While one member of the TCU baseball team continued a hot streak, another ended a cold streak as the Frogs defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders Friday night at Dan Law Field in Lubbock. While Kyle Winkler took the mound with hopes of maintaining his early season success, left fielder Jason Coats hoped to break out of a slump that had him batting .125 to begin the year. Both would get their wishes.
Winkler is normally slotted to pitch on Saturdays for the Horned Frogs. However, he made his second consecutive Friday start instead so that Matt Purke could have an extra two days to recover from the blister on his pitching hand. For the third week in a row, Winkler did not allow an earned run, or any runs for that matter as the Horned Frogs dominated by a 7-0 score. It's an outcome that seems to be turning into a routine for the right-hander.
Winkler entered the contest having pitched 14 1/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. That streak now stands at 22 1/3 after eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts. But the Sugar Land native didn't necessarily come by the win easily. Despite managing only four hits against Winkler, the Red Raiders offense still managed to put the pressure on Winkler early.
On the mound with a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning, Winkler surrendered back-to-back singles to David Paiz and Reid Redman to begin the frame. Winkler responded with a spectacular diving grab of a bunt attempt by Jamodrick McGruder, which he then rifled to third baseman Jantzen Witte to gun down Paiz for the force. Mason Randolph then grounded out to second baseman Jerome Peña for the second out of the inning, advancing the runners to second and third. Winkler then buckled down once more to strike out slugger Kelby Tomlinson to end the inning and preserve the slim lead. Head coach Jim Schlossnagle had plenty of good things to say once again about Winkler's pitching.
"He's dominant right now. He's pitching with a lot of confidence, great pace and energy. We've made great plays behind him," Schlossnagle told Star-Telegram reporter Stefan Stevenson after the game.
He later continued to say, "You know, (we're) starting to smell it as we go deeper in the game and that's the sign of an elite division I pitcher."
Schlossnagle raved further by adding, "To be able to roll Kyle Winkler out there against a team in Tech that's hit .366, that's a really good offensive team and to shut them out in their own ballpark says a lot about how good he was." Coach would be pleased to hear that Tech is now batting .329 after facing Winkler, who dominated the Red Raiders following the third inning jam. Of course, that job becomes significantly easier with solid run support and that's exactly what Winkler received.
Coats led off the second inning with a base hit and then stole second during the following at bat. Catcher Jimmie Pharr then doubled to right field to drive in Coats for his fourth RBI of the season. That would not be the last time the Raiders heard from either of the two.
The Horned Frogs broke the game open in the sixth inning when shortstop Taylor Featherston led off with a triple. Coats immediately drove him in with a triple of his own to put the Frogs up 2-0. Coats would score in the sixth after an RBI ground out by Peña and the Frogs would score twice more to make it 4-0. The RBI was Coats' first of the season but not his last of the night.
Featherston reached base again in the seventh by way of a hit by pitch. Coats then extended the lead for the Horned Frogs to 6-0 by launching his first home run of the year to right-center field. The Red Raiders finally retired Coats in the eighth, but he had already done his damage for the night. He finished the game with four hits in five at bats with a home run, a triple, three runs scored and three RBI in what was by far his most productive game this season.
While his batting average for the season is stil at a modest .216, he did raise it 91 points with the performance, which he was really pleased with. "I felt really good at the plate tonight," said Coats after the game. "I think the last couple of games I was just trying too hard, trying to do too much, trying to hit a three-run home run with nobody on base."
In all,it was a successful all-around game for the Horned Frogs, who will battle the Raiders in game two Saturday evening. First pitch is slated for 5:00 PM and the contest can be heard live on 88.7 FM, KTCU. There is also a live gametracker available on GoFrogs.com for those away from a radio. TCU right-hander Steven Maxwell (1-0) will go for his second win in a row as he faces Texas Tech lefty Robbie Kilcrease.
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