TCU beats Oral Roberts, remains alive at College World Series

The TCU Horned Frogs, once again, are staying alive in the College World Series.

In a game filled with reviews and challenges, TCU defeated Oral Roberts 6-1 Tuesday in an opening-game rematch. The Horned Frog offense jumped ahead with a four-run fifth inning, and the bullpen held onto the lead.

The Golden Eagle offense threatened in the ninth inning by loading the bases. Cohen Feser struck out Matt Hogan looking to strand three and eliminate Oral Roberts.

TCU will face Florida in an elimination game at 1 p.m. Wednesday. The Horned Frogs will need to defeat Florida twice to advance to the College World Series Championship.

Center fielder Elijah Nunez and designated hitter Kurtis Byrne tallied multi-hit games, leading the offense. Shortstop Anthony Silva and right fielder Austin Davis recorded one hit and secured two and one RBIs, respectively.

TCU’s entire starting lineup had a base hit with the exception of catcher Karson Bowen, who had a rough day behind the plate; Bowen had zero hits in five at-bats.

Jumping ahead early

After a scoreless inning from Cam Brown and Oral Roberts starting pitcher Brooks Fowler, the TCU offense struck first. First baseman Cole Fontenelle walked, and Byrne doubled to set up the score; left fielder Logan Maxwell walked, and right fielder Austin Davis did the same, plating a run.

Byrne and Maxwell, once again, reached safely in the fourth inning. Byrne scored on a balk.

The next inning, Nunez sparked a scoring spree with a single to left field. After a walk from third baseman Brayden Taylor on a pitch violation, Fontenelle and second baseman Tre Richardson singled.

Byrne delivered again, picking up a sacrifice fly, and Silva delivered with a two-out, two-RBI single. All of a sudden, TCU was leading 6-0 with a four-run fifth inning.

Getting caught in a pickle

The Horned Frogs were in a position to add more damage in the sixth inning with two in scoring position and no outs. Catcher Karson Bowen hit a ground ball to shortstop Mac McCroskey, who caught Nunez in a pickle.

Nunez was chased toward third and was tagged out. Davis stayed put and was forced off the bag by second baseman Blaze Brothers, who slid toward Nunez.

Even though Davis would’ve stayed on the bag without Brothers’ interference, Davis was ruled out after a review. On March 28, a similar play occurred during a regular season contest between LSU and Texas A&M; the same call was made.

Later in the ballgame, Davis was given a delay of game warning for taking too long to get back to first base after an attempted steal.

Pitching powers the Horned Frogs

Brown ended the first inning with a double play and recorded a one-two-three inning in the second. The veteran right-hander got into some hot water in the third inning with two no-out walks; Brothers moved the runners over with a sacrifice fly.

Brown, in a tough spot, forced a shallow fly out and caught Justin Quinn, the Golden Eagles’ premier left-handed batter, looking with an 81 mph slider that had a vertical and horizontal break of five and seven inches, respectively. The TCU starter was pulled after allowing his first base hit of the ballgame, an infield single.

Brown, hovering around 97 mph with the fastball, had a short and strong outing, allowing zero earned runs.

Brooks Fowler also had a short start; the right hander was pulled after three innings. Associate head coach TJ Bruce’s TCU offense made Fowler, who threw 63 total pitches, work for outs.

The two Golden Eagle relievers that followed Fowler, Joshua Caravalho, and Caleb Isaacs, struggled to limit the Horned Frogs. Mental mistakes plagued Caravalho, who was called for a balk and a pitch violation that resulted in a walk after giving up two base hits.

The Golden Eagles bullpen allowed five earned runs. On the other hand, The Horned Frog bullpen allowed one; the Golden Eagles scored on Luke Savage in the fifth with an RBI single.

Hunter Hodges tossed two 1/3 scoreless innings, and Feser slammed the door with two scoreless innings.

Charles Baggarly writes for TCU360.com, a media partner of the Star-Telegram.