TCU’s Kirk Saarloos suspended for ‘excessive expression,’ could miss regional game
TCU baseball coach Kirk Saarloos was suspended for two games by the NCAA after his ejection from Thursday’s game in the Big 12 Tournament.
Saarloos was ejected in the eighth inning of the Horned Frogs’ 5-3 loss to Texas at Globe Life Field.
Home-plate umpire Casey Moser ejected Saarloos after calling TCU pitcher Luke Savage for a run-scoring balk. Saarloos says he stepped out of the dugout to motion for an intentional walk to the next Texas batter.
If that’s the case, Moser didn’t wait long to find out, as he immediately tossed the first-year coach. After the ejection, Saarloos vented his frustration with Moser as the three other umpires converged on home plate in Moser’s defense. That’s what caused the suspension, according to the NCAA.
According to the NCAA rules, Saarloos was suspended because “no team personnel may continue to argue or to continue to excessively express themselves with prolonged actions or offensive language after an ejection,” according to a release.
Associate head coach Bill Mosiello was to serve as the coach for TCU’s next two games, including its 3:15 Friday elimination game against Oklahoma State.
Saarloos was named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year earlier this week.
If the top-seeded Frogs (37-19) lose to the No. 4 Cowboys (36-19) and are eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament, Saarloos would also miss the team’s first regional game next week. The 64-team, NCAA tournament, which includes 16 host teams, will be announced Monday. TCU, which won the Big 12 regular-season championship, was projected to host a regional, but a loss Friday could put that in doubt.
“I was just motioning to walk Ivan Melendez, and they saw it different,” Saarloos said after the game. “It was just a miscommunication.”
Saarloos’ second ejection this season came a day after he narrowly escaped being ejected for arguing a balk called against reliever Augie Mihlbauer in Wednesday’s tournament-opening win against Baylor.
“I’ve got to stop doing that,” Saarloos said Wednesday. “My blood pressure gets too high. Chris did a good job, and I apologized to him.” Saarloos said. “You get caught up in the heat of the game, in a big situation. He’s doing his job, and I’m trying to do mine. And I’m always going to have the backs of our players. I need to bite my tongue a little bit more, but that’s kind of who I am.”
This story was originally published May 27, 2022 at 3:34 PM.
