Texas Christian University had Dallas Baptist exactly where they wanted them.
The Horned Frogs were fresh and exuded confidence after routing a highly touted Virginia team Sunday night in the regional round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament. TCU had all day Monday to rest.
But Dallas Baptist played two games on Monday. The Patriots first had an afternoon game against Virginia, which they won 11-8.
If DBU intended to springboard off that and go after TCU with lots of confidence and energy during the team’s second game on Monday, DBU showed it only in the first inning when the Patriots took a 2-0 lead. After that, DBU collapsed, and TCU, a No. 6 national seed, put its foot on the gas and never looked back.
The Horned Frogs scored six runs in the third inning and four in the bottom of the sixth en route to a 15-3 victory over DBU before 4,172 fans at TCU’s Lupton Stadium.
“When you get a chance to play at home, you want to make the most of it,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said.
TCU improved to 45-16. Three of those wins were against Dallas Baptist. The Horned Frogs edged the Patriots 3-2 on March 7 in Fort Worth and 9-3 on April 11 in Dallas.
DBU finished the year 42-21.
TCU clinched the Fort Worth regional title with Monday night’s victory over Dallas Baptist, finishing the round with a 3-0 record. The Horned Frogs edged Central Connecticut State, 9-6 in the opener on Saturday then took care of Virginia on Sunday with the 11-1 win.
As a result of winning the four-team regional, TCU advances to the Super Regional, which is scheduled for this weekend at Lupton Stadium.
The Horned Frogs will face Missouri State, the winner of the Fayetteville Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The Super Regional is a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to the College World Series in Omaha. The game times are 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
During Monday night’s Fort Worth Regional final game against Dallas Baptist, DBU looked sharp in the first inning by scoring two runs and holding TCU scoreless. However, TCU responded with three runs in the second inning. First baseman Connor Wanhanen singled through the right side, which enabled Nolan Brown and Cam Warner to score and to tie the game 2-2. TCU later added another run and closed the inning with a 3-2 lead.
TCU took a 5-2 lead after loading the bases in the third inning. TCU added three runs when senior center fielder Nolan Brown singled to left center, which enabled Evan Skoug and Zach Humphreys to score.
The Horned Frogs added four more runs in the third inning. The Horned Frogs took a 9-2 lead when sophomore left fielder Josh Watson hit a two run home run down the right field line.
The Horned Frogs led 9-2 at the end of the third inning.
TCU added a run in the fifth inning, four runs in the sixth inning and a run in the seventh inning. DBU scored its final run in the ninth inning.
“Aside from the first inning, this game [against TCU on Monday night] was not a whole lot of fun for us,” Dallas Baptist coach Dan Heffner said. “But I think our guys can take a lot of satisfaction who what they accomplished during the second half of the year.”
