A pair of TCU pitchers combined to shut out Kansas State baseball Sunday, as the Horned Frogs won the series with a 4-0 victory at Tointon Family Stadium.

With the loss, the Wildcats move to 20-12 overall on the season with a 5-7 mark in Big 12 play, while TCU improves to 20-11 and 7-5 in league games.

“It was a disappointing last two games,” head coach Pete Hughes said in a statement. “Today I thought our bullpen pitched well enough for us to win. However, you can’t win if you don’t score. Our offense is too good to throw away that many at bats. [Zack] James got us out of our approach by throwing a lot of strikes and keeping us off balance. He did not hurt himself. You can’t be shut out for 17 straight innings at home with one game to win to clinch a series. We have a lot of work to do.”

Right-hander Zack James carried a three-hitter into the eighth inning before allowing a runner to reach scoring position. The sophomore from Flower Mound, Texas finished his second start of the year allowing five hits with one walk and five strikeouts before handing the ball over to Walter Quinn, who threw a scoreless ninth.

TCU plated three runs over the first two innings, highlighted by a two-run double from Cole Cramer in the second. The Horned Frogs expanded their lead, 4-0, with Brady Dallimore’s solo blast to centerfield.

K-State put its first runner in scoring position following a fielder’s choice and single to left field by Grant Gallagher in the eighth. With runners on first and second, Shintaro Inoue battled through eight pitches before lacing a shot into right field, but a diving catch by Sawyer Strosnider, the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, preserved the shutout.

Quinn relieved James in the ninth and allowed just one hit to Bear Madliak – a double to left field – before retiring the final two batters for the series win.

Saturday

TCU overcame an early three-run deficit and scored nine unanswered runs Saturday to even the series, as the Horned Frogs picked up a 9-3 victory over K-State at Tointon Family Stadium.

The Horned Frogs fell behind after the Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0, highlighted by extra-base hits from Dee Kennedy and Bear Madliak. TCU chipped away to knot the score at 3-3, before pulling ahead with a go-ahead RBI single by catcher Brady Dillamore in the sixth.

“To win Big 12 games, you have to score in more than one frame, and we scored in the first inning and then shut our offense down,” Hughes said in another statement. “To win in the Big 12, you have to damage control innings, and we had a chance to do that in the sixth inning when we needed to, but we were unable to do that.”

“They got a big hit with the bases loaded, and we didn’t,” Hughes added. “That was the difference in the game, not being able to do damage control and not scoring more than in one frame, or you’re going to get beat in the Big 12. We’ll try to bounce back tomorrow and win a series.”

Lincoln Sheffield (5-1) retired the Horned Frogs in order to put momentum in the Wildcats dugout and spark a three-run inning.

Shintaro Inoue walked to lead off the inning and came around the bases on a triple to left center by Kennedy, who earned a spot on the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List. Madliak doubled in the next at-bat to plate Kennedy, before the senior scored on a sacrifice fly from Carlos Vasquez.

TCU trimmed the deficit to two, 3-1, with a leadoff solo blast to left field by Chase Brunson in the second.

Tied 3-3 headed into the sixth, the Horned Frogs hit through the order and spotted Sheffield for three runs to take the lead before adding a pair of insurance runs with solo blasts from Jack Arthur and Cole Cramer in the ninth to secure the win.

Up next

K-State will take on Wichita State (21-12, 5-4 American) on Tuesday, April 7 at Eck Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 in Wichita and can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.