After struggling against subpar competition, the Tulane baseball team was outclassed by 17th-ranked TCU on Friday night.

The Horned Frogs outhit the Green Wave 12-4, benefited from nine free passes and took advantage of multiple defensive mistakes from the catchers in a comprehensive 10-2 series-opening victory in Fort Worth, Texas.

A gutty effort from starting pitcher Trey Cehajic allowed Tulane (8-6) to hang around until the seventh inning, when Lucas Franco’s two-out grand slam off reliever Jack Brafa gave TCU (8-5) a 9-2 lead, but this one never felt like it was going the Wave’s way in only its third game against a team with a winning record.

TCU starter Mason Brassfield (2-1) overmatched Tulane’s hitters for the first four innings, striking out 10 while allowing only a two-out double to Jason Wachs in the first. The Horned Frogs produced all kinds of traffic against Cehajic (1-1) during the same span, getting eight hits, two walks and a hit batter while going ahead 4-0.

“The guy was attacking us with the fastball,” Tulane coach Jay Uhlman said. “He was in and out, and we weren’t getting good swings off. We were indecisive.”

Chase Brunson doubled down the left field line with two outs in the first and scored on Nolan Traeger’s single. A passed ball by catcher Johnny Elliott put a runner in scoring position in the second, leading to the second run, and the third scored from second on a dribbler that beat the shift. Shortstop Kaikea Harrison ran from the first-base side of second base to retrieve it in the hole between second and third and had a play at the plate, but his throw got away from Elliott.

Most of the damage was hard luck for Cehajic, who grew stronger as the game progressed. He coaxed a double-play grounder back to the mound to get out of trouble in the third, allowing a run on soft contact in the fourth and retired seven of the last eight batters he faced through the sixth.

“He was tremendous,” Uhlman said. “He gave us a chance.”

Tulane finally broke through against Brassfield in the fifth, loading the bases with one out before scoring on a groundout from Kaikea Harrison and a wild pitch to close within 4-2. The Wave had the tying run on base in the seventh courtesy of two walks from reliever Nate Stern, but pinch hitter Nate Johnson grounded into an inning-ending double play with a one-hopper to first baseman Rob Liddington.

“He hit it hard,” Uhlman said. “That’s what I said in the huddle—you were ready to hit and you just hit it right at the guy.”

Johnson initially was ruled safe by first-base umpire Tim Cordill, but the Horned Frogs got the call reversed correctly on replay review—the third time it happened to the Wave on erroneous safe calls from Cordill.

The game got away once Cehajic left, with LuisPablo Navarro and then Brafa having command issues in the seventh. TCU scored a run on two walks and an errant throw from Hugh Pinkney on a double steal. After two more walks loaded the bases, Franco launched a shot that just eluded right fielder Jason Wachs’ grasp as it headed over the wall for the Horned Frogs’ only hit of the inning.

Uhlman dwelled more on the catcher mistakes. Elliott has allowed six passed balls. Opponents are 19 of 20 on stolen base attempts, and both Elliott and Pinkney committed throwing errors against TCU.

“They need to play better,” Uhlman said. “That’s the bottom line.”

TCU scored its final run in the eighth when Jacob Moore, making his first appearance after an elbow issue sidelined him at the beginning of the season, surrendered a two-out single after replacing Julius Ejike-Charles, who struck out two of the three batters he faced.

The teams meet again Saturday at 4 p.m. Left-hander Beau Sampson (0-1, 13.50 ERA) will pitch for the Wave against TCU right-hander Lance Davis (0-2, 9.58).

Sampson was sharp in his first appearance at Loyola Marymount before struggling mightily in two home starts.

“We gotta get the series tied by any means necessary,” Uhlman said. “He’s going to need to pitch well for us.”