For all the reasons he could think his team belonged in the NCAA baseball field of 64, Jim Schlossnagle easily identified one as the tipping point.
It was Jared Janczak’s 12-strikeout, six-inning performance on Saturday against Oklahoma State in the first semifinal at the Big 12 tournament.
“That’s the difference-maker,” the Horned Frogs coach said of the senior right-hander. “We can argue that between Nick Lodolo and Chuck King and Brandon Williamson and Janczak, our starting pitching can hang with just about anybody. … Janczak is the one who put us over the top.”
Selection committee chairman Ray Tanner said the Frogs’ health and depth in the starting rotation was a factor in their inclusion.
So Janczak’s timing was ideal. He put the Frogs in a time machine back to 2016 and 2017 with his performance, marking his most strikeouts since March 18, 2017, against Kansas and his longest outing since March 9, 2018, at USC.
“Definitely a feeling of redemption for me,” he said. “It’s the one word I put in my locker. It was bittersweet. Finally felt like my old self.”
Janczak missed the final six weeks of last season, diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and undergoing surgery. Drafted in the 32nd round by the Anaheim Angels, he opted to rehab and return to school.
But his 2019 season got off to a rocky start, with short outings in his first three starts. After he lasted only 1 2/3 innings against Rice on March 3, the Frogs gave him nine days off between starts. He went 4 1/3 innings at San Diego on March 12, giving up a run on four hits but struck out none for the first time in an outing in which he pitched more than an inning.
Another multi-week break followed, and on April 9 the pitcher began working as a spot starter and out of the bullpen, seeking to regain the form that finally reasserted itself last weekend when he struck out the side in each of the first two innings. He left with a 6-1 lead, putting the Frogs in position for a 13-6 victory.
“My slider was working. Snapping off. Late action. Wasn’t loopy,” Jancak said. “Felt like ‘17. The first inning, after those three punches, I was, ‘Wow, that was good, I haven’t had that in a while.’ When I did it again, I was like, ‘Ok, we got something going, let’s keep this up.’”
Before the surgery for TOC and an arthroscopic surgery, Janczak had pitched with a motion that compensated for the discomfort of nerve pain near his shoulder and numbness in the arm. He said he realized he had continued to do that after the surgeries.
“My arm pattern wasn’t the same for a year and a half,” he said. “I had to break those old habits pitching with the nerve pain.”
A well-viewed social media post by TCU showed Schlossnagle and Janczak in a congratulatory embrace.
“You’re beaming like a proud dad the entire time because you know what he’s been through, what he’s given up for this program and you just want him to have one more day in the sun,” Schlossnagle said. “And that was a neat moment for him.”
It’s all Janczak had asked. The timing greatly benefited the Frogs, who earned one of the final four at-large bids to the postseason field.
“I came back to do what I wanted to do,” Janczak said. “Even if that’s all I got, one game, I know I still got it. I can pitch.”
