Tablet Sports
TCU takes two from West Virginia to earn first Big 12 sweep
Boomer White popped out of the TCU locker room Saturday night wearing cowboy boots, slacks and a polo shirt.
At 5-foot-8, he looked more like an average college student than a starting left fielder in the Big 12.
But White, a sophomore from Houston, is TCU’s best hitter and has been since bursting into the Horned Frogs’ starting lineup last season.
He was at it again Saturday against West Virginia, going 5-for-9 with four RBIs, as the Frogs swept the Mountaineers (16-11, 2-3 Big 12) in a doubleheader at Lupton Stadium.
TCU (19-12, 5-4 Big 12) won 8-0, then 3-1 to follow Friday’s 4-3 comeback win.
It was the Horned Frogs’ first Big 12 series sweep.
White and the TCU offense, which also got a boost on Saturday from Derek Odell’s five hits, had plenty of help from the Frogs’ pitching staff.
Preston Morrison threw a complete game shutout in the first game. Alex Young and Tyler Alexander combined for seven innings of one-run ball in the nightcap, as Riley Ferrell earned the save, striking out four in two innings.
“If anybody needed it, we did,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “It’s probably been as good of a weekend as we’ve played in over a year and a half.”
Morrison allowed two base runners Saturday, a four-pitch walk in the first inning and a double by Bobby Boyd, the only Mountaineer to find a hit against the junior right-hander.
Morrison needed only 99 pitches to get the win, which included three strikeouts against West Virginia’s top hitter, Ryan McBroom.
“With [McBroom], I really just wanted to expose him with my slider,” Morrison said. “It worked last year when we went up there. Same thing happened today.”
The Frogs have won four straight going back to Tuesday’s win over UT-Arlington. They totaled 26 hits on Saturday. White raised his team-leading batting average to .376 during the doubleheader.
“He’s going to put the ball in play,” Schlossnagle said. “He’s not necessarily your prototypical three-hole hitter because he doesn’t have a ton of power. But he’s the best hitter we have.”
White, who had two hits Friday, said it comes down to him squaring up pitches.
“For me, I just have to stay within myself, use my hand-eye coordination and put it on the barrel,” White said. “I hit it on the barrel a lot this weekend, probably the most I ever have.”
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