Baseball earned its fourth victory all-time over TCU on Tuesday. The 4-1 win was led by a scoreless three-inning start from left-handed pitcher Collin Adams and shut down by right-handed pitcher Evan Whiteaker, who struck out the side in the top of the ninth inning. 

The Power Four win is the 13th for the program in eight years under head coach Rick McCarty and the 16th in program history. 

A 4-for-4 night at the plate from catcher Kanon Sundgren, senior from Silsbee, sparked the offense. Sundgren ended the night with two doubles, two singles and an RBI while scoring once for the Wildcats. 

“I love Kanon,” McCarty said. “He did a great job. He’s what we want. He’s tough, he’s got good energy, and he’s a really good teammate.”

Sundgren scored the first run of the game after a 1-out double in the third inning. He came around to score on a single from Zandt Payne, senior from Edmond, Oklahoma. 

“It’s just sticking to the plan,” Sundgren said. “We had a scouting report on each guy, and it’s just going out there and executing it.”

Last time the Wildcats and Horned Frogs squared up, the Wildcats lost on a walk-off home run in the ninth inning. Sundgren said that loss, coming after the team held a 6-0 lead, helped spark the effort tonight.

“We felt like we gave that one away,” Sundgren said. “I think the team as a collective just wanted to get out there and get it back.” 

Adams, a junior from Lebanon, Tennessee, earned the win for the Wildcats after going three innings. He allowed just two hits while striking out three batters. 

“I saw a lot of confidence,” his battery-mate Sundgren said. “Going out there and just sticking it to them, pounding the zone and getting ahead is just executing is what he’s good at.”

The win over the Big 12 foe is the team’s first of the season and one that McCarty said will add to the team’s list of signature wins as a program. 

“It’s great,” McCarty said. “We want to celebrate those because they’re not easy. Honestly, it’s not supposed to happen. When you look at the brands and the tradition of them going to Omaha, that’s where we’re shooting to try to get to.” 

The Horned Frogs never led in the game, though they battled and refused to admit defeat. Tacking on their lone run in the top of the fifth, the team had its leadoff batter on base in six of nine innings. Only one of those runs scored. 

“When you open the door for good teams, sometimes they walk through it,” McCarty said. “We did a good job tonight of not allowing that. I think these games come down to those back-breaker moments.”

In relief of Adams, who earned his first win of the season, the Wildcat bullpen combined to throw six 1-run innings while striking out eight and allowing just six hits. Whiteaker earned his first career save after striking out the side in the top of the ninth.

“You’re going one, two, three in their lineup to get the save, ” McCarty said. “That was a tough save.” 

The Wildcats will play their next three contests on the road at Tarleton State University this weekend. Each team will enter the series 1-2 in Western Athletic Conference play, after the Wildcats lost 2-of-3 at home to California Baptist, while the Texans lost 2-of-3 to UT Arlington on the road. 

“When you get a game like that, against a good team like that, it builds a lot of momentum and good energy in the dugout,” Sundgren said. “It’s just about riding that out and sticking to it.”