TCU’s Riley Ferrell and Evan Skoug congratulate each other after their 4-2 victory over Vanderbilt. TCU’s only loss this weekend was to USC. Photo by David Cohen (BHEphotos)
FORT WORTH – TCU baseball head coach Jim Schlossnagle announced the 2016 schedule, which will feature 30 home games.
TCU’s 55-game slate will see the Horned Frogs play 22 road games in addition to three neutral site contests. The schedule is highlighted by 15 games against 2015 postseason participants.
The Horned Frogs are coming off a second-straight appearance in the College World Series and finished the 2015 campaign ranked. No. 4 nationally. Along the way, TCU claimed the university’s first team outright Big 12 Conference regular season championship.
The 2016 campaign gets going with a four-game homestand starting Feb. 19 when the Frogs host Loyola Marymount for a trio of games. The homestand concludes Feb. 23 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
TCU’s first road trip of the season will mark its sixth appearance in the Houston College Classic. The Horned Frogs will face three NCAA tournament squads at Minute Maid Park. In the Frogs’ first game of the tournament, they will face NCAA Super Regional participant Louisiana-Lafayette (Feb. 26) followed by NCAA participants Rice (Feb. 27) and Houston (Feb. 28).
The month of March is jam-packed with home games as the Frogs will play 12 contests at Lupton Stadium. An eight-game homestand begins March 1 with UT Rio Grande Valley (formerly UT Pan American). Gonzaga heads to Fort Worth March 4-6. TCU’s first of three meetings with UT Arlington follows on March 8. The homestand concludes with a three-game series against NCAA participant USC (March 11-13).
A brief trip to Houston for a meeting with Rice on March 15 is followed by another four-game homestand.
The Horned Frogs’ Big 12 title defense begins March 18 with a three-game series against West Virginia. Abilene Christian comes to TCU March 21 to conclude the homestand.
A big road stretch that will see TCU play 10 of its next 12 games away from home begins at Texas on March 24. A midweek contest at UT Arlington (March 29) is followed by a three-game series at Wichita State (April 1-3).
Two midweek games at Lupton Stadium break up the road trip. TCU will host UTA on April 5 and Louisiana-Monroe on April 6 before hitting the road again on April 8 for a three game series at Kansas.
April continues with the first of two meeting against NCAA participant Dallas Baptist on April 12. Oklahoma comes to Lupton Stadium for a three game series April 15-17.
Five straight road games follow beginning with Abilene Christian on April 19. The Frogs will head north to NCAA participant Oklahoma State for three games April 22-24 before concluding the road trip April 26 at Dallas Baptist.
TCU will make a quick stop at home to host Texas Tech for three game starting April 29. After a week off for finals, the Frogs head back to the road for a three-game series at Penn State (May 6-8).
After a May 10 meeting with Stephen F. Austin at Lupton Stadium, the Frogs will play their final road conference series of the season at Baylor (May 13-15).
The regular season concludes with a four-game homestand beginning May 17 against Incarnate Word. A three-game slate with Kansas State (May 19-21) rounds out the schedule.
The Big 12 postseason tournament returns to Oklahoma City and Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark after a one-year hiatus. The tournament is slated to run May 25-29.
