Unfortunately, a more thorough breakdown did not save correctly and our tireless reporter did not have time to rewrite everything.
LOS ANGELES — For about six innings, there were young men throwing a rawhide-covered ball and young men swinging aluminum cylindrical wands at it. Eight men stood with leather ball-catchers and one wore extra padding, surely making an over-protective mother happy.
Though they played on a field with four vinyl-covered stepping stones indicating a safe zone, I hesitate to call what occurred for the majority of three hours, the game of baseball. It was definitely not the caliber of baseball that has historically been played by young men representing the University of Southern California and Texas Christian University.
After several miscues and blunders early in the game, TCU finally woke up and grabbed the reins in the late innings of Thursday night’s game for a 5-4 victory at USC’s Dedeaux Field.
Derek Odell carried the Horned Frogs to the win. Odell homered and drove in the go-ahead run. He also got things rolling for TCU in the seventh inning when he delivered a single and scored later in the inning on a Keaton Jones single up the middle.
The next inning, Jantzen Witte walked, stole second and came around when Jerrick Suiter rocked a ball deep into the left-centerfield gap to tie the game. The Horned Frogs scored the go-ahead run when Odell hit a line drive single the opposite way, bringing in Suiter.
USC took advantage of two errors by TCU second baseman Paul Hendrix in the second inning to take an early 2-0 lead with an infield single by James Roberts that Odell couldn’t make a play on at first base and a Greg Zebrack soft looper into left field driving in the runs. Kevin Cron singled home Witte the next half inning to get the Horned Frogs on the board, but USC added a run in the third inning to retake the lead.
TCU trimmed the lead to 3-2 on Odell’s homer in the fifth inning, but USC got that run right back .Garrett Stubbs doubled and came around to score when Dante Flores grounded into a double play.
BREAKDOWN
Quotable:
TCU head coach Jim Schlossnagle discusses his:
Top Performances:
TCU
- Bullpen – 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 3 K, Win, Save
- Derek Odell – 3-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI
- Keaton Jones – 3-for-4, RBI
- Jantzen Witte – 2-for-3, 2 R, BB, SB
USC
- Bob Wheatley – 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
- Adam Landecker – 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B
- James Roberts – 2-for-4, 2B, RBI
