8-0 Tech bottom of the 7th with TCU at bat. Tech SP Corey Taylor shut down the Frogs 5 IP, 4 hits, 0 runs. TCU thru 7 has 5 hits, 6 LOB, 2 errors. This is one wild tourney.
TCU reminds me of some of our experiences in the B12 tourney in past years. Teams that are thinking ahead to Omaha get whacked by desperate, focused teams whose only hope of getting to Omaha is to win the conference tourney.
TCU may not be thinking ahead to Omaha, but they are playing like they are ready, to get back to Fort Worth and host a regional. They are going to get a top eight seed, which means, they would also host a Super Regional, with a victory in what will problably not be a difficult regional. They came into the Big 12 Tournament knowing this, it's not an excuse, but it's sometimes a reality of human nature. Tech on the other hand is fighting for their post season life, like nearly every team left in the Tournament, save OSU.
The danger for a team like TCU by going 2-and-out is that they could have lost some of their swagger. There will be a nagging thought in the back of their minds that could affect their play in crunch time. What if they face a top national pitcher on a 4-seed team that first game in the regional, which is common. If they lose that first game and have to come out of the loser's bracket, that means that they will have lost 3 in a row. It takes a very strong attitude and self confidence to overcome that losing mentality when you face a top 25 team that is a 2-seed and has lost one game already in the regional.
Beef +1. Also some doubt/hope in TCU/opponents that this TCU team has trouble in pressure must win situations. They will make and host a Super Regional series, but after this performance (the way they lost) chances making the CWS probably has been reduced to 50/50 (all depends on who they draw in the Super).
The thing is, this wasn't a pressure situation, they knew their future. TCU has faced pressure situations in the regular season and done well. They ran the table down the stretch to win the Big 12 and secure a home regional and then probably a home Super as well. They also played a very good non conference schedule and did well. All the playoff games will be in Fort Worth, unless they don't host a Super, I think they will. This makes a difference too. They are well coached and their staff will probably use the Big 12 Tournament losses, as motivation for the rest of the post season. They have all the tools for success, as a team. They may lose in a Super Regional, because most likely, the competition will be good also. I doubt it will be because because they can't handle pressure situations. The big time pitcher for a 4 seed, used to be fairly common. It doesn't happen as much anymore, with college baseball becoming more prominent, over the years. If your that good, a big time school is going to find you and offer a scholarship. It can still happen though, just not as much as in the past.
TCU is fine. We did this before and it worked out OK. I just hope, should we win the tournament, they don't put us in TCUs bracket.
