Game 3: TCU 3, Oral Roberts 1

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Back-to-back solo home runs by Brayden Taylor and Kurtis Byrne in the sixth inning broke a tie ballgame and lifted TCU to a 3-1 victory over Oral Roberts in an elimination game of the NCAA College Station Regional Saturday afternoon at Blue Bell Park.
 
The Horned Frogs (37-21) advance to Sunday where they await the loser of Saturday night's A&M/Louisiana matchup. ORU concludes its season at 38-20.
 
Five TCU pitchers combined to hold the Golden Eagles to one run on just seven hits, stranding 13 ORU baserunners on the day.
 
A Tommy Sacco two-out RBI double in the top of the third would stake the Frogs to an early 1-0 lead. Two innings later, Oral Roberts evened the score on a bases-loaded wild pitch—setting the stage for the sixth-inning long ball heroics by the Frogs.
 
College Station native Garrett Wright, pitching for the first time ever at Blue Bell Park, earned the save with 2 2/3 hitless, scoreless innings.
 
ORU played flawless defense, including a pair of highlight-reel catches by center fielder Connor Beichler—one diving in the right center gap and one crashing into the wall in left center.
 
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Brayden Taylor (TCU) – 1-for-4, solo HR
Kurtis Byrne (TCU) – 1-for-4, solo HR
Marcelo Perez (TCU) – 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K (no decision)
Garrett Wright (TCU) – 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K (save)
Jake McMurray (ORU) – 2-for-5, run
Mac McCroskey (ORU) – 2-for-5
Cade Denton (ORU) – 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K


ORAL ROBERTS QUOTES


 
Head Coach Ryan Folmar 

Opening Statement…
"I think you could replay what I said yesterday because it happened again today. First and foremost, I thought Isaac Coffey was good. He gave us exactly what we needed in that moment and competed really well and then Cade Denton came in. I think if you would've told me at the beginning of the day, we would only give up three runs, we would rerun it and try it again. I am proud of the way those guys walked out and competed. I thought there were a couple of things that were the difference in the game. Our inability to hit with runners on-base jumped up and bit us again. I thought that was the difference. I give a lot of credit to TCU, that bullpen is for real, that is real stuff coming out of there and they have matchups guys. Right-handed, left-handed, breaking balls, angles, whatever you want, that is a tough bullpen to play against. For our guys, I am proud of the guys and I am proud of the year we had and how we competed all year long."
 
On the impression of the team this year…
"They are a competitive bunch; it was a fun bunch to be around. We have a lot of good kids who love to play, and I think that is evident when you come see us. We didn't play as well the as we wanted to the past couple days, but that takes nothing away from the kind of year these guys got. I think at the beginning of the year you challenge your team to continuously get better and be playing well at the end of the year. We felt like we did that. Our tea, responded to that and looking ahead we have eight out of our nine guys in our starting lineup coming back next year. I hope this leaves a bad taste in their mouth and they are hungry to get back to this spot and we get back and play a little better than we did today."
 
On Connor Beichler's defense efforts…
"He is a difference maker defensively. I don't know if I have ever seen a game like that where a guy makes two of those kinds of plays. Those were both run saving plays in big moments, that was pretty special."
 
Sophomore RHP Cade Denton
On his success on the mound…
"The whole year it has been about throwing strikes. You can't get hurt with free bases if you are throwing strikes. Executing those strikes is what makes the difference between giving up hits or not. Today I was throwing the fast ball where I needed to throw it, and that was probably the biggest aspect of my success today. Throwing whatever off-speed you needed to was probably the biggest difference maker."  
TCU QUOTES


 
Head Coach Kirk Saarloos
 
Opening statement...
"I thought that it was a really well-played game by both sides. You know, you're playing for your season, and I thought that both starting pitchers did a really good job starting out. It really came down to the bullpens. Some closers got extended. That's what happens in these elimination games. We ran into a couple of baseballs, but I can't say enough about their centerfielder. He had probably two of the better plays that I've seen all season long. I know that Brayden (Taylor) is probably not too fond of him. Those two plays that he made took two extra base hits away from Brayden. The other guy that I would like to mention is Kurtis Byrne. When it's 90 degrees like it is today, his uniform went from the original gray to charcoal gray because he's sweating so much. He did an unbelievable job of blocking pitches. I thought, overall, that Oral Roberts had a phenomenal season. They have great coaches over there, and it was a great battle today. We are excited to be moving on."
 
On the relief effort from RHP Garrett Wright...
"He did a little bit of this last year for us. If you remember, in the conference tournament, he threw 3.1 innings. Any time our back is up against the wall a little bit, we've extended him. We usually like to keep it between an inning or an inning plus. I thought, at the time in the seventh inning, Augie (Mihlbauer) came in and got their big left-handed hitter, Denny. At that time, I thought that we might not have an opportunity in the ninth inning for Garrett. That was the biggest point in the game, and I wanted to bring in Garrett in that situation against the middle part of their order. We saw what happened after that."
 
On looking ahead to Sunday's lineup...
"This is the time of year when all the work and all of the weight training that you do away from the field shows up. But you never want to put someone in a position where you are going to risk injury. It's about trust and it's about communication so that we can all be on the same page about how guys are feeling. We have some options in terms of who we're going to start, but we don't know who we're playing yet."
 
Sophomore RHP Garrett Wright
 
On his mindset pitching on Olsen Field…
"Quality pitches. Get the ball down, get it in the zone and let my defense work. They did that, and it was great. I had actually never pitched here before, and I've lived in College Station all my life. So, this was my first experience here and it was awesome."
 
Sophomore infielder Brayden Taylor
 
On his performance alongside his teammates...
"It's awesome. That was a really good team and a really fun game to play in. We are just very blessed to be able to move on, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
 
On his home run over ORU centerfielder Connor Beichler...
"I was just glad I could finally hit it over him and not at him. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to him. He made a pair of awesome plays and there was nothing I could do about it. So, I just had to go up there and focus on my next at-bat."


 
UPDATED REGIONAL SCHEDULE
(all times Central)
 
Friday, June 3
Game 1: Texas A&M 8, Oral Roberts 2
Game 2: Louisiana 7, TCU 6
 
Saturday, June 4
Game 3: TCU 3, Oral Roberts 1 (ORU eliminated)
Game 4: Texas A&M vs Louisiana, 6 p.m.
 
Sunday, June 5
Game 5: TCU vs Game 4 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs Game 5 winner, 7 p.m.
 
Monday, June 6
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs Game 5 winner (if necessary), 6 p.m.