ABILENE, Texas -- TCU manufactured four runs and the Horned Frog pitching staff continued their dominance in a 4-0 win against No. 23 Texas Tech on Tuesday night. TCU, ranked No. 28 and winner of five in a row, improves to 13-1 in the month of April.
The trio of Jordan Kipper, Alex Young and Trey Teakell surrendered six hits in the game but allowed just one runner past first base. Texas Tech never sent more than four batters to the plate in any inning as the Horned Frog defense turned three double plays.
Kipper (6-2) tossed 6.2 scoreless innings for the Frogs. He allowed just four base hits and struck out four. At one point, Kipper retired 11 in a row. Young allowed a hit in his 1/3 of an inning pitched. Teakell picked up his second save of the season with two shutout innings.
TCU took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning. Kevin Cron led off the frame with his 12th double of the season. Dylan Fitzgerald sacrificed Cron to third and he scored easily on a long sacrifice fly off the bat of Jerrick Suiter.
For the third time in the game the Frogs got the lead-off batter on as Suiter worked a walk. He wasted no time stealing second as he went on the first offering to Garrett Crain. Suiter was standing on third base with one out after a Crain ground out. Keaton Jones and Suiter executed a perfect suicide squeeze as Suiter was three quarters of the way home when Jones dropped down the bunt to give TCU a 2-0 lead.
Small ball once again played a roll in TCU extending its lead in the eighth inning. Crain led off the inning with a base hit and moved to second on a Keaton Jones sacrifice. He promptly stole third and scored on a Cody Jones sacrifice fly to make it a 3-0 game.
For the first time in the game Texas Tech had a pair of base runners to open an inning. Hunter Redman led off the eighth with a base hit and Jake Barrios worked a walk to put two on with nobody out. Boomer White made a diving catch on a shallow pop fly for the second out, then Teakell got Matt Broadbent to ground into the inning-ending double play.
TCU tacked on another run in the top of the ninth. White led off the frame with a base hit. He moved to second on a ground out then stolen third with one out. Fitzgerald hit TCU’s third sacrifice fly of the night to make it a 4-0 game.
With the win, TCU improves to 27-13 overall.
