April 07, 2016

Kansas Hosts No. 6 TCU for Big 12 Weekend Series

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Tickets TicketsLAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas baseball team continues Big 12 play April 8-10 at Hoglund Ballpark, as the Jayhawks play host to No. 6 TCU for a three-game set.

The Jayhawks (11-16, 1-4 Big 12) are 5-5 against TCU (22-6, 4-2 Big 12) in the last 10 games played, but haven’t won a series against the Horned Frogs since taking two out of three games in Fort Worth, Texas March 15-17, 2013.

JAYHAWK RADIO NETWORK
All three games of the TCU series can be heard on the Jayhawk Radio Network with Saturday’s game also available on the dial on KJHK 90.7 FM. Mitchell Glessner will call the action.

ON THE WEB
KUAthletics.com/Radio

MOBILE
Kansas Jayhawks app – search “Kansas Jayhawks”

JAYHAWK TELEVISION NETWORK / ESPN3
All three games against the Horned Frogs can be seen on ESPN3 with Saturday and Sunday’s games also on the Jayhawk Television Network. Steven Davis (play-by-play) and Kevin Wheeler (analyst) will have the call. Visit KUAthletics.com/JTV for info on affiliates.

ESPN3 ON TV
Amazon Fire TV; Apple TV; Chromecast; Roku; Xbox One; Xbox 360.

ESPN3 ON THE WEB
WatchESPN.com; ESPN3.com

ESPN3 ON MOBILE / TABLET DEVICES
WatchESPN app; ESPN app

QUICK HITS

Kansas enters the weekend against TCU with an all-time record of 1,846-1,765-17.
Head coach Ritch Price is in his 22nd season as a Division I head coach with a record of 642-612-3 (.512).
Price holds a record of 426-383-2 (.527) at Kansas, and is just 13 wins from becoming KU’s all-time winningest coach (Floyd Temple, 438).
Kansas holds a record of 2-3 in true Friday night contests with senior lefty Ben Krauth starting all of those games.
Krauth holds a 1.70 ERA in those five starts, giving up just seven earned runs in 37 innings pitched while striking out 44 batters. He holds opponents to a .201 batting average in those games.
In the other nine true weekend games, KU is 2-7 and have been out-hit 101-83 and outscored 56-44.

SERIES HISTORY
Kansas and TCU have played 15 times since the first meeting Feb. 17, 1990, with the Horned Frogs leading the all-time series, 9-6. Twelve of the 15 games have been played either in Fort Worth, Texas (10) or at neutral sites (2), while just three have taken place inside Hoglund Ballpark. Almost two years to the day have passed since TCU played its first series in Lawrence (April 11-12, 2014), where the Jayhawks won the night cap of a Saturday doubleheader to avoid being swept, 5-1. Head coach Ritch Price holds a record of 5-7 against the Horned Frogs – all while at KU – while the last 10 games played against the two teams are split even at five games apiece.

KANSAS CONNECTIONS
Only two players on either roster matched up against one another prior to playing at their respective schools. Kansas freshman righty Chris Fearon played for Concordia Lutheran in Texas and faced off against TCU freshman outfielder Ryan Johnson. In addition, TCU is located in the Lone Star State in which the Kansas roster boasts two Texas natives. Fearon hails from the city of Spring, while freshman Peyton Grassanovits is from Southlake (Grassanovits is redshirting the 2016).

HORNED FROGS’ HEAD COACH JIM SCHLOSSNAGLE
Under 13th-year head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s direction, TCU is coming off of their second 50-win season in program history as they went 51-15 in 2015. During this run, the program captured its first-ever outright team championship, winning the Big 12 with a record of 18-5. The successful 2015 campaign helped Schlossnagle earn Big 12 Coach of the Year honors for the eighth time in his career. Concluding the 2015 season, TCU saw eight players get selected in the MLB draft, tying a school record. Schlossnagle began his coaching career at his alma mater of Elon College in 1990. He spent three seasons as an assistant at Elon before accepting a position as an assistant baseball coach at Clemson. After his lone season at Clemson, Schlossnagle spent eight seasons as an associate head coach, recruiting coordinator and camp director at Tulane. Prior to arriving at TCU, he spent two years as head coach of the UNLV baseball program.

SCOUTING REPORT
TCU enters the weekend with a 22-6 record and a No. 6 national ranking. As a team, the Horned Frogs lead the Big 12 Conference in hitting with a .311 batting average, and rank second in pitching with a 2.98 ERA. TCU has scored an average of 8.3 runs per game in its 28 contests, hit 68 doubles, 15 triples, 24 home runs and swiped a league-high 41 bases. Junior infielder Elliott Barzilli leads the conference with a .452 batting average and also ranks first in hits (47), total bases (76) and slugging percentage (.731). Six different TCU players have driven in 20 or more RBIs with freshman Luken Baker leading the way with a team-high 31 – Baker is also the Friday night starting pitcher.

As a pitching staff, the Horned Frogs have struck out 239 batters (8.5 per game) and allowed just 95 runs (3.4 per contest). Baker leads the squad with a 1.54 ERA in seven starts and holds a 2-1 record. The Jayhawks will likely see another righty Saturday in Brian Howard and on Sunday the lefty Dalton Horton. Howard is 4-1 on the year with a 3.27 ERA while Horton is a perfect 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA. All three starters have at least 20 strikeouts to their name.

THROWING THE ACE
Time and time again, senior lefty Ben Krauth (2-4) turns in stellar performance after stellar performance for the Jayhawks, and Friday night at Baylor (April 1) was no different. The southpaw pitched equally as well as he did in his last three starts, chalking up another 11 strikeouts to his name. Krauth paced Kansas through seven innings and gave up just six hits and one unearned run, en route to KU’s first conference win of the season, 6-1. His 11 strikeouts rank second-most in his career and completes a string of four-straight starts with nine or more punch outs. Combined in his last four starts, Krauth has thrown 32 innings and allowed just three earned runs for a 0.84 ERA. During that span, he has struck out 41 batters and averaged 10.3 strikeouts per start, all while holding opponents to a .168 batting average. He leads the Big 12 Conference in innings pitched (49.0), strikeouts (53), complete games (2) and shutouts (1).

CALIFORNIA SWAG
Junior catcher Michael Tinsley paced Kansas at the plate to a 4-3 mark in its last seven games. The lefty bat led the Jayhawks with a .542 (13-for-24) average that included seven doubles, nine RBIs, eight runs scored, an .833 slugging percentage, .613 on-base percentage and six walks. His offensive effort helped KU snap an eight-game losing streak to then-No. 16 Missouri State (March 29) and pick up a Friday night decision at Baylor to open up the conference road slate. He leads the Jayhawks in average (.340), hits (35), doubles (12), RBIs (19) and has struck out the fewest times (5) among KU regulars in the lineup.

RUDY, RUDY, RUDY…
Prior to his injury at Baylor (April 3), freshman Rudy Karre had reached base safely in 20-straight games including the last six by way of a base hit. He had started all 25 games he had played to that point, including the last 21 as KU’s leadoff hitter. Karre batted .375 (6-for-16) during the last week with a double, home run, five RBIs and two runs scored. His three-run home run at Baylor (April 1) helped the Jayhawks to a crucial Friday night win over the Bears and a 3-2 record on the week – he tallied a career-high four RBIs in that game. In Sunday’s contest (April 3), Karre led off the game with a single to right field, but exited right after, jamming his shoulder sliding back into first base on a pickoff attempt.

NOTHING “FOYLE”-D HERE
Freshman left fielder Devin Foyle is riding a 15-game on-base streak and a five-game hitting streak. He hit his second-career home run – this one out of the park – to lead off the eighth inning at Baylor (April 3), in an attempt to spark a late KU rally. During five games from March 15-20, Foyle drove in a team-high seven RBIs and led KU with a .800 slugging percentage after hitting a double, a triple and a home run to go along with three singles. That home run marked the first of his career and was the first inside-the-park home run for Kansas since Robby Price hit one in 2009. Foyle boasted career numbers vs. Murray State (March 16). Foyle reached base in five of his six plate appearances, driving in a run in each successful trip. He finished the day 3-for-4 with a RBI-single, a RBI-double, home run and two RBI-walks for five RBIs on the day. His only blemish came in the seventh inning when he struck out swinging after a six-pitch at bat.

SUCCESS ON THE HILL
For the first time since March 11-12, Kansas saw its three weekend starters work at least five innings into their respective games at Baylor. Senior lefty Ben Krauth tossed seven innings Friday night (April 1), sophomore left-hander Blake Weiman threw six and 1/3 innings on Saturday (April 2) and freshman righty Jackson Goddard finished five and 1/3 innings on Sunday (April 3). Krauth gave up one unearned run off six hits and a walk, striking out 11 batters. Weiman struck out five batters, giving up two runs off eight hits, while Goddard allowed four runs off four hits and five walks. The trio combined for a 2.89 ERA in 18 and 2/3 innings on the weekend and struck out a total of 17 Baylor hitters.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks host Omaha for a midweek tilt Wednesday, April 13 at Hoglund Ballpark, before continuing its Big 12 Conference road slate at Texas, April 15-17. First pitch against the Mavericks is slated for 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN3.

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