Corvallis Regional: TCU Heads to Losers Bracket After Dominant Showing from USC

Originally posted on TCU Horned Frogs on SI
By Carson Wersal | Last updated May 31, 2025 12:49 AM ET

In Corvallis, a town that seemingly only has baseball on its mind, it was the Horned Frogs and the Trojans that opened the regional hosted by #8 Oregon State. While many expected TCU and Oregon State to be playing each other the next day, they didn't expect to meet like this on Day 2 of the regional.

Both TCU and Oregon State were handed losses and will meet each other in the loser's bracket Saturday at 2:00 p.m. CT.

The Recap

Something was off immediately in Friday's game vs the USC Trojans. Tommy LaPour got the start for the Frogs, but struggled early as he had thrown over 40 pitches through the first two innings. While LaPour's fastball had its regular velocity and run to it, it was the off-speed stuff that the righty couldn't quite get under control as he left the game after 3.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, and 5 Ks on 65 pitches.

While the Wichita State transfer is normally the topic for these series-opening articles, it was the USC starter, Caden Aoki, who stole the show. Working with an absurd amount of efficiency, Aoki finished his day on the mound with 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6 Ks, on 114 pitches. With Aoki locating all four of his pitches, the TCU offense was in for a rough day at the plate.

Aoki later mentioned after the game that the biggest key to his success was his ability to locate the fastball inside against both lefties and righties.

The lone scoring for the Frogs on Friday was a solo-homerun by, Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Sawyer Strosnider.

Destroyed!

109.2 EV
419 feet
No. 11 for @sawyerstro

https://t.co/VVAYn7HUBn / ESPNU pic.twitter.com/Bq4VPkUQ1C
— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) May 30, 2025

While USC did have multiple clutch at-bats with RISP, it was the free passes that put the Frogs in tough situations from the very beginning. LaPour leaving the game early put TCU on their back foot, and it would have taken heroic efforts to swing the momentum in their favor.

Outside of the slow start by the Frogs, there were other factors that contributed to the lopsided loss. Free passes were a major factor as the Trojans began with the leadoff man on in seven of the nine innings. TCU had nine walks on the day, and even hit four batters to give the Trojans 13 free passes. That's a recipe for disaster, no matter how good your team is.

Like I mentioned earlier in the article, USC's offense was lethal early on. With 14 singles and 13 BBs/HBPs, it was a hit parade that the TCU pitching staff fell victim to in most innings. Even when the Frogs were able to earn scoreless innings, it was at the cost of a couple of singles or a Frog's pitch count.

It was Adrian Lopez and Richard Tejeda who led the way for USC offensively, both acquiring three hits and multiple RBIs in the process. Tejeda ended his game 3-for-5 with two RBIs, while Lopez had the same number of hits with three RBIs. While those two led the charge, it was a combined team effort at the plate as seven USC hitters notched a hit, four of whom had multi-hit games.

I think most Frogball fans would agree that there aren't many positive things to talk about when talking about this game. Even Head Coach Kirk Saarloos mentioned after the game that what was shown on the field wasn't representative of what TCU Baseball was.

In the words of Saarloos himself, "We had a bad day. I guarantee you the sun will come up tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day."

That sentiment will need to ring true as the Frogs will take on the No. 1-seed Oregon State Beavers on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. (CT).

It's now or never for the Frogs, as they will look to stave off elimination from the NCAA Tournament. The good news for TCU? It will be Mason Brassfield on the mound first for the Frogs, with notable bullpen pitchers Gianluca Shinn, Nate Stern, and Braeden Sloan available.

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This article first appeared on TCU Horned Frogs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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