TCU taps Horton, Traver to start Big 12 tournament games

TCU will start its winningest pitcher and its most veteran pitcher in the first two games of the Big 12 tournament.

Freshman left-hander Dalton Horton, 8-0 in 12 starts, will pitch Wednesday’s opener against Baylor, and senior right-hander Mitchell Traver will go against Oklahoma or Texas on Thursday, coach Jim Schlossnagle said Tuesday after practice.

If necessary, redshirt freshman right-hander Jared Janczak would pitch a game Friday.

“And then we’ll figure it out from there,” Schlossnagle said.

The threesome is a far cry from what started the season for TCU. Rex Hill, Brian Howard and Luken Baker were the first three starters in February, but Hill was moved to weekdays, Howard has been largely inconsistent and Baker has not pitched since a muscle strain April 22.

Traver (0-1, 1.93) returned to the rotation May 8 at Penn State after being out with a back muscle injury all season. He pitched 76.1 innings last season, including three postseason appearances. He has pitched 9.1 innings in three starts this season.

“We need the guys who have been out there with more repetition to go out there and pitch the way they’re capable,” Schlossnagle said. “Guys like Horton and Howard and Janczak — Rex Hill at some point. It’s going to take everybody to advance in the postseason.”

TCU can avoid a Friday game by winning Wednesday and Thursday. A split would require a Friday game and two more wins on Saturday to reach the Sunday championship game.

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 3:26 PM with the headline "TCU taps Horton, Traver to start Big 12 tournament games."