College World Series: Brian Howard Comes Up Big Again For TCU

Brian Howard (Getty Images)

OMAHA—The nickname emerged in a press conference about a week ago. As flattering as it sounds, Brian Howard insists it’s just a case of his Texas Christian teammates poking fun at him.

They call him “Big Game Howie.” They all do. Even head coach Jim Schlossnagle. The mom of one of Howard’s teammates—freshman Chuck King—made a hat with the nickname on it. It’s white and bedazzled. Howard doesn’t expect to be “rocking it” often.

Whatever the origin, the nickname is apt—more than apt. Howard, a towering 6-foot-9, 185-pound senior righthander, has consistently elevated his game with the stakes. A week ago, he threw 7.1 stellar innings and struck out 11 against Missouri State in a super regional to send the Horned Frogs to Omaha. A year ago, in Omaha, Howard shut down eventual champion Coastal Carolina. He helped take down rival Texas A&M in super regionals not once but twice. In 2015, he threw a scoreless 11th and 12th in a 16-inning classic. In 2016, he allowed just one run on two hits in seven innings.

So Tuesday’s College World Series elimination bout against Texas A&M? Been there, done that. For Big Game Howie, that’s just another day at the yard.

To put it simply, Howard dominated. The righthander allowed just one run on five hits and matched a career high with 12 strikeouts in seven innings. He almost singlehandedly carried the Horned Frogs to a 4-1 win over the Aggies, staving off elimination and sending their rivals home.

“Obviously, the story of today was Brian Howard,” Schlossnagle said. “And Big Game Howie, as he’s affectionately known in Fort Worth, showed up today. Just amazing. Through the great pitching history of our program in the last 14 years, had a lot of really good pitchers, big leaguers, that kind of thing, and for Brian to be the only back-to-back 10-game-or more winner in our program is an awesome statement for him and (pitching coach Kirk) Saarloos and the program in general.”

Howard improved to 12-3 on the year after going 10-2 last season, and he set the tone from the very beginning. Using a sharp, biting mid-80s cutter and an upper 70s curveball to complement his upper 80s fastball, Howard recorded his first six outs via strikeout, carving through the Texas A&M lineup. Texas A&M coach Rob Childress compared Howard to former Aggie and current big leaguer Michael Wacha in his dominance.

After each inning, Howard sprinted from the mound to the dugout and could often be seen pacing and fidgeting. In the post-game press conference, he cracked jokes left and right, saying a blister on his pitching hand affected him only on “every hit I gave up.”

None of that should come as a surprise, given Howard’s extroverted personality.

“It’s one of our core values to have energy—selflessness, excellence and energy,” the senior said. “And when I was young here, I didn’t really have the first two core values down, so I had to really step it up in the third.

“I think coach Schlossnagle would back me up on that.”

Ryan Merrill, TCU’s shortstop and Howard’s roommate would back Howard up on that, as well.

“It’s easy (to see) from my end because I’m his roommate,” Merrill said, laughing. “So I get to wake up with it.”

Merrill, a fellow senior, had a special moment of his own, providing run support for his roomie with a leadoff homer in the third inning. The Horned Frogs would tack on two more in that frame.

A native of Omaha, Merrill lived out a dream with the blast, providing a signature moment in a Series he grew up watching.

“I don’t hit many home runs, so I was sprinting,” said Merrill, who came in with five homers on the year. “As soon as I saw it leave, that’s when it just hit me how cool that experience is.”

Howard said he jumped up to the top rail of the dugout and started screaming when he saw Merrill’s drive leave the park. Despite his constant peppiness, Howard is generally more reserved in the dugout while his team bats.

It was undeniably an unforgettable performance for the duo, and for Howard it’s yet another example of his high-pressure fortitude.

Howard improved to 4-0 this postseason—including the Big 12 tournament—and 2-0 in CWS games in his career. In 16 career innings against the Aggies, he’s allowed just two runs (one earned) on eight hits and has struck out 23. Howard said his teammates make fun of him because he generally doesn’t pitch quite that well in the regular season.

“I don’t know what it is,” Howard said. “It’s just going to come down to whether or not you execute pitches. So far in my career—I’m looking forward to another outing—I’ve been able to do it in the postseason. if I had to choose whether or not to be good in the regular season or postseason, I’d choose postseason. I‘d like to figure out how to do it all the time.”

Howard said he probably had the best stuff he’s had all season on Tuesday, and it showed. He was especially proud of the fact that he walked no one. Of his 91 pitches, he threw 70 pitches for strikes.

After a leadoff double in the eighth, he saw his catcher Evan Skoug come to the mound, and he knew it meant bad news—especially with reliever Sean Wymer warming up in the bullpen.

“(Skoug’s) like, ‘How you’re doing? Having fun?'” Howard said. “And I was like, ‘No.’ Because I was about to get yanked.”

You can’t take a big game away from Big Game Howie.