PHOENIX – “That wound still hasn’t healed,” Texas Christian baseball head coach Kirk Saarloos said after run-ruling Kansas in the 2025 Big 12 Championship semi-finals.
The wound Saarloos referred to happened a few months earlier, when the Horned Frogs lost to Arizona State 26-9 in Ft Worth. The Sun Devils took the final two games of the series to win it.
“They were the ‘27 Yankees that day,” Saarloos said.
A year later, the Sun Devils (12-4) host the No. 17 Horned Frogs (10-6) on the opening weekend of Big 12 baseball conference play. Sunday marks one year since the 26-7 game.
Injuries are hampering both teams. The Sun Devils lost Nu’u Contrades for a bit with a leg injury last Sunday. For TCU, sophomore two-way Noah Franco and junior right-handed pitcher Tommy LaPour are both expected to be out for the series. Both TCU players received Big 12 baseball preseason team honors, and LaPour was the conference’s preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Redshirt junior infielder Nu’u Contrades was a hot bat for the Sun Devils. This season, he was scorching hot at the plate with a .396 average and a 1.221 OPS.
LaPour was the Horned Frogs’ Friday night starter last season. He threw 90.1 innings with a 3.09 ERA last season. He started the one game Arizona State dropped to TCU, limiting the conference’s top offense to two runs (one earned) in five innings.
LaPour made one start this season against Vanderbilt, limiting the Commodores to two runs in five innings. He is dealing with a flexor strain.
Franco is coming off a freshman season where he posted a .313 batting average and .944 OPS offensively and a 7.30 ERA in limited usage on the mound. In last season’s series, he went 5-10, with two homers. He started the Sunday game on the mound as well, allowing a run in four and two-thirds innings.
Franco is 0-8 at the plate this season. On the mound, he threw three scoreless innings against Arkansas before getting shelled by UCLA, allowing four runs and failing to record an out. He is dealing with an oblique injury.
Possible rotations:
TCU:
Friday: Sophomore LHP Mason Brassfield (season: 2-1, 6.75 ERA, 14.2 IP, 1.84 WHIP)
Saturday: Redshirt Freshman RHP Lance Davis (season: 0-2, 6.61 ERA, 16.1 IP, 1.29 WHIP)
Sunday: Freshman LHP Uli Fernsler (season: 1-0, 6.43 ERA, 7 IP, 2.00 WHIP)
Davis had his best start last weekend, throwing six innings and only allowing three hits. He allowed two runs with one earned, a solid performance even though he did not get the win. Davis could be the starter who gives the Sun Devil batters fits this weekend.
ASU:
Friday: Junior LHP Cole Carlon (season: 2-1, 3.00 ERA, 21 IP, 0.95 WHIP)
Saturday: Junior RHP Alex Overbay (season: 0-0, 0.69 ERA, 13 IP, 1.31 WHIP)
Sunday: Senior RHP Kole Klecker (season: 2-0, 4.50 ERA, 14 IP, 1.00 WHIP)
Klecker is a name to watch this week as he plays his former team, TCU, for the first time. In his first weekend start, he had his worst game of the season against LMU.
Hot bats
For TCU, Sophomore outfielder Sawyer Strosnider started with a .314 average and a 1.140 OPS, leading the team in OPS and runs scored with 25. Junior outfielder Chase Brunson has started the season hot, batting .333 with a 1.100 OPS, leading the team in average. Both players received recognition on the Big 12 baseball preseason team.
For the Sun Devils, sophomore utility Landon Hairston has been the damage dealer this season. Hairston, the Big 12 baseball preseason team selection, leads the team in average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, doubles, homers, walks, runs and RBI. Junior utility Dominic Longo II and redshirt sophomore infielder Austen Roellig have had good seasons as well.
Last Sunday, the Sun Devils scored 29 runs against LMU, so the bats are hot, showing that the Sun Devils can turn into the ‘27 Yankees again and create a new wound for the Horned Frogs.