Klecker Ks nine as Frogs close in on World Series

FORT WORTH — Kole Klecker pitched seven shutout innings and was backed by a pair of thirdinning home runs, leading TCU to a 4-1 victory over Indiana State in front of a record-setting crowd on Friday in the opening game of the Fort Worth Super Regional.

Klecker allowed three hits, struck out nine and walked one. He allowed only three runners to reach second base. The Sycamores' best chance to get to Klecker came with a leadoff single and a twoout walk in the second inning, but the freshman righthander struck out Seth Gergely to keep the game scoreless. The nine strikeouts were a career high for Klecker, who picked up his 10th win of the season.

Luke Savage came on in relief to open the eighth inning and after allowing a leadoff walk, he got out of the inning with a double play grounder and a fly out. He allowed a two-out solo home run by Keegan Watson in the ninth.

Austin Davis put TCU ahead 1-0 with a leadoff home run in the third inning, his ninth of the season. The Frogs stretched the lead to 3-0 when Cole Fontenelle belted a tworun homer to straightaway center field later in the inning.

With the exception of the third inning, Indiana State's Matt Jachec kept pace with Klecker for the most part. Jachec pitched eight-plus innings, coming out of the game after allowing a leadoff double to Fontenelle in the ninth.

After Fontenelle later came around to score, Jachec was charged with four runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and three walks. Zach Davidson finished for Indiana State (45-16).

TCU (41-22) won for the 10th straight time, the Horned Frogs' longest winning streak since 2021.

The Horned Frogs had a chance to close out the series Saturday, with the program's first trip to the College World Series since 2017 on the line.

Brandon Wade/Associated Press TCU’s Kole Klecker set a career high in strikeouts in leading the Horned Frogs to a Game 1 victory.