Clutch home runs lift TCU baseball to Super Regionals
TCU’s offense came alive at the right time as the Horned Frogs overcame a two-run deficit to defeat Arkansas 12-4 and capture the Fayetteville Regional on Monday.
TCU advances to the Super Regionals, where the Horned Frogs will face Indiana State this weekend in a best-of-three series that’ll determine a bid to the College World Series.
The Horned Frogs led 2-1 until the top of the fifth when the Razorbacks hit two home runs to take a 4-2 lead. TCU’s bats began to wake up after that with the Horned Frogs adding a run in the bottom of the inning to cut into the deficit.
Austin Davis’ two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth put TCU back in front for good. Cole Fontenelle drove in another run as momentum had swung in the favor of the Horned Frogs.
Designated hitter Kurtis Byrne hit a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh to add a much needed insurance run, but the scoring blitz wasn’t done as Fontenelle drove in two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to clinch the game. Tre Richardson and Byrne had two more home runs in the inning to finally cap the scoring onslaught.
While the offense was surging, freshman reliever Ben Abeldt was putting on a clinic on the mound. Abeldt picked up the win by allowing shutting out the Razorbacks once he entered the game. Abeldt held Arkansas to just one hit and struck out four batters in 4.2 innings.
Davis led TCU with four RBI while Richardson and Fontenelle had three each.
The Horne Frogs have won 17 of their last 19 games, scoring 12 or more runs in six of their last seven games. They enter the Super Regionals on a nine-game winning streak and a 40-22 record.
This story was originally published June 5, 2023 at 5:07 PM.
