(Courtesy TCU Media Relations)
No-hitter is ninth in school history
(EDINBURG, TX) – Four TCU Horned Frog pitchers combined to throw the program’s ninth no-hitter and just the third nine-inning no-hitter in school history. Walker Kelly tossed four hitless innings to earn his first collegiate win, while Taylor Cragin, Tyler Lockwood and Eric Marshall all combined to throw the final five hitless innings. Along the way, Marshall tallied his third save of the season.
The Frogs last no-hitter came on this same field as Brad Furnish twirled a seven-inning no-hitter against Stephen F. Austin on February 19, 2006. The last combined no-hitter came back on February 7, 1995 when four pitchers combined to no-hit Abilene Christian.
TCU struck first, picking up a run on a hit in the opening frame. Taylor Featherston took a 2-1 pitch off the foot with one out in the inning and moved to second on a balk by Bronc starter Mike Lankford. Chris Ellington did the job, lining a single to left field to give the Frogs the early 1-0 advantage.
The Frogs missed a golden opportunity to add to their lead in the second inning as they loaded the bases with two outs. Jimmie Pharr reached on a two-out error by the shortstop to keep the inning alive. Ben Carruthers was hit by a pitch and Corey Steglich walked to load the bases, but Bronc starter Mike Lankford got a pop-up to end the inning.
Making his first collegiate start, Walker Kelly (1-1) did a good job to hold the Broncs’ offense in check. He tossed four innings, facing just two batters over the minimum. He hit a batter to open the third inning but set down the next three batters in order to strand the runner at first. A lead-off walk in the fourth also went by the wayside as he retired the next three batters he faced.
TCU finally broke through in the sixth inning, scoring two runs on two hits to open up a 3-0 lead. Matt Vern started the Horned Frog rally as he took a fastball off the side with one out. Zac Jordan battled through a 0-2 count, coming up with his second double in as many days, scoring Vern all the way from first for a 2-0 lead. Matt Curry followed with a base hit up the middle to drive in Jordan for the three-run cushion.
Cragin came on in the fifth and pitched around a walk in each of the fifth and sixth innings before giving way to Tyler Lockwood in the seventh.
Lockwood pitched a perfect seventh, before a lead-off hit batsman made things interesting in the eighth. The runner moved to second with one out and advanced to third with two out. Featherston preserved the no-hitter, making a spectacular play at second to rob Abraham Garcia of a base hit up the middle. The ball glance off the umpire and took a high hop, but Featherston was able to glove it and throw Garcia out at home. The inning closed without any further drama.
Eric Marshall pitched around a two-out hit batsman to preserve the no-hitter. Carruthers made the final play on the infield to end the contest.
The Frogs improve to 21-10 on the season. They will go for their second straight series sweep on Saturday afternoon.
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