It could be called a reverse Cinderella story.
Entering the top of the ninth inning and the end of a long evening, it seemed like the Frogs just couldn’t catch any breaks.
An EF-5 tornado struck Oklahoma Tuesday, delaying the Big 12 Conference Tournament by a day. Then, thunderstorms and a backlog of other baseball games pushed the game back to a 9 p.m. start. A reformatted conference championship tournament changed the outlook of the tournament.
All that before the first pitch was even thrown.
The game didn't start off much better. TCU ace Preston Morrison gave up four earned runs – the most he’s given up in any start this season – and left the game after only 3.2 innings. The Frogs‘ bats went cold, leaving 10 men on base in the first six innings. Oklahoma State was controlling the game and it seemed like the Frogs would be down a game in the tournament.
Just as it seemed to be the end of a difficult night for TCU, the clock finally struck midnight and the Frogs found a way to get on track.
TCU exploded for six runs in the top of the ninth, as the Horned Frogs rallied to a 8-4 victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
After struggling to bring runners home, TCU got seven batters on base, by way of five singles, a hit-by-pitch batter and a pair of base-on-balls.
Boomer White and Jantzen Witte kicked things off after an earlier first out, then Paul Hendrix loaded up the bags by drawing a walk.
Just as they did on April 14 with the bases full, the Cowboys sent in Brendan McCurry to pitch in relief. Once again, TCU made Oklahoma State pay.
A blooper to center field off the bat of Derek Odell drove in two and tied the game at 4. Following an intentional walk to Kevin Cron, Keaton Jones gave TCU a 5-4 go-ahead lead by getting hit by a pitch.
With only one out and the bases full against the Cowboys, it was an all too familiar situation for Brett Johnson. The Frogs‘ outfielder knocked out a single to score two and give TCU a 7-4 advantage. Johnson’s RBI season total grew to 10 with the at-bat, making half of his season RBI coming from ninth-inning, bases full situations against Oklahoma State.
TCU wasn’t done yet however, as Cody Jones added the Frogs’ eighth and final run of the night with an infield single.
Trevor Seidenberger, who relieved Morrison from the fourth inning on, stuck out three straight Cowboys to end the game, giving TCU an 8-4 win.
Seidenberger was credited with the win after putting in 5.1 innings of work with nine strikeouts and only one hit allowed.
TCU will take on West Virginia at 4 p.m. Friday, then play Kansas Saturday to finish pool play in the Big 12 tournament. If TCU finished with the best record in their four-team pool play bracket (which includes Oklahoma State, Kansas and West Virginia) after three games, the team will advance to the championship at 1 p.m. Sunday.
