TCU’s road back to College World Series won’t be easy in Arkansas
TCU baseball is back in the postseason after falling one-out short a year ago.
The Horned Frogs (32-26), of course, are no strangers to the NCAA tournament. This is their 16th appearance in the regionals. All but two have come under coach Jim Schlossnagle.
The Fayetteville Regional winner advances to the super regionals against the winner of the Oxford Regional, hosted by Ole Miss. The other teams are Clemson, Illinois and Jacksonville State.
TCU’s road back to the College World Series for a sixth time won’t be easy. The host Razorbacks (41-17) are the No. 5 national seed. They open against No. 4 seed Central Connecticut (30-21) at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. at 1 p.m. Friday. The No. 3 seed Frogs open against No. 2 Cal (32-18) at 6 p.m. Friday.
If the Frogs escape Arkansas, they’re likely to face No. 12 national seed Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss.
Fayetteville Regional
(Baum-Walker Stadium)
1. Arkansas (41-17)
The No. 5 national seed Razorbacks are the clear favorite. The Hogs are loaded offensively. They’re batting .300 as a team, have 78 home runs in 58 games and average 7.5 runs a game. Junior third baseman Casey Martin leads Arkansas with 15 homers and 53 RBIs.
2. Cal (32-18)
The Bears have one of the best hitters in the country in Andrew Vaughn. He won the Golden Spikes Award as a sophomore in 2018 and has followed up with an equally impressive junior season. He’s hitting .387 with a 1.277 OPS with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs.
3. TCU (32-26)
The Horned Frogs scare opponents because of their rotation, including left-hander Nick Lodolo, right-hander Charles King and left-hander Brandon Williamson. Add to the mix right-handed senior Jared Janczak, who struck out 12 and held Oklahoma State to two runs in six innings at the Big 12 tournament last week.
4. Central Connecticut (30-21)
The Blue Devils won their sixth Northeast Conference tournament championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The school, which is located in New Britain, Conn., was last in the postseason in 2017, when it lost to TCU and Dallas Baptist in the Fort Worth Regional. Dave Matthews leads the Blue Devils with six home runs, 17 doubles and 38 RBIs.
This story was originally published May 30, 2019 at 4:27 PM.
