TCU will start Janczak in Cal series; Wade will play versus UTA

Right-hander Jared Janczak will start a game in the Cal series this week, and leadoff hitter Austen Wade should return as the designated hitter Tuesday against UT Arlington, TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said Monday.

Janczak will be on a pitch count for his first start since April 14 at West Virginia, when he went a season-low 4.2 innings. He missed his next four starts because of a shoulder strain.

Schlossnagle said he has not decided which game Janczak will pitch in for his test run.

“It’s not like he’s going to be able to pitch deep into games yet, but if we can get him out there a couple of times, once this weekend, once in the conference tournament, then we’ll get to the NCAA tournament,” Schlossnagle said. “I don’t know if he’ll be full strength in terms of being able to throw seven or eight innings, but we’ll be closer to it.”

Wade missed the weekend series at Oklahoma with continued soreness after hitting the wall on a slide as he chased a foul pop in the ninth inning of a May 6 game against Texas at Lupton Stadium. The Horned Frogs are 2-2 in four games without their leading hitter, but have scored 30 runs.

“More than likely, I’ll DH him the first day, just so he’s not on his feet playing the outfield,” Schlossnagle said. “Then we’ll have him play the field this weekend if he responds well to it. Having Austen Wade healthy definitely makes us better, and having Jared Janczak healthy definitely makes us better.”

Schlossnagle also remains optimistic about first baseman Luken Baker, who suffered ligament and muscle injuries and a hairline fracture in his left arm in a collision last week at Oklahoma. Schlossnagle said TCU has not ruled out that Baker can return in time for the regional round of the NCAAs.

“As you can tell, our issues weren’t scoring,” Schlossnagle said, looking back at a series loss at Oklahoma, in which the Frogs outscored the Sooners 26-24 but lost twice on walk-off hits. “We scored 17 runs in two games without Luken Baker and Austen Wade and couldn’t win one of the games. If they’re in the lineup, maybe those games aren’t as close, maybe we win. But we had the lead in both games late and couldn’t win the games. The pitching is what has to improve.”

This story was originally published May 15, 2017 at 6:54 PM with the headline "TCU will start Janczak in Cal series; Wade will play versus UTA."