TCU baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle typically doesn’t put too much stock into team meetings.

As he said, “Teams that lose a lot, meet a lot.”

Well, TCU found itself losing more than winning when it had a dreaded team meeting 10 days ago. The Frogs’ had to sit down and talk about everything following a 7-2 loss at Louisiana on March 19 that dropped them to 11-7 overall.

Schlossnagle had a simple message: “I just told them we had a whole lot of guys I’d want to marry my daughter. I just wasn’t sure how many guys would punch back if there was a fight.”

That message resonated with the team. The Frogs have plenty of fight, it turns out, delivering five straight knockout blows. They outscored Louisiana by a combined 18-5 in the final two games to win that series and then swept Baylor to open Big 12 play over the weekend.

TCU outscored Baylor by a combined 24-4, sweeping the series for the first time since 2017.

“That was awesome,” catcher Zach Humphreys said. “We want to win every game, but we think of Baylor as our rival. The way we beat them was awesome.”

The Frogs won the opener 3-1 on Friday, thanks in large part to terrific pitching performances by starter Russell Smith and reliever Haylen Green. Smith scattered four hits over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, while Green allowed an unearned run over the final 2 1/3 innings.

Smith, a redshirt sophomore who missed the 2019 season following Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery, has gone at least six innings in four straight starts and has established himself as the Friday night starter for now.

“The strides I’ve made from last year to this year with my breaking ball, command, changeup, I feel really confident in everything I’m doing,” Smith said. “I know who I am as a pitcher. With that, I attack with my plan and make adjustments during the game.”

Game 2 featured another strong pitching performance and an offensive surge for an 11-2 victory. Starter Austin Krob threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just one hit with nine strikeouts in his first Big 12 game. Krob was named the Big 12’s newcomer of the week for his performance.

The Frogs jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and extended it to 10-0 after three innings.

Sunday followed a similar script as Saturday.

TCU had a 5-0 lead before Baylor even recorded an out. Brayden Taylor had a two-run single and Gene Wood swatted a three-run shot over the right-field fence in the first inning.

The Frogs hung another five-spot on the Bears in the third inning. Elijah Nunez had a two-run single and Taylor later hammered a three-run blast over the center field fence.

“Every run is precious in Big 12 play,” said Humphreys, who was 7-for-13 with five RBIs during the series. “To put up two 10-spots in the last two games is really good. It really helps out your pitching staff.”

TCU right-hander Johnny Ray took full advantage Sunday, being aggressive and carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning. That bid was broken up by Baylor’s Antonio Valdez, who started the frame with a homer.

Still, the Frogs rolled to an easy victory and series sweep. It’s the second three-game sweep of the season for TCU, which outscored Liberty 25-5 over the Feb. 26-27 set.

Credit the team meeting that took place in Louisiana even if Schlossnagle would like to avoid having more of them in the future.

“We needed a wake-up call because we know we’re a good team but we weren’t playing like it,” Humphreys said. “We were playing bad baseball, just not making good defensive plays or putting together good at-bats. That was a good wake-up call.”

TCU (16-7) returns to action at UT Arlington on Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

Big 12 baseball standings

This story was originally published March 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.

Drew Davison

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Drew Davison was a TCU and Big 12 sports writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram until 2022. He covered everything in DFW from Rangers to Cowboys to motor sports.