No. 1 TCU, Janczak cruise 6-3 over Penn State on Opening Night

For a pitcher, an Opening Night start is a big moment.

Good thing Jared Janczak is used to those.

The sophomore right-hander, who had two College World Series starts among four total in the postseason last year, gave up just two hits and two earned runs in 6-plus innings Friday night to lead No. 1 TCU to a 6-3 victory against Penn State in the season opener at Lupton Stadium.

Janczak (1-0) needed only 61 pitches to cruise through six innings before a hit batsman on the first pitch of the seventh inning, a four-pitch walk and a base hit to load the bases with no outs and chased him.

An error and a single helped all the inherited runs score against Sean Wymer, but he stabilized the game with two innings of relief, and Durbin Feltman got a nine-pitch save before 5,812, the fifth-largest regular season crowd and eighth all-time at Lupton Stadium.

“Yeah, it kind of felt like a regional,” Janczak said. “The atmosphere was great. The fans were awesome. But it was just the first game of the year. We have a lot more to go.”

First baseman Connor Wanhanen drove in two runs with a single in the sixth inning to give TCU a 6-0 lead, lacing a ball to center field against left-hander Blake Hodgens.

Second baseman Cam Warner drove in two runs with ground outs, and two other runs scored for the Frogs on an error and a passed ball.

If there were jitters on both sides, Janczak apparently was unaffected.

He retired the first 10 batters on 30 pitches before Connor Klemann doubled to right center. But when Klemann was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple, Janczak retired the next seven batters, meaning he faced the minimum 18 batters through six innings, striking out six.

“I don’t care how experienced you are, Opening Day is still special,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “I was concerned how he was going to handle it. But then you look back, he started a regional game, he started a Super Regional opening game, two games in the College World Series. I think right there in that moment, in the first inning, his experience showed up.”

Janczak, who began last season as a relief pitcher, said he was “very appreciative” of the season-opening start.

Wanhanen, who said he played with Janczak in the Cape Cod League last summer, described the confidence the defense has with Janczak on the mound.

“He knows exactly what he wants to do, and he’s trying to perfect his craft,” Wanhanen said. “All the guys know he’s going to pound the bottom of the strike zone and get ground balls. We talk about it all the time, ‘Hey, get ready, because he’s going to feed us.’ Even if he gets into trouble, no worries at all. He’s just going to take his breaths, get back in the zone and do his thing.”

No. 1 TCU 6, Penn St. 3

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 11:12 PM with the headline "No. 1 TCU, Janczak cruise 6-3 over Penn State on Opening Night."