Home run, perfect bullpen combine to send TCU past SFA

At game’s end, TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle tucked the lineup card under Dane Steinhagen’s arm — symbolic appreciation for a two-run homer in the second inning that helped the Horned Frogs to a 3-2 victory Tuesday night against Stephen F. Austin.

And more, perhaps.

“He really doesn’t give out too much stuff like that,” Steinhagen said. “It’s pretty special.”

But by this point, it’s understandable in Steinhagen’s case. The senior center fielder, hitting in the bottom third of the lineup, is tied for the RBI lead on the team. The home run was his seventh, tied for second on the team.

And the transfer from Howard College has played center field by default all season with Nolan Brown sidelined. Last season, he started 56 games in left field for TCU’s College World Series team.

“When you get a junior college player, everybody, including me sometimes, wants them to be a plug-and-play guy and instantly put up big numbers,” Schlossnagle said. “But it’s a big jump from junior college baseball to elite Division I baseball. He’s made some adjustments. And he had all those at-bats last year on a great team.”

Steinhagen’s home run gave TCU (35-14) a 2-0 lead in the second inning, Elliott Barzilli’s RBI double in the sixth added a third run, and freshman left-hander Dalton Horton (8-0) pitched into the sixth.

From there, relievers Preston Guillory, Ryan Burnett and Brian Trieglaff got the final 10 outs in order against a Stephen F. Austin team hitting .305 coming in. Trieglaff pitched the ninth for his third save.

“The ball was coming out really well, I had good command of the fastball and slider, I was able to do the job that I needed to — come in, throw strikes,” Trieglaff said. “It’s a tight game, 3-2, so any free base is a big one.”

Horton, skipped in his last turn for extra rest, threw 63 pitches in 5  2/3 innings. He allowed three hits, walked three and struck out two.

“Obviously the pitching was the bright spot,” Schlossnagle said. “I think Horton can be better than that, but he gave us a solid start. And the three veteran guys in the bullpen, that’s the best they’ve pitched all year.”

TCU finishes the regular season with a three-game series against Kansas State starting Thursday at Lupton Stadium.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 10:02 PM with the headline "Home run, perfect bullpen combine to send TCU past SFA."