Nolan Traeger drives in six as TCU baseball erupts for 12 runs in one inning to rally past LMU, snapping an early deficit in a wild 17-7 win.
For four innings, it felt like another frustrating afternoon for No. 18 TCU baseball. Then the fifth happened.
Down 6-1 and searching for momentum, the Horned Frogs detonated for 12 runs in a single frame Monday, flipping the game on its head and steamrolling Loyola Marymount 17-7. If you blinked, you missed it.
Nolan Traeger was the ringleader of the chaos. The junior went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and delivered a career-high six RBIs, including a bases-clearing knock that blew the game wide open.
It was the kind of performance that reminds you why TCU’s lineup can be so dangerous when it gets rolling.
The Frogs struck first in the opening inning on a Traeger sacrifice fly, but LMU answered with a relentless third inning, stringing together two-out damage to seize a 4-1 lead. The Lions tacked on two more in the fourth, and suddenly TCU was staring at a 6-1 hole.
What followed in the fifth wasn’t just a rally; it was a tidal wave.
TCU sent 17 batters to the plate. The inning featured nine walks, two hit batters, three hits and even a defensive miscue. A passed ball and wild pitch chipped away at the deficit before Traeger tied it with a clutch double. Rob Liddington’s sacrifice fly gave TCU its first lead since the first inning. From there, the free passes kept piling up.
Chase Brunson - who was plunked four times in the game - forced in runs the hard way. Traeger then ripped a two-run single to cap the inning and send the Frogs into the dugout with a stunning 13-6 advantage.
They weren’t finished. Four more runs crossed in the sixth, highlighted again by Traeger clearing the bases. Jack Bell added a double, and the Frogs piled up a season-high 15 walks as the offense finally looked like the explosive unit fans expected.
On the mound, Cade Nelson made his first career start, striking out five in 2.2 innings.
Walter Quinn earned the win in relief, while Trever Baumler and Nolan Johnson tossed scoreless frames to close it out.
Now 3-5, TCU returns home Friday to open its 2026 home schedule against New Haven.
If the fifth inning in Los Angeles was any indication, this lineup might just be waking up at the right time.