Last weekend, Jim Schlossnagle’s squad was prepared for their weekend series against Cal Poly, but the four inches of snow and ice that covered Lupton Stadium prevented the Frogs and the Mustangs from ever taking the field.

This week’s forecast for Fort Worth calls for more low temperatures and some winter precipitation, but the Horned Frogs will make their way to Los Angeles, where sunshine and 80-degree temperatures are expected this weekend.

Though the weather in LA should be comfortable, TCU has little time to relax, as it will be spending the weekend trying to knock off a few of the best teams in college baseball at the Dodger Classic.

No. 1 TCU (8-1) is slated to play three nationally ranked teams this weekend, including one at Dodger Stadium. The Frogs will play at No. 20 USC on Friday, at No. 7 UCLA on Saturday and against No. 4 Vanderbilt in Dodger Stadium on Sunday.

While the upcoming games may seem daunting, the Frogs are 3-1 against nationally ranked opponents so far this season.

After taking a road series against No. 13 Arizona State, the Frogs are now coming off a 3-1 win over No. 10 Rice. The Frogs went to the bullpen often on Tuesday night– five pitchers took the mound in the victory.

“We knew we had to get guys on the mound,” said head coach Jim Schlossnagle. “We can’t have guys go two weeks without pitching.”

Schlossnagle said Mitchell Traver is expected to get the start on the mound in the first game of the Dodger Classic against USC.

Traver is coming off one of the best starts of his career. He allowed no runs, surrendered no walks and struck out 11 batters in his seven-inning outing against Texas Southern last Wednesday.

The sophomore righty will have to face the hot-hitting Trojan Garrett Stubbs. The senior catcher leads his team at the plate with a .471 batting average and is tied for fourth in Division I baseball for the most hits with 24.

USC has not announced its pitching rotation for this weekend, but its ace Brent Wheatley is expected to get the start on Friday. Wheatley has a 2.12 ERA, 25 strikeouts and has surrendered just three walks this season.

Schlossnagle did not say who will pitch in the Frogs’ next game – Preston Morrison, Alex Young or Tyler Alexander could start against the Bruins on Saturday or against Vanderbilt on Sunday.

Grant Watson will most likely start on the mound for the Bruins on Saturday. So far, Watson is sporting a 2-0 record and a 1.42 ERA. He’s allowed three runs and 13 hits in 19 innings pitched. In Watson’s last outing, which came against Michigan State, he pitched seven shutout innings and gave up four hits.

At the plate, the Bruins’ left fielder Ty Moore leads the team with a .511 batting average and third baseman Chris Keck leads the Bruins, and the nation with five home runs.

The Bruins as a team are tied for eighth in the country in home runs with 12 on the year.

The Frogs’ Sunday opponent, Vanderbilt relied heavily on the deep ball in its 9-8 comeback win over Evansville on Tuesday, as freshman Penn Murfee went deep in the bottom of the ninth inning to force extra innings.

The defending national champion Commodores return many of the key players who led the way for the program’s first ever championship run.

One of those returning players is All-American Dansby Swanson, who is considered to be Vanderbilt’s best infielder. The second baseman has a .346 batting average, 15 RBIs, five doubles, two triples and a home run.

But perhaps the hottest hitting Commodore so far this season is junior Rhett Wiseman. He is leading the Commodores with a .408 batting average and 20 hits.

While Vanderbilt is capable of scoring a lot of runs, its starting pitching is highly touted, but it hasn’t been consistent in the opening weeks of this season.

Either Tyler Ferguson or John Kilichowski could get the start on Sunday for the Commodores.

Ferguson is a pitcher who relies heavily on his fastball that he consistently throws in the high-90 mph range, but he frequently struggles with his command.

Kilichowski is a tall lefty, who has already started three games for the Commodores this season. He has a 3.29 ERA, 16 strikeouts and has surrendered six walks.

Before TCU’s first practice, a few of the players spoke about how they were looking forward to their trip and their matchup against last season’s College World Series winner. But senior center fielder Cody Jones said they are going to treat the Dodger Classic just like every other series.

“We’re playing against the game,” Jones said. “Those are some great teams, but we’re only going to do what we can control.”