of two-run ball (1 ER). The starter for the Frogs was brilliant tallying 11 strikeouts and only three walks.
A run scored in the second, and Williamson walked the leadoff batter in the 9th before getting pulled, which came around to score. The defense made two errors in the ninth inning which brought two unearned runs across and the Jayhawks took a 3-1 lead. The magic was dead in the 9th, as the Frogs couldn’t score a run and lost the series finale 3-1.
Going into the last weekend of conference play, the Frogs sit at 10-11 in the conference and are in fifth place. The Frogs currently have a one-game lead on Oklahoma and Kansas, and a two-game lead on Kansas state. The Texas Longhorns currently sit at the bottom of the conference, 1.5 games back of eighth place Kansas State. The Longhorns host the Sooners, and the Wildcats travel to Lawrence to face the Jayhawks to finish the year. The team that finishes the regular season in last place in the conference fails to make the conference tournament.
