TCU baseball’s Petrie to miss 8-10 weeks with fractured wrist
TCU baseball catcher Michael Petrie broke his left wrist during the Frogs’ season-opening victory over San Diego State on Friday night in the MLB4 Tournament in Arizona.
Petrie is expected to undergo surgery on his wrist Monday and miss 8-10 weeks, coach Kirk Saarloos said.
“It’s a tough blow,” Saarloos said.
Petrie, a graduate transfer from Washington who won the opening-day job over sophomore Kurtis Byrne, injured his wrist in the second inning on what was ruled a catcher’s interference. It happened during an at-bat against San Diego State’s Irvin Weems.
“It was called catcher’s interference, but I went out and argued it was a strike three and the batter swung at the ball after the ball was in the mitt,” Saarloos said. “He hit Michael’s wrist and snapped it in half. I feel bad for Michael, but it’s an opportunity for Kurtis.”
Byrne replaced Petrie in the middle of that inning and went on to have a productive opening series. He had a hit in every game, going 4 for 12 with two doubles and two RBIs over the series.
Byrne’s production over the weekend is a promising sign given the number of weeks Petrie is expected to miss.
“Kurtis Byrne stepped in and I thought he caught the ball, blocked and threw extremely well,” Saarloos said. “Then obviously swung the bat well. That was a huge plus and bonus.”
Petrie and Byrne were TCU’s top catching options going into the season and battled for the starting job throughout fall camp and the preseason. The job ultimately went to Petrie, but Byrne is a highly-touted prospect who had a chance to pursue professional baseball coming out of high school. Byrne was drafted by his hometown St. Louis Cardinals in the 35th round of the 2019 MLB Draft but opted to go the college route.
Backing up Byrne for the time being will be two players who have not caught in a college game yet — junior Bobby Goodloe, who has played mostly third base in his college career, and Mason Speaker, who has played in seven games the past two seasons with the Frogs.
TCU, which went 2-1 in the MLB4 Tournament, has its home opener against Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Lupton Stadium.
This story was originally published February 20, 2022 at 9:17 PM.
