FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – There is never such a thing as a lost cause, not so long as there are nine innings to play, but what TCU was asked to do on Sunday certainly qualified as steeper than any uphill climb in a Northwest Arkansas region full of uphill climbs.
The Horned Frogs staved off elimination by beating Central Connecticut State in the afternoon. After a quick shower, they were back out on the field with the chore of all chores: defeat Arkansas, the fifth-ranked team in team in the NCAA tournament, twice … at home.
That’s actually no mere chore, but an undertaking the size of building Rome in a day during finals week.
But there stood on the mound the pitcher who had seen it all in five years at TCU – the triumphs, the trials, the misfortune.
If there was one guy not named Jude who could handle this case, it was Jared Janczak, the right-hander from Belton, whose rise to All-American two years ago was derailed by injuries and setback.
A Hollywood ending wasn’t in the cards.
TCU and the other out-of-towners stepped into a woodchipper this weekend at Baum-Walker Stadium. Arkansas was simply too good in a Fayetteville Regional that was the Razorbacks’ to lose.
Janczak battled like hell for 4 2/3 innings in his last college start, keeping his team in the game after locating a late-arriving rhythm, which caused him a difficult first inning.
Meanwhile, the Frogs offense never found a rhythm, in a season-ending 6-0 loss in the championship round.
Arkansas pitchers completely nullified TCU’s hitters, who in two games went a combined 9 for 61 with 23 strikeouts.
“Their pitching smothers you with strikes,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Guys do multiple things. All have power arms. That’s a team that played for a national title last year, and they’re set up to do the same thing.
“A lot of good baseball players. They’re fun to watch … when you’re in the stands. Not in the other dugout. They’re going to be tough to beat. If they can get to that bullpen with a lead, it’s awfully tough.”
In his last start at TCU, Janczak gave up five runs on seven hits. He settled after surrendering three runs in the first inning on four hard hit balls. He retired eight of the next nine hitters the next three innings.
His night ended with two outs in the fifth and a two-run home run to Matt Goodheart.
Janczak struck out eight hitters.
“They just caught me before I got my rhythm, especially for myself, who has been struggling for most of the year,” Janczak said. “I think I held myself well and kept us in the ballgame. I just kept competing. I knew it was going to click eventually.”
Janczak’s struggles this season – it was no coincidence that the Frogs struggled as well while injuries began to pile up — stemmed from a slow recovery from Thoracic Outlet surgery that limited him to eight starts a year ago.
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is a disorder that occurs when blood vessels or nerves in the space between the collarbone and top rib (thoracic outlet) are compressed. It can cause pain in the shoulders and neck, and numbness in the fingers. Surgery often requires the removal of a rib to allow a more even blood flow.
A setback this season limited him to 10 starts and 39 1/3 innings. His best start of the season was in the Big 12 tournament. He struck out 12 and limited Oklahoma State to two runs in six innings.
Before the injury, he was one of the top college pitchers in the nation.
In 2017, Janczak pitched 93 1/3 innings and had 102 strikeouts in 15 starts. In leading the Frogs to Omaha, opponents hit a feeble .181 against him. Against a very good Virginia team in the Fort Worth Regional he allowed only one run on six hits and struck out six in eight innings. In the Super Regional, it was much the same, 10 strikeouts and two runs allowed in 6 1/3 innings against Missouri State.
His only two losses that year were to runner-up Florida in the College World Series.
He missed time that season as well with a leg injury.
Janczak was drafted in the 11th round in 2017 and the 32nd round in 2018.
Rather than go pro, he opted instead to return to TCU. The decision a year ago was an easier one obviously.
“It’s definitely been a grind the past two years,” Janczak said. “It’s been a roller-coaster of emotions for me. The greatest ups you can think about and the lowest of the lows. I’ve talked to Schloss about it. I’ve done everything in college baseball a pitcher can do. I’ve been redshirted, I’ve been hurt, I’ve had some great years and not so great years.
“I have all the coaches to thanks and the fans and my teammates for pushing me along these past couple of years that hasn’t been as enjoyable as most, but it’s been worth it.”
A clever humorist once wrote of a disappointed man: “He had the look of one who had drunk the cup of life and found a dead beetle at the bottom.”
There was plenty of good that came out of TCU’s three days in Fayetteville, a 72-hour period that resulted in two wins and two losses, both to Arkansas. One of those is that Janczak doesn’t feel that way.
There is value to every experience, each adversity.
“He’s as a good a pitcher as there has ever been at TCU,” Schlossnagle said. “He’s done everything. He’s given this program way more than we’ve given him. I’m forever grateful. It’s an honor to have coached him for five years.”
