Riley Cornelio relishes being TCU’s No. 1 starter. Can he end Frogs’ skid Friday?
TCU baseball started the week being ranked No. 12 in the country by D1Baseball.com. The Horned Frogs haven’t played like one of the top teams in the country, though.
They dropped a couple of midweek games to Abilene Christian on Tuesday and UT San Antonio on Wednesday, just the second time they’ve lost consecutive games this season.
For TCU (18-7), it’s about getting back on track this weekend with West Virginia coming to Lupton Stadium for a three-game Big 12 series.
TCU sophomore right-hander Riley Cornelio is scheduled to start the series opener on Friday. Cornelio has won his last three starts and will be looking to stop the Frogs’ brief losing skid. After all, that’s what the pitcher in the No. 1 spot is supposed to do for a team.
“We have a lot of guys who are fit for any spot in our starting rotation, a lot of guys who can be there, but to be able to have that (No. 1) spot means a lot,” he said.
Cornelio has emerged as the Friday night starter since Big 12 play began. He threw eight scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in a 3-0 victory at Baylor on March 18, and then allowed two runs over six innings in a 7-5 victory over Kansas State on March 25.
Cornelio didn’t have his best stuff against K-State, walking three batters, but he ended it on a high note. Trailing 5-2 in the sixth inning, K-State had the bases loaded with two outs but he ended the threat with a strikeout.
That strikeout came on his 101st pitch of the day. Cornelio recalled the moment this week.
“I just wanted the baseball, wanted to stay in the game,” he said. “I told (coach Kirk Saarloos), ‘I got this.’ That emotion was more of a thank you and let’s get the team going. It felt really good to be able to do that.”
For the season, Cornelio is 3-1 with a 3.37 ERA in six starts. He has 35 strikeouts to 11 walks in 34 2/3 innings. Cornelio said he feels confident in all three of his pitches — fastball, slider and changeup.
“Trying to throw strikes with all of them is the key,” he said. “Anytime I can get ahead early in the count, I feel comfortable throwing those pitches to anyone in those counts.”
Cornelio’s rise to the top of the rotation isn’t too surprising. This is a pitcher who was tabbed as the No. 1 draft prospect in the state of Colorado by Baseball America in 2019.
But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cornelio threw only 17 2/3 innings combined in his first two seasons with the Frogs. He pitched more this summer and had a great fall camp leading into the season.
Now he’s becoming one of the most important arms on the staff.
“Part of being a pitcher is you need reps and you need game experience,” Saarloos said. “You can throw all the bullpens you want, but eventually you’re going to have to be able to do it in a game against guys trying to get base hits off you. Riley has done a good job of being a better strike thrower and a quality strike thrower.
“He’s slowly starting to understand what he has to do to be successful. He gets all the credit in terms of what he’s done and the work he’s done to go out and give us a chance on Friday nights. It’s a pretty big deal. He’s relished it. He’s wanted it and he’s backed it up with how he’s pitched.”
