On a gorgeous afternoon warm enough to break a sweat from the stands, TCU's Steven Trout led off the fourth inning by chasing a curveball in the dirt, but the ball skipped by Bear catcher Matt Czimskey, and Trout reached first. Then with injured DH Keith Conlon at the plate showing bunt, Mandel balked Trout up to second base. Consecutive fly-outs by Conlon and Austin Adams plated the run. Really not the most exciting way to take the lead, but TCU will take it.

It certainly feels like Texas here, with the sun burning down and classics like "She thinks my tractor's sexy" blaring between innings. The crowd has filled in nicely, and the grandstand (roughly 3,800 seats) is about two-thirds full as we reach the halfway point this afternoon.

Mandel has been better than Arrieta so far, mostly due to his sharp-breaking curveball (which, ironically enough, led to the only run of the game). Arrieta has gotten outs when he's needed them, however, thanks in part to his dropping splitter (four strikeouts) and in part to catcher Andrew Walker, who has twice thrown out Baylor baserunners on pitchouts. Makes you wonder if TCU is picking up the Baylor signs or something.

TCU's Clint Arnold, moved over to center with Conlon DHing, has shown excellent range on two running catches.