TCU baseball erased a 3-0 first-inning deficit and beat Kansas State 9-3 as Lance Davis settled in and the Horned Frogs powered up late.
TCU baseball shook off a rough start Saturday and turned it into one of its more complete Big 12 wins of the season, beating Kansas State 9-3 in Manhattan.
After falling behind 3-0 in the opening inning, the Horned Frogs responded with nine straight runs, strong pitching from Lance Davis and late power to even the weekend series.
The key for TCU was its response after the first inning.
Kansas State came out swinging, but Davis didn’t let the game spiral. The right-hander settled down and gave the Horned Frogs exactly what they needed, working 6.2 innings while allowing six hits, walking three and striking out four.
His finish was especially strong, with all four strikeouts coming across his final two innings as he pitched deep into the game and kept TCU in control.
Offensively, TCU started chipping away in the second when Chase Brunson launched a leadoff home run, his sixth of the season, to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Horned Frogs pulled even in the fifth behind key swings from Noah Franco and Brady Dallimore, then took over for good in the sixth.
Dallimore’s bases-loaded infield single pushed TCU in front, Jack Bell added an RBI walk, and Preston Gamster delivered the biggest hit of the inning with a two-run double that stretched the lead to 7-3.
Kansas State had one last chance in the seventh after loading the bases with two outs, but Walter Quinn came on and got the groundout TCU needed to keep the momentum intact.
The Horned Frogs added more breathing room in the ninth when Jack Arthur and Cole Cramer both went deep.
Cramer finished with another multi-hit performance and extended his hitting streak to seven games, while Arthur’s blast was his first home run of the year.
With the victory, TCU improved to 19-11 overall and 6-5 in Big 12 play heading into Sunday’s rubber game.
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