In their season opener Friday night, the No. 22-ranked TCU baseball team shut out the Jacksonville Dolphins 5-0 at Lupton Stadium.
Junior pitcher Brandon Finnegan struck out a career-high 13 batters in the win, allowing just three hits and zero runs in seven innings pitched. Finnegan was tabbed as a preseason All-American by Baseball America earlier this month.
Heading into the bottom of the third inning, Finnegan had struck out seven straight batters. The Fort Worth native led the team in strikeouts last year with 86.
The Frogs opened up their lead in the bottom of the first, after an up-the-middle single by junior right fielder Jerrick Suiter allowing juniors Kevin Cronand Cody Jones to score.
Jones, a center fielder from Round Rock, Texas, was one of only three Frogs to play in and start every game last season. He batted 3-for-3 on the night and stole two bases to go along with his two runs.
Junior shortstop Keaton Jones would improve TCU’s lead in the second inning after senior Kyle Bacak hit a single up the middle to put the game at 3-0 Frogs.
Finnegan allowed his first hit in the fourth inning but escaped without allowing a run. He also allowed two hits in the fifth inning.
Dolphins pitcher Alex McRae, who got the start for Jacksonville, allowed three runs and six hits in five innings pitched. He also hit Cron twice with wild pitches in consecutive at-bats.
In the top of the sixth, Finnegan struck out his tenth batter. The left-handed pitcher has struck out double-digit batters in a single game three times during his career at TCU.
By the seventh inning stretch, Finnegan’s night was over, finishing with 13 strikeouts on the night.
Cody Jones kicked off the eighth inning with a single before stealing second base. Sophomore left fielder Boomer White would get his only hit of the night on the following at-bat, moving Jones to third.
After White advanced to second off a wild pitch, Cron drilled a double into left field allowing White and Jones to score, making it 5-0 TCU. Cron was Mountain West all-tournament team in 2012 and first-team Academic All-Big 12 in 2013.
The Frogs finished with nine hits on the night and only struck out six times.
Redshirt junior pitcher Trey Teakell came in as Finnegan’s relief pitcher in the eighth inning and didn’t allow a hit in the game’s final two innings. He struck out two of Jacksonville’s final three batters and the Frogs won 5-0.
TCU struggled for most of last season, starting with an 0-6 record before finishing 29-28 on the season. The team went 13-12 in Big 12 play.
The Dolphins finished with a 17-38 overall record last season, going 8-19 in conference play.
Friday night’s contest was the first of 22 televised games for the Frogs this season.
TCU continues its three-game home series with Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT.
