TCU adds to postseason résumé with win over strong Dallas Baptist

It wasn’t just another Tuesday night win.

For TCU, it was a résumé-stacking Tuesday night win.

That’s how much the Horned Frogs thought of their 6-2 victory against Dallas Baptist at Lupton Stadium.

“They’re as strong and as talented and as well-coached as anybody in the state of Texas,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “We’re in the process of building a résumé. The goal is to win as close to 40 games as we can against a great schedule, and this is a step in that direction.”

Dallas Baptist, No. 20 in the USA Today baseball poll, came in with as many wins as the Horned Frogs and holding the top RPI rating in the country. And after two innings, the Patriots led 2-0 against TCU starter Tyler Alexander, and the fourth-ranked Horned Frogs hadn’t gotten a ball out of the infield.

But TCU (25-6), now 9-5 against ranked opponents, put together four consecutive singles with two outs in the third inning, taking advantage of three errors (two overthrows and a misplay in the outfield) for a 5-2 lead.

Jeremie Fagnan’s home run to right field made it 6-2 in the fourth, and Alexander cruised through the eighth. Riley Ferrell threw a 12-pitch ninth inning, appearing for a third consecutive game for the first time this season.

“It was a great win,” Schlossnagle said. “There wasn’t a whole lot available between Alexander and Ferrell. We pitched some guys Monday night, so we needed Tyler not only to pitch well, but to pitch deep into the game, and he did.”

And Ferrell?

“He’s pitched in three of the last three games with just one day off,” Schlossnagle said. “You see how strong that guy is even on the third day. That was a really good sign for us, too.”

Outside of the rocky start, Alexander (2-2) looked sharp against a DBU (24-6) lineup hitting .292 with 27 home runs. He walked none and struck out five, throwing 70 strikes in 102 pitches.

“The best time to get a really good pitcher is early, when he hasn’t found a feel for his pitches,” Schlossnagle said. “You have to be able to throw off-speed pitches behind in the count against that team. They are set dead-red on fastballs. But as soon as he found his breaking ball and changeup, that kept them off his fastball. And we played really good defense.”

The eight innings were a season-high for Alexander, a sophomore left-hander from Southlake Carroll who brought his ERA down to 3.40 after giving up five earned runs at UT Arlington last week.

“My last couple of starts, especially in the first inning, I’ve kind of struggled,” he said. “I’ve seemed to get a little better as the game goes along. I feel confident in all my pitches right now. I just need to get the first inning out of the way.”

The next chance comes next week. Against UTA.

This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 11:03 PM with the headline "TCU adds to postseason résumé with win over strong Dallas Baptist."