MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — During their four seasons of Big 12 overlap, no baseball team has dealt West Virginia so much heartbreak as TCU.
Eleven straight losses, in fact. None more agonizing than last year’s emotional finish in Oklahoma City.
The Mountaineers, after overcoming an eight-run deficit, stood three outs from ending their two-decade NCAA tournament drought before TCU forced extra innings and ultimately claim the Big 12 championship.
“We put our hearts on the field,” West Virginia coach Randy Mazey said that day, the latest in a string of difficult days against his former school.
This weekend’s series at Monongalia County Ballpark offers a chance to reverse the trend.
The Frogs (27-5, 8-1) are richly talented yet again, ranked No. 3 in the nation and chasing a fourth consecutive trip to the College World Series. They also enter with a 13-game winning streak, one shy of the TCU record.
Yet Mazey’s program — winless against the Frogs since 2013 — appears to have narrowed the gap.
The Mountaineers (19-12, 6-3) opened Big 12 play by winning three straight series, their first time being above .500 after nine league games.
They feature national pitcher of the week Michael Grove, coming off an eight-inning, one-hit beauty against Kansas, and Friday starter BJ Myers, coming off a complete-game effort himself.
The Mountaineers are second in the conference in hitting, with third baseman Cole Austin the only Big 12 player batting above .400 in league play.
This weekend also pairs two of the conference’s top power hitters — WVU’s Jackson Cramer and TCU’s Luken Baker — both of whom have seven homers.
“We did a little state of the union at the midway point with our team about where we were and the things we were doing well and the things we needed to get better at,” said TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle. “Part of that talk was about what lies ahead of us and how strong our league is and what a great advantage it is in terms of RPIs. There’s a lot of opportunities out there for us, but we’re going to have to play well to take advantage of it.”
As of Thursday the Frogs stood No. 9 in the RPI, normal status for such an elite program. while West Virginia’s seat at No. 14 represents news.
Staying there requires the Mountaineers find a way to snap their TCU hex. A glimpse back at how the Frogs built a 13-2 series lead since the schools simultaneously joined the Big 12:
2016
Frogs swept series in Fort Worth:
TCU, 10-6
TCU, 7-1
TCU, 14-2
Frogs won Big 12 tournament final:
TCU, 11-10 in 10 innings
(Note: WVU led 10-9 in the ninth.)
2015
Frogs swept series in Morgantown:
TCU, 9-4
TCU, 6-2
TCU, 5-0
(Note: WVU never led in the series.)
2014
Frogs swept series in Fort Worth:
TCU, 4-3
TCU, 8-0
TCU, 3-1
(Note: Harrison Musgrave left Game 1 with 3-1 lead in ninth.)
Frogs won Big 12 tournament matchup:
TCU, 6-2
2013
Frogs took 2 of 3 in Charleston:
WVU, 2-0
TCU, 7-4
TCU, 16-6
(Note: Began WVU’s 2-5 slide to slip out of NCAA at-large contention.)
Mountaineers won Big 12 tournament matchup:
WVU, 10-3