Why didn’t TCU win game 1 of CWS? What it’s doing to prevent elimination
TCU, facing elimination from the College World Series, sticks with what’s working.
The Frogs ended their season in fourth place in the Big 12. A streak of great play led them to sweeping the Big 12 tournament, the NCAA regional in Fayetteville and the NCAA Super Regional against No. 14 Indiana State.
It all led to them making a trip to Omaha for the College World Series for the fifth time in program history.
Behind the good play, TCU made some superstitions routine.
The Frogs have worn their purple batting practice jerseys in every game starting with the last few weeks of the regular season.
Head coach Kirk Saarloos said, after the series against Indiana State, if something is working you don’t mess around with it. However, the streak has led to some special smells.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a stench or an odor,” Saarloos said during Sunday’s ESPN broadcast as the Horned Frogs faced Virginia. “But when you wear the same thing working out and for 20 straight games, we’ll probably have to get some new [batting practice] tops once this season is over.”
Saarloos added that there may be a switch-up because they lost to Oral Roberts 6-5 in the opening round of the CWS, but he leaves it up to the players. In the end, Saarloos knew the team’s style was only a message to the team.
“It doesn’t matter what we were gonna wear, it was a matter of how we were gonna play,” he said.
Saarloos gave the real reason the Frogs lost to ORU: IHOP.
Or the lack thereof. TCU ate IHOP before every game of the Fayetteville regional, where they won three straight games, including back-to-back wins over No. 3 Arkansas 20-5 and 12-4. They also ate at the breakfast chain before their two wins over Indiana State.
TCU’s second baseman Tre Richardson hit three home runs in the first game against Arkansas in Fayetteville, including two grand slams. He owed it all to IHOP.
“We didn’t have IHOP on Friday,” he said in an interview with ESPN when talking about Friday’s WCS loss to Oral Roberts. “So all the guys went… and said ‘we need to have IHOP.’”
The team had someone drive 20 minutes away to get the team their lucky breakfast.
Is Saarloos sick of IHOP?
“No.”
The head coach for the Frogs also shouted out the TCU third base coach, John DiLaura, for his commitment to the team. He has worn the same sweatshirt, despite the 90-degree heat in Omaha and the similar temperatures in Fayetteville and Fort Worth.
“I gotta give coach DiLaura credit, man,” said Saarloos. “He’s stuck through it — at Arkansas it was hot, he was over at third coaching in that sweatshirt.”
Why do the Frogs continue to hang out to these odd rituals?
“We all have our things that get us going,” said Saarloos. “It’s baseball.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2023 at 3:20 PM.
