No. 1 TCU bullies UTA behind Traver’s pitching

TCU’s pitching staff is so deep that its Tuesday starter picked up right where the dominant weekend starters left off. Unfortunately for UT Arlington, it had to figure that out the hard way.

Mitchell Traver allowed four singles over six shutout innings and gave way to a bullpen that secured TCU’s 4-1 win over UTA on a chilly Tuesday night at Lupton Stadium.

The top-ranked Horned Frogs (4-0) have proven to be nearly unhittable this season. The Mavericks weren’t able to produce anything until two walks, a balk and a wild pitch against closer Riley Ferrell provided a ninth-inning run that ended TCU’s string of shutout innings at 21. After four games, the Horned Frogs have allowed two earned runs.

“I’m just really proud of him because he’s come a long way,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said of Traver. “He was as much of a part of that heralded recruiting class with [Riley] Ferrell and Alex Young, so I’m sure he feels like it’s his turn and responsibility to start carrying some of the load.”

For the third straight game, the Horned Frogs wasted little time getting on the board. Freshman Evan Skoug lined a two-run single into right field to give TCU 11 first-inning runs in their last three games.

And it was clear from the way Traver plowed through the UTA lineup that he wouldn’t need much more. In his first collegiate start, the 6-foot-7 right-hander retired the first 10 hitters he faced.

He ran into trouble in the fourth and fifth innings when he allowed two base runners in each inning. But

when his day was done, Traver only allowed five base runners in six shutout innings and struck out five.

“Pitchers really show their mettle when they have to pitch out of jams,” Schlossnagle said. “That’s a really good sign.”

In the fifth, TCU’s Derek Odell drew a four-pitch walk with the bases loaded but the threat ended as UTA’s Justin Schnedler fanned the next two hitters. Odell added a two-out RBI double in the seventh for a 4-0 lead.

The Mavericks dropped their third game in four outings this season but coach Darin Thomas knows his inexperienced lineup is getting ready for conference play.

“Three of our four games have been against really good starting pitchers,” Thomas said. “But those are as good a group of arms as we’ll see all season.”

UTA starter Kyle Laberge shook off a shaky first inning and carried UTA into the fifth inning, allowing three runs, six hits and getting five of his team’s 11 strikeouts.

The Mavericks had the tying run at the plate in the ninth inning when Eric Tate stepped in against Ferrell with two runners on base. Ferrell forced a chopper back to the mound that ended the game.

This story was originally published February 17, 2015 at 11:35 PM with the headline "No. 1 TCU bullies UTA behind Traver’s pitching."