TCU, Howard close out sweep of Oklahoma State with authority

After dropping a chance to sweep a conference series last weekend, TCU and starting pitcher Brian Howard did not miss again.

Howard struck out nine in seven innings, both season highs, and the third-ranked Horned Frogs banged out 11 hits in a 5-1 victory over No. 16 Oklahoma State on Sunday at Lupton Stadium to finish a three-game sweep.

Howard (3-2) threw 119 pitches, closing a 10-pitch battle against Cameron Dobbs with a strikeout to finish his best outing of the season. Last week, with TCU trying to sweep Kansas, Howard left with his team trailing after 5  2/3 innings in an eventual loss.

“I feel like I gave the team a chance to win, which was huge for me,” said Howard, who was 1-2 with two no decisions and a 9.00 ERA in his previous five starts. “I hope I turned a corner today. I feel like I found myself a little bit in those last couple of innings. I hope I can turn a corner and keep putting us in a position to win games, because that’s all that matters.”

Cam Warner homered, and Luken Baker, Evan Skoug and Ryan Merrill had run-scoring singles for the Frogs (17-5, 5-1), who are alone in second in the Big 12 with a league-high five wins.

“Sweeps are so tough to get, especially against a great club,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “It’s hard to do. We had an opportunity to do it last week and didn’t pull it off.”

Ryan Burnett pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Jake Eissler picked up his first college save by getting three outs in the ninth with two runners on base inherited from Burnett.

After a one-out double in the fourth inning, Howard retired 11 of the next 12 batters to finish his day.

The only run for Oklahoma State (15-9, 0-3) came after an unturned double play when Connor Wanhanen failed to cover first base — Schlossnagle said his first baseman forgot how many outs there were — was followed by a ball that fell between three players behind shortstop.

The run tied the game 1-1 in the third inning, but Warner’s home run leading off the bottom of the inning gave Howard and TCU the lead back for good.

“His competitiveness showed through,” Schlossnagle said of Howard, a senior right-hander now 10-1 in 15 career starts at Lupton Stadium. “ I thought his last 40 to 45 pitches were better than his first 40. That used to not be the case. He’s stronger and more durable and able to get deeper in the game.”

The Frogs host UT Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday then resume Big 12 play with a three-game series at Kansas State starting on Friday.

This story was originally published March 26, 2017 at 6:21 PM with the headline "TCU, Howard close out sweep of Oklahoma State with authority."