With a runner rounding third, Dirtbags shortstop Santino Rivera released a throw to home from behind second base in an attempt to end the top of the fifth inning. The Blair Field crowd groaned as the throw hit the mound and No. 23 TCU (8-4) took a three-run lead en route to a 4-1 victory over the Dirtbags (1-11) Friday.
The Dirtbags had trouble dealing with TCU junior starting LHP Nick Lodolo. The first four Dirtbag outs all came via strikeout. Lodolo kept the lineup guessing with a 95 mph fastball and an 80 mph slider.
“There’s the hunter and the hunted, and I think he was the hunter,” head coach Troy Buckley said.
Lodolo went seven innings allowing one run on three hits while striking out eight and walking one.
“The deeper you get in the count against this guy the more weapons he has,” Buckley said.
Lodolo’s right handed counterpart, Zak Baayoun (0-3), had a tough night on the mound for the Dirtbags. His five wild pitches were the ultimate cause of TCU’s two runs through five innings. The first runner scored in the second inning when Baayoun released a curveball that didn’t curve with a runner on third.
Baayoun went five innings allowing five hits and three runs, two of them earned. He had two strikeouts and walked three. At least one of his wild pitches should have been scored as a passed ball.
“At some point you’ve got to catch the ball,” Buckley said.
Two wild pitches in the fifth inning gave TCU a runner on third who scored on a single. Santino Rivera committed an error later in the inning on a play that culminated with his throw off the mound.
Rivera hit an RBI groundout in the bottom of the inning, making the score 3-1 TCU after five innings.
Junior RHP Tyler Gums pitched four innings in relief of Baayoun. The pitcher was roughed up Tuesday against Michigan, but executed his pitches with confidence Friday. A wild pitch was his only blemish as he struck out seven and walked one, while allowing one run on three hits.
“I saw him compete a lot harder than he did on Tuesday,” sophomore catcher Chris Jimenez said.
Friday’s game was the second of an eight-game home stand, the longest of the season for the Dirtbags.
The series against TCU continues 6 p.m. Saturday at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.