The TCU baseball team huddled up for a meeting on Monday. That’s usually not a positive as meetings tend to happen when things aren’t going well.

Well, things weren’t going well for the Horned Frogs. They were reeling with losses in five of their last six games with a midweek tilt against Incarnate Word coming up on Tuesday.

But the meeting went well and TCU responded with a thrilling 11-7 walk-off victory over Incarnate Word in 11 innings. It wasn’t the prettiest game, a four-plus hour marathon filled with errors and defensive miscues, but a win is a win.

“We had a team meeting in terms of getting on the same page with everybody having each other’s back and understanding that there’s some lulls in the season,” TCU coach Kirk Saarloos said. “We’ve got to make sure this is a family and we’re all on the same page. It wasn’t the most beautiful game (against Incarnate Word), but you want to talk about a group that responded when they had a chance to fold shop multiple times tonight.

“I can’t say enough in terms of the grit this team showed tonight.”

Nobody exemplified that more than first baseman David Bishop and reliever Drew Hill.

Bishop entered the game in a 1 for 28 slump over his last eight games, but broke out of it in a big way. He finished 5 for 5, delivering the game-tying RBI hit with two outs in the ninth inning and then launching a walk-off grand slam to end it in the 11th.

Bishop was all smiles afterward, recalling his final at-bat when he jumped on a first-pitch curveball. It was the same pitch he took for a strike in the ninth-inning at-bat before sending a game-tying RBI single through the right side of the infield.

“I knew he was going to throw me a curveball,” Bishop said. “I just wanted to make sure I hammered it.”

Hill, meanwhile, threw 1-2-3 innings in the 10th and 11th innings. It was a season-long outing for Hill, who had allowed multiple runs in his previous three outings.

“Can’t say enough about what Drew Hill did,” Saarloos said.

For TCU, even though it wasn’t the cleanest game, it could provide a much-needed boost for a stretch run.

“For sure,” Bishop said. “A lot of tough losses can really build a championship team, which is what we’ve had. We had a great meeting with all the players and coaches, trying to regroup coming into this game.”

Bishop went on to talk about the importance of TCU’s weekend series at Kansas. The Jayhawks (20-29, 4-14 Big 12) are fighting for a spot in the Big 12 tournament, while the Frogs (29-18, 13-8 Big 12) still have a chance to repeat as regular-season champions.

And, even though the chances are getting slimmer, TCU remains in the conversation as possibly hosting a regional in the NCAA Tournament.

As Saarloos said, “As bad as we can look sometimes, we’re 13-8 in conference and have a chance to finish off on the right foot. Who knows what it’s going to take to win this conference.”

Rotation matters

Reliever River Ridings is expected to make his first start on Friday night. Saarloos and the staff had to adjust how they went about this weekend’s series with limited options.

The most pitches Ridings has thrown in an appearance is 43. He’s gone two innings three times this season, including his last time out against Oklahoma on Saturday.

“You don’t want a bullpen game in the opener but there’s things we’ll probably try,” Saarloos said.

On Saturday, TCU is expected to stick with Marcelo Perez. Riley Cornelio is tentatively scheduled to pitch on Sunday, assuming there is no lingering issues following a bullpen session on Thursday.

A couple of starters throughout the season, Austin Krob and Brett Walker, both pitched in relief Tuesday. Krob recorded just one out, allowing two runs (one earned) in a nine-pitch outing. Walker allowed one run over three innings. He threw 43 pitches.

A&M cancels Incarnate Word

Former TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle might’ve been watching the Frogs struggle to put away Incarnate Word on Tuesday. Schlossnagle, who is now Texas A&M’s head coach, canceled a midweek game against Incarnate Word that was scheduled for next Tuesday.

Schlossnagle explained his reasoning to The Bryan-College Station Eagle, saying: “I’m not going to hide from it.

“I think, when the NCAA committee puts such an emphasis on RPI and different things and then conference games matter so much, when you get to this time of the year you have to manage that.”

A&M is viewed as a bubble team to host a NCAA regional this year. Incarnate Word, meanwhile, is No. 194 in RPI with a 17-28 overall record.

This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 7:00 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.