The TCU baseball team came to Lupton Stadium with an 0-3 record and left the stadium Friday night with a 0-4 record.

“We have the chance to be a good club, but we’re not right now,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “I think we’ve got a group of guys that’s just really, really trying hard.”

In the 7-2 loss, he said the pitching and catching was not as good as it could have been. Catcher Kyle Bacak had a few passed balls and struggled with stopping wild pitches, something which Schlossnagle said is “uncharacteristic” of him.

Starting pitcher Brandon Finnegan had a couple wild pitches and issued four walks in his 4.2 innings. He collected three strikeouts in the 20 batters he faced. 

“[Finnegan] just didn’t have control of his pitches,” Schlossnagle said.

Cal State Fullerton’s starting pitcher Thomas Eshelman issued zero walks and eight strikeouts in the same number of batters in 5.2 innings.

Offensively, a few highlights for the Frogs came with shortstop Keaton Jones’ two hits, including a two-run RBI single. Third baseman Jantzen Witte also got a couple hits in the game, including one double. Center fielder Cody Jones and right fielder Brett Johnson both collected a hit as well.

“[It] seems like so far in the season," Witte said. "We don’t get off to a great start, and we end up having a little bit of fire in the end, but it’s just too little too late."

Freshman Travis Hennessey got his first collegiate start as the designated hitter as Jerrick Suiter started in left field. Suiter later moved to catcher for the second time in his career in the eighth inning, with Davy Wright taking over in left.

Cal State Fullerton’s pitching staff struck out 10 Frog batters, while the Titans made some noise at the plate as well. By the end of the game, the Titan offense had collected nine hits. Two of those hits were triples from shortstop Richy Pedroza in the fifth and first baseman Carlos Lopez in the ninth.

Keegan Dale will be the likely shortstop for Cal State Fullerton in Saturday’s game after Pedroza was ejected from the game in the sixth inning.

The Frogs have not opened a season 0-4 since the 1981 season. Their record for home openers is now 6-5.

“We’re going to come out tomorrow with fire in our rear ends, and come out swinging.,” Witte said.

The next game is Saturday at Lupton Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.