Three takeaways from TCU baseball’s mercy-rule game against Oklahoma
No. 10 TCU baseball started the season with back-to-back ranked wins in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown, but that momentum faltered in a 12-2 loss to unranked Oklahoma on Sunday night at Globe Life Field. The game ended after seven innings on the 10-run mercy rule.
The Sooners’ offensive outburst against the Horned Frogs came as no surprise, as they dominated the tournament, scoring 20 runs in their first two games and winning by a combined margin of 16 runs (10-3 over Texas Tech on Friday and 10-1 over Oklahoma State on Saturday).
TCU coach Kirk Saarloos didn’t mince words when talking about what went wrong for the Horned Frogs.
“We were a step slow on everything, and the game will humble you really fast,” he said. “They played exactly the style of baseball that we like to play. And I thought we were a step slow, and it always starts with starting pitching, but I thought we were a step slow on defense, a step slow in the box.
“We don’t play good defense, we don’t pitch the ball at all, and we didn’t really do anything offensively. So the game will kick you right in the crotch and let you know really fast if you don’t show up ready to play every single day.”
Despite the loss, TCU still put together a solid opening weekend with a pair of 5-4 victories over No. 23 Vanderbilt on Friday and No. 7 Arkansas on Saturday.
The Horned Frogs (2-1) moved up to No. 7 in the new D1Baseball.com rankings Monday.
Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s loss:
Lance Davis makes first career start
Arkansas transfer Lance Davis had his first start of his college career and struggled, giving up fours runs on five hits with one strikeout in three innings of work.
The right-hander’s troubles started after back-to-back walks in the first inning loaded the bases, which ultimately yielded two runs, though Davis avoided a disastrous inning by stranding runners on second and third with a groundout. Camden Johnson’s two-run homer in the second inning put the Sooners in front 4-1.
The TCU bullpen didn’t fare much better, allowing seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
TCU bats falter in finale
Sooners starting pitcher Cord Rager gave the Horned Frogs fits, allowing one run off two hits with eight strikeouts in five innings.
The Horned Frogs had few scoring chances against Rager. TCU only had four at-bats with runners in scoring position, but was unable to get any hits in those high-leverage situations.
“They pounded us in,” Saarloos said. “They pounded our righties in. The lefties they threw in a little bit, too, and, you know, they got to give credit to them. They threw the ball really well. But overall, I think when you get down, whatever the score was, it makes things a little bit more difficult, not impossible. We didn’t do enough to get back in the game.”
One of the Horned Frogs’ best chances came in the top of the fifth inning with runners on first and second with one out, but left fielder Cole Eaton lined out and second baseman Cole Cramer struck out swinging.
Next great TCU freshman?
Last season, utility player Noah Franco and outfielder Sawyer Strosnider were All-Big 12 selections in their first year in Fort Worth, and TCU might’ve found its next great freshman sensation in Lucas Franco.
The shortstop from Katy was a highly touted recruit, No. 5 in the state of Texas according to Perfect Game, and played like it in his first two games as a Horned Frog, going 2-for-6 with a home run, an RBI and three runs.
Franco went 0-for-2 with a walk and a run against the Sooners.
Franco talked about setting an example for younger players after the win over Vanderbilt.
“Just kind of keeping everybody even-keeled. We took a lot of importance on any distractions, just cutting them out and everybody staying in one lane, going the same direction,” Franco said. “So, everyone’s done a great job of that, and I kind of took it upon myself to show it to the freshmen, who kind of everybody’s going to get kind of in their head about preseason and rankings and all that stuff. I just kind of wanted to show them that — don’t worry about that stuff. Go play.”
Saarloos said he wasn’t surprised by how Franco has played.
“Played really good short,” Saarloos said. “I mean, sometimes it’s hard. Your first game you’re the shortstop, your emotions are going, but he’s kind of been that way in fall practice. Nothing’s really been too much for him. I thought he took really good at-bats.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2026 at 10:26 PM.
