‘He was great.’ TCU’s Johnny Ray carries TCU to season-opening victory over Kentucky
Johnny Ray had nerves when told he’d be TCU’s opening-day starter last week.
This is a guy who had never pitched at the Division I level. An oblique strain limited him to just eight innings last season at John A. Logan Junior College in Illinois.
“But as the week went on,” Ray said, “It was more excitement than nerves. I was ready to get out there and compete.”
Ray did just that in his TCU debut, helping the Horned Frogs to a 5-1 season-opening victory over Kentucky on Friday night at Lupton Stadium.
Ray allowed one run on two hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. Three TCU relievers combined to throw 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Third baseman Conner Shepherd paced the way for the offense with three RBIs, including a pivotal two-run triple in the seventh inning.
But the night belonged to Ray, who showcased why he earned the No. 1 spot in the rotation.
“I thought Johnny Ray was outstanding,” coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “He was great for his first Division I game.”
Ray pitched around walks in the first two innings before going through a stretch where he retired seven straight. He didn’t run into real trouble until the fifth inning, giving up a one-out triple to Austin Schultz. Schultz then scored on a single by Cam Hill.
Ray retired the next batter before issuing a two-out walk, ending his night one out shy of qualifying for the win. He threw 87 pitches on a night his pitch limit was 90.
“I would’ve liked to stay out there and try and finish it out and get out of my inning,” Ray said. “But coach is the one calling the shots, so it’s cool with me.”
Left-hander Haylen Green earned the win, closing the fifth inning with a strikeout and retiring the side in the sixth. Green and Marcelo Perez combined for a scoreless seventh, and freshman Riley Cornelio finished the game with two scoreless innings.
Cornelio threw 26 pitches and is likely going to start against Abilene Christian on Tuesday.
“I have a lot of confidence in Riley,” Schlossnagle said. “He’s mature beyond his years. Once we had the four-run lead, I thought it was a perfect tune-up to start Tuesday.”
The Horned Frogs scored all the runs they needed in the first inning. They scored two on a bases-loaded error by Kentucky, and one more on a sacrifice fly by Shepherd.
Shepherd put the game out of reach with his two-run triple in the seventh.
“We kind of got stagnant there, scored three in the first and all the way until the seventh when we got those two RBIs,” Shepherd said. “It was good to cushion our lead.”
TCU and Kentucky play the second game of this three-game series at 2 p.m. on Saturday. TCU is expected to start right-hander Charles King against Kentucky left-hander Mason Hazelwood.
The series finale is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. TCU will go with left-hander Russell Smith, while Kentucky is slated to start lefty Dillon Marsh.
This story was originally published February 14, 2020 at 11:10 PM.
