Pitching gem moves TCU into matchup with Texas Longhorns

TCU has a long road to win the Big 12 tournament championship.

But the Horned Frogs might wind up with something more valuable — the confidence from getting three strong starts just in time for the start of the NCAA regional round next week.

Brian Howard (9-3) struck out 10 in the first five innings and a career-high 12 in his first complete game of the season, a four-hit shutout that spearheaded a 6-0 victory against Kansas at Bricktown Ballpark. He became the third TCU starter with a quality start in Oklahoma City.

“It’s the best time of the year. You want the ball in your hands as much as possible during this time,” Howard said. “For me, I was just excited to go out there and give the bullpen a night off.”

Jared Janczak pitched five shutout innings on Thursday, and Nick Lodolo had six scoreless innings in a seven-inning outing on Wednesday. Combined, the Frogs’ top three starters were 2-0 with four walks and 23 strikeouts in 20 innings in the tournament.

“Getting Janczak back healthy and getting Brian to this time of the year, where he normally shines, that’s what we’ve been counting on,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said.

Fourth starter Mitchell Traver is expected to pitch Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. game against Texas.

Howard, a senior right-hander, walked none. He threw 117 pitches and hit two batters.

Last season, he was 4-0 in four starts after the regular season.

“I always love to pitch,” Howard said. “The whole season’s fun, but this time of year, it’s a little bit more fun and a little bit more meaningful games. I just wanted to go out there and win a game, and we were able to do that.”

TCU began the game with three walks against Kansas starter Sean Rackoski and turned it into a four-run inning.

Cam Warner struck out, but Nolan Brown sent a chopper through the left side to drive in two runs.

He left the game in the second inning after a collision with Kansas shortstop Matt McLaughlin, who was trying to hop over him after a misplay at the bag.

Brown’s head and shoulder made contact with the infielder, who tried to start a double play with an underhand feed to second baseman James Cosentino, who was anticipating a step on the bag. The ball got away, and McLaughlin attempted to leap out of the way of the oncoming Austen Wade.

Brown stayed in the game to run the bases and scored on Merrill’s hit that made it 4-0.

TCUis in line to host a regional next week and possibly earn a national seed, which would mean homefield advantage in the first two weekends of the NCAA tournament.

This story was originally published May 26, 2017 at 11:22 PM with the headline "Pitching gem moves TCU into matchup with Texas Longhorns."