Baseball set to open fall workouts October 10
10/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Oct. 5, 2006
Fort Worth, Texas - The 2006 Mountain West Conference champion TCU Horned Frog baseball team is slated to open fall practice Tuesday, October 10. All practices will be held at Lupton Stadium and run through October 29. The fall season culminates with the Purple-White World Series slated to start October 27.TCU comes off a season in which it won 39 games, the regular season and tournament MWC titles and advanced to NCAA Tournament play for the third consecutive year. Only 26 schools in the country have played in three or more consecutive NCAA Regionals. Despite those accomplishments, after winning game one of the regional last year against Oklahoma, Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle has loftier goals for the team.
"I think our players and staff are approaching this season as one in which we have something to prove," remarked Schlossnagle. "Although we have made strides here at TCU each of the last three years, myself along with all of our staff and players chose to come to TCU to reach some very high goals at the national level and we haven't done that yet. I know that I was very disappointed with the way the season ended last year in the NCAA Tournament and I expect our players to demand a lot of themselves and their teammates.
"I will never accept a loss regardless of the point of the season that it occurs and I expect our players to do the same. There are no moral victories or seasons at TCU." The bulk of the Frogs team returns, including 22 players from last year. In all, the 2007 Horned Frogs roster is made up of 17 juniors and six seniors.
Highlighting the returners are All-America pitcher and Team USA gold-medalist, Jake Arrieta, as well as first-team all-MWC honorees, Andrew Walker, Austin Adams and Sam Demel.
Arrieta had a successful sophomore campaign that saw him tie for the national lead in wins with 14. He posted a team-low 2.35 ERA in 111 innings pitched earning him an invitation to the Team USA trials. He subsequently earned a spot on the 22-man roster and surrendered just one earned run in 35 innings pitched over the summer.
"Jake is certainly returning as one of the premier pitchers in the country, but he has to continue to improve like everyone else," said Schlossnagle. "He gained invaluable experience at the international level that we are counting on him to bring to our team."
Walker and Demel also excelled in their second season with TCU and carried that success into the summer season in the prestigious Cape Cod League. Walker batted .304 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs for the Frogs last season. At the end of the summer, he was honored with the Cape Cod League's Manny Robello 10th Player Award. Demel led the 2006 Frog pitching staff with six saves and ranked third with 100 strikeouts. A dominating performance as a closer in the Cape earned the righty all-league honors.
"Sam and Andrew have played a large role in this program for over two years," remarked Schlossnagle. "They have both been key players on two conference championship and regional teams. I expect them to continue to make strides in their game and be a stabilizing force on the team."
Always a force at the plate, Adams led the Frogs with .438 batting average in conference games, earning him his first nod on an all-conference squad. For the season, he ranked third on the team with a .347 average and second with a .455 on-base percentage.
"Austin is a great representative of TCU and TCU baseball," said Schlossnagle. "He has been a clutch player in this program for three years and, with continued hard work, I expect him to have his best college season this year. Like the others, he has a lot of room for improvement and I anticipate him reaching his potential."
Other positional starters returning for the Frogs are second-team All-MWC shortstop, Bryan Kervin (.329-2-41), second-team all-MWC third baseman, Matt Carpenter (.349-1-36), sophomore second baseman, Corey Steglich (.316-2-35) junior designated hitter Steven Trout (.286-2-33) and senior outfielder Keith Conlon (.307-4-38).
The Frog lineup will get a boost this fall with the return of Matt McGuirk. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury just 12 games into the 2006 campaign. At the time of his injury, the left-hander was hitting .340 with 10 RBIs.
"Losing Matt was a big blow to our lineup last year," said Schlossnagle. "If he can remain healthy for an entire college season, he has the ability to be one of the better offensive players on our team and in this region of the country."
On the mound, the Frogs return seven hurlers who combined for 26 of their 39 wins. In addition to Demel and Arrieta, two of the Frogs top relievers return to the bump in lefty Donald Furrow and righty Dillon Farish. Furrow was 2-0 in 18 appearances for TCU last season and was named to the Texas Collegiate League's all-league squad at the end of the summer. Farish was 3-1 with a team-high 30 appearances after transferring to TCU in the fall.
Along with a veteran core of returners, the team welcomes 13 newcomers, including two four-year transfers, six junior college transfers and five freshmen.
Highlighting the recruiting class are Arkansas-transfer, junior outfield Clint Arnold (.291-3-16) and Texas A&M-transfer, right-handed pitcher Chance Corgan (4-2, 3.83 ERA, 66 strikeouts). Former Arizona State reliever and Navarro Junior College transfer Seth Garrison, who comes to TCU after a successful stint in the Texas Collegiate League in which he was tabbed the fourth top league prospect by Baseball America.
Other transfers include Cody Dunbar and Chris Johnson (Logan J.C.), Steve Ellington (Weatherford) and Paul Gerrish (Northern State). Beginning their collegiate careers this season will by Monk Kreder (Keller, TX/Keller HS), Tyler Lockwood (Sugar Land, TX/Kempner HS), Steven Maxwell (The Woodlands, TX/The Woodlands HS), Brett Medlin (Keller, TX/Keller HS) and Travis Spencer (Mesquite, TX/Mesquite HS).
"Our freshman class is a small one but we really like each of them and expect them to play a role on this team as well as be significant contributors in the years to come," remarked Schlossnagle. "Being a part of a veteran team like we have this year will really help them in their transition to major college baseball.
"We will spend the majority of the fall practice evaluating each player and trying to determine who will compete at the top of the pitching staff. Although we return an awful lot of players who started or played significant roles last year, I think we are going to have some good competition at every position. I encourage all of our players to go win a job. I believe that players write the lineup by their performance and inter-team competition will only make everyone better."
The Frogs will practice Tuesday through Sunday and take Monday's off. Weekday practices are slated to begin at 2:15, while weekend sessions are tentatively scheduled for a Noon start. All practices and games are open to the public and free of admission. Also included in the schedule is Major League Scout day, which is set for Tuesday, Oct. 24. Anyone wanting to conduct interviews is asked to contact Brandie Davidson at 817-257-7479.
