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FORT WORTH, Texas - The University of Utah baseball team's surge through the Mountain West Conference Tournament came to an end this afternoon as TCU dealt the Utes a 6-3 loss in the consolation bracket this afternoon. Utah takes its second loss of the tourney, and it is eliminated. The Horned Frogs advance to the championship game to face New Mexico this evening.
Utah, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, raced out to a 2-0 lead on the top-seeded Horned Frogs. The Utes had an RBI triple from Nick Kuroczko in the second inning, and an RBI single from Jesse Shriner in the third. But, TCU rallied to score the next four runs in running away with the three-run win.
The fifth-seeded Utes completed the tournament with a 3-2 mark, and they finish third in the tournament. That is the most conference tournament wins by a Utah team, and it's its highest finish.
The Utes used five pitchers today, but it was starter Kerr Foster who is dealt the loss. The senior right-hander threw for 3.0 innings in allowing three earned runs, five hits and one walk.
TCU tagged Utah's pitchers for 10 hits, while the Utes finished with eight. Leading the visitors today was the 2-for-4 effort by Shriner. He also had one RBI. The other two RBI went to Dustin Hennis and Kuroczko, as they went 1-for-4 and 1-for-3 at the plate, respectively.
The Crimson and White jumped out to a 2-0 lead, thanks to the efforts of Kuroczko and Shriner. But, the next four runs were scored by TCU. A Matt Vern double made it 2-1 after three, and then the Horned Frogs scored two in the fourth. Matt Carpenter tallied an RBI triple and Clint Arnold belted an RBI double to give TCU its first lead of the game, 3-2, after four complete innings.
RBI doubles in each the fifth and seventh inning gave TCU the 5-3 lead, and a bases-loaded wild pitch in the eighth extended the Horned Frog cushion to 6-3.
The Utes briefly trimmed the deficit to two, 5-3, in the seventh. Hennis hit a one-out single up the middle with runners on second and third, plating Corey Shimada.
TCU starting pitcher Seth Garrison is the winner while Andrew Cashner gets the save. Arnold's 2-for-5, one-RBI day led all Horned Frogs at the plate.
