TCU’s early exit from Big 12 Tournament could cost Frogs hosting Fort Worth Regional
TCU baseball’s fate will be left up to the NCAA.
And the way things have gone for the Horned Frogs in the past day or so, that might not be the best news.
The Horned Frogs (37-20) were eliminated from the Big 12 Conference tournament in a 8-4 loss to Oklahoma State on Friday at Globe Life Field.
TCU, which won the Big 12 regular-season championship and was the top seed in the tournament, will have to wait until Monday to learn if it’ll host a regional.
Going 1-2 in the conference tournament could lead to the NCAA forcing the Horned Frogs to go on the road for the postseason.
The 64-team field and 16 regional hosts will be announced at 11 a.m. Monday on ESPN2.
Wherever the Frogs play in the postseason, they’ll start without their head coach Kirk Saarloos. The first-year coach who was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year this week, was suspended two games by the NCAA for “excessive expression” after he was ejected in Thursday’s loss to Texas.
Saarloos’s suspension began with Friday’s loss and will end after TCU’s postseason opener, wherever and against whichever team it is.
TCU associate head coach Bill Mosiello said winning the regular-season title in the nation’s third highest-rated conference deserves a hosting berth.
“The RPI is so strange. Teams get a lot of points when they beat us, but it doesn’t seem like we get a whole lot of points when we beat someone else,” Mosiello said. “We had to play in the great Big 12 and we won it outright. To me, how are you not a host?”
TCU could have probably clinched a Fort Worth Regional with at least two wins in the tournament. Going 1-2, however, coupled with the fact that three Big 12 teams have higher RPI rankings (Texas, Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma), could leave room for the NCAA committee to send the Frogs on the road. TCU’s RPI ranking was No. 35 as of Friday evening.
D1 Baseball’s Kendall Rodgers suggested TCU’s prospects of hosting “hanging on by a thread.”
“Frogs might still be hosting, but they’re hanging on by a thread,” he posted in a message on Twitter. “@OU_Baseball could take that spot, too, [in my opinion].”
The Sooners, who finished third in the regular season, could squeeze out TCU from hosting by getting to Sunday’s Big 12 championship game.
The No. 4-seeded Cowboys (37-19) had two four-run innings to take down the Frogs. OSU stayed alive to play No. 5 Texas at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Longhorns beat OSU 4-0 in the opening round on Wednesday.
Mosiello said Saarloos’ suspension wasn’t discussed with the team before Friday’s game.
“We all noticed [Saarloos’ absence] when we started the game and he wasn’t there, but it doesn’t change the way we’re going to play,” TCU shortstop Tommy Sacco said. “If anything, we’re probably going to play harder.”
TCU took a 3-0 lead after two innings, but a three-run third by the Cowboys tied it up. Griffin Doersching’s two-run homer knocked Frogs’ starter Riley Cornelio out of the game.
A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch by reliever Caleb Bolden tied it, at 3-3 and a fielder’s choice by OSU’s Chase Adkison gave the Cowboys a 4-3 lead.
Doubles by Brayden Taylor and Bobby Goodloe tied it at 4-4 in the bottom of the inning, but OSU responded with a four-run fifth.
TCU has won the Big 12 Tournament championship three times, including in 2021.
As long as TCU doesn’t lose out on hosting, an early exit from the Big 12 tournament could be a benefit. It gives players and pitcher’s arms two extra days of rest they otherwise wouldn’t be afforded.
“We’re going to say it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to us,” Mosiello said, before pointing out that Mississippi State won College World Series a year ago after going 0-2 in the SEC Tournament. “This tournament doesn’t define our ballclub. We’re going to strap it on where ever we go once we find out Monday. We have a clean slate.”
Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament
(at Globe Life Field)
Friday’s results
Oklahoma State 8, TCU 4
Texas Tech vs. Kansas State, late
Thursday’s results
Oklahoma State 11, Baylor 1 (7)
Kansas State 8, West Virginia 5
Texas 5, TCU 3
Oklahoma 6, Texas Tech 3
Wednesday’s results
No. 5 Texas 4, No. 4 Oklahoma State 0
No. 1 TCU 4, No. 8 Baylor 2
No. 2 Texas Tech 5, No. 7 Kansas State 3
No. 3 Oklahoma 6, No. 6 West Virginia 4
Saturday’s games
Oklahoma State vs. Texas, 9 a.m., ESPN+
Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech/KState Winner, 12:30 p.m., ESPN+
Game 11 Loser vs. Game 11 Winner (if necessary), 4 p.m., ESPN+
Game 12 Loser vs. Game 12 Winner (if necessary), 4 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., ESPN+
Sunday’s game
Championship game, 5 p.m., ESPNU
This story was originally published May 27, 2022 at 7:18 PM.
