TCU heats up behind Skoug’s 5 RBIs in win against Oklahoma

It’s been a long time since TCU catcher Evan Skoug had a day off.

The way he’s hitting, it may be a while.

The sophomore from Libertyville, Ill., went 4 for 4 with a home run, double and five runs batted in Friday night in the Horned Frogs’ 11-3 victory over Oklahoma, the opener of a three-game series.

He took over the team lead in RBIs with 35, including 13 in the past five games. He’s started 13 consecutive games behind the plate, and by the end of Saturday, it’s probably going to be 15 — a doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at Lupton Stadium to avoid rain on Sunday.

“I train in the off-season to do this, to put my body through everything,” he said.

Looks like it.

Skoug has played in every game, appearing as a pinch hitter once and starting at first base three times. He’ll get lifted in the last inning or two in some games, like Friday night, but that’s about all the break the 5-foot-11, 200-pound backstop gets.

“He gets three days off a week,” coach Jim Schlossnagle joked.

Truthfully, Skoug is used to it. He caught non-stop in the Horned Frogs’ College World Series run a year ago, and now the Big 12 race is amping up. TCU (25-8, 7-3), which gained a half-game on leader Texas Tech, can use Skoug’s presence and bat — he has four home runs and 17 RBIs in TCU’s 10 conference games.

“Whatever I can do to help my team win, it doesn’t matter if we’re playing Oklahoma or UTA,” Skoug said. “Constant routine.”

Skoug’s two-run homer in the first inning landed on the second level of the terrace seating behind right field. He singled sharply to right for a 3-2 lead in the third. He doubled to left field off lefty reliever Austin Kerns to drive in two runs in TCU’s six-run fourth. He walked in the sixth and drove in a fifth run in the eighth with a single.

“He really showed what kind of great hitter he is,” Schlossnagle said. “He used the whole field. When he’s hitting the ball to the middle of the field and that way, he’s really special.”

Freshman right-hander Luken Baker (3-1) went six innings for TCU, allowing three hits. If not for a 32-pitch fifth inning that included three walks, he would have been allowed to start the seventh, Schlossnagle said.

But it was still one of his best outings of the season.

“It’s a big confidence boost for him,” Skoug said. “He’s still learning every time he goes out there. Anything he can pick up that helps him become a better pitcher has been great. It’s going to help us the next time he starts and in the future the next couple of years.”

Austen Wade added three hits for the Frogs.

TCU is scheduled to pitch freshman left-hander Dalton Horton and junior right-hander Brian Howard on Saturday.

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 11:17 PM with the headline "TCU heats up behind Skoug’s 5 RBIs in win against Oklahoma."