TCU freshman’s renewed confidence shows in rout of Wichita State

Freshman Evan Skoug said Friday night was the most fun he’s had in a game this season.

Of course, it was — he had four hits in No. 4-ranked TCU’s 14-1 victory against Wichita State at Lupton Stadium.

But actually, it’s because of more than just a bunch of hits. He feels confident in his game and overall approach thanks to a sports psychiatrist from back home.

“Today, I finally started listening to what he was saying. I finally got out of my own way, got out of my own head, just started hitting the ball like I know I can,” Skoug said. “It was a lot of fun.”

Skoug, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound power-hitter from Libertyville, Ill., said he began talking to the sports psychiatrist in high school and began more frequent conversations two weeks ago.

“He works wonders with me,” Skoug said.

Sure looks like it. Skoug had an 18-game hitting streak snapped earlier this week, but his 4-for-5 performance as designated hitter Friday gave the true freshman 28 hits this season, second on the team. He’s hitting .292 with a team-high 17 RBIs, including three Friday batting cleanup..

“The thing with him is it’s just a matter of getting his pitch,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Swinging at the strikes and taking the balls. He’s got a lot of hits, but he’s got a lot of strikeouts. It’s just a matter of cutting down on those and then putting a good swing on his pitch.”

Most of the Horned Frogs did that Friday. TCU (19-4) drew eight walks and took advantage of three errors against Wichita State (11-14).

Nolan Brown hit a two-run single for a 5-0 lead in the first inning and finished with three RBIs.

The 14 runs on 14 hits were the Frogs’ second-highest totals of the season, and nine batters had a hit. Skoug, Cody Jones and Connor Beck doubled, and Dane Steinhagen tripled.

“We took advantage of the opportunities we were given,” Schlossnagle said. “Opportunistic hits there in the first inning, which gave us a little bit of a lead. We’ll take it.”

Mitchell Traver (4-0) allowed a run in six innings, walking three and striking out five for TCU.

The series continues with games at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Lupton Stadium.

This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 11:14 PM with the headline "TCU freshman’s renewed confidence shows in rout of Wichita State."