FORT WORTH, Texas – In the final non-conference games of the 2018 season, Lamar University (15-31) continues its 12-game road trip this weekend at Texas Christian University (24-18). Meeting for the first time since the 2010 NCAA Fort Worth Regional, the Cards and Horned Frogs will play three games starting on Friday.
 
The Last Time Out – at Rice – A Game of Inches
 
The Cards had three opportunities to walk away with a win at Rice on Wednesday and narrowly missed all three times in a 2-1 loss to the Owls. The Cards loaded the bases in the top of the first with one out before a double play ended the inning, then had runners thrown out at home in the eighth and ninth innings.
 
Jace Campbell threw three scoreless innings, Philip Ingram stretched his on-base streak to a career-best 25 games, Chad Fleischman made his season pitching debut, and Jack Dallas earned his 20th appearance on the mound in the game while Cole Girouard tied a career-best with his sixth-consecutive game with a hit.
 
Lamar vs. TCU
 
Series Record
All-Time Series: TCU leads 10-9
At Vincent-Beck: Tied 3-3
At Lupton Stadium: TCU leads 7-6
At Neutral Site: N/A
Will Davis vs. TCU: First Meeting
Schlossnagle vs. Lamar: TCU leads 1-0
 
Starters:
Friday – RHP Tanner Driskill (5-3 ERA, 3.75 ERA) vs. LHP Nick Lodolo (5-3, 5.27 ERA)
Saturday – LHP Noah Sills (3-4, 3.34 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Eissler (3-1, 3.93 ERA)
Sunday – LHP Jason Blanchard (0-5, 3.43 ERA) vs. LHP Haylen Green (1-1, 4.01 ERA)
 
Still virtually a lock for the Big XII Conference tournament and a record above .500, 2018 is still viewed as a bit of a down year for the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University, who have made the College World Series four years in a row with at least 48 wins each of those seasons. The Frogs are 24-18 this year in the 15th season under Jim Schlossnagle, who has 638 wins at the school and 715 career wins a a head coach.
 
TCU's pitching staff is one of the best in the Big XII this year with an ERA of 3.67, which is second in the league and 47th in the country. The Frogs lead the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio, averaging 2.76 K's per walk surrendered, and their average of 3.52 walks allowed per nine innings is also tops in the Bix XII.
 
Their batting average is near the bottom of the conference at .263 (ninth of 10 teams), but a fourth-ranked on-base percentage of .377 has helped TCU average 5.8 runs a game, right around the conference average.
 
Friday's starter for TCU is LHP Nick Lodolo, who has struck out 68 batters this season, the fourth-most in the Big XII. Saturday's starter, RHP Jake Eissler, is making his season debut as a starter after retiring 15 batters in a row in a crucial 9-5 win over Texas Tech on April 29, including a career-best 11 strikeouts.
 
Offensively, Luken Baker is a home run threat with nine on the year, Josh Walton has 31 walks this season, and A.J. Balta has been a double machine with 14 in 2018.
 
News and Notes on Lamar
 

• Lamar has had to count on freshmen in big moments this year. The Cardinals have started first-year college players 120 times this season compared to just 38 by their opponents. On the mound Big Red has started freshmen four times while facing eight opposing rookie starters.
   
• There's still plenty of time for Lamar to fight its way into the postseason. The Cards trail eighth-place Nicholls by two and a half games but have six opportunities to make up that ground. The Colonels play at SFA this weekend and will end the year at New Orleans. The Privateers are also trying to make up ground on Nicholls; they trail the Colonels by a half-game. Cardinal fans can track all the Southland Conference scores here and can get daily updates on the conference standings here.
   
• Friday starter Tanner Driskill is 5-1 since taking over the role at UIW on March 23, and 5-0 in actual Friday starts; his lone loss came in a complete game for the senior at HBU on a Thursday.