The seeds that led Texas Christian to its first appearance in the College World Series were planted about a decade ago, a couple of years before Jim Schlossnagle showed up in Fort Worth.

The Horned Frogs had spent most of their first 100 baseball years living in the shadow of Texas and the other big boys in the Southwest Conference. There were occasional flashes of success — outright conference championships in 1956 and 1994 and shares of the title in 1963, 1966, 1967 and 1972.

“The way the story goes,’’ Schlossnagle said, “is that there was not a whole lot of commitment to baseball around here.’’

Schlossnagle’s predecessor, Lance Brown, had long pushed for an upgrade in facilities. The administration’s response was that Brown needed to raise the money for a new stadium to replace antiquated TCU Diamond or the program might be dropped.

“A decision was made that they wanted to be good at this,’’ Schlossnagle said, “or they weren’t going to play.’’

Brown, with the help of some former players, raised the money to build Lupton Stadium in two months. It was completed in time for the 2003 season. Brown guided the Horned Frogs to a 35-22 record that year, then found himself job hunting after the season.

Schlossnagle, a hot young assistant coach who had helped transform Tulane into a CWS program, replaced Brown. Schlossnagle showed up in 2004 with a dream, one that became a reality Sunday when first baseman Matt Curry cradled the final out of a 4-1 victory over Texas.

Schlossnagle’s emotions as he watched his team record that final out were a mix of excitement and relief. He was thrilled that his players, his coaches and TCU fans would get to experience the thrill of playing in the CWS.

“And there was, for me, a lot of relief,’’ Schlossnagle said. “A lot of people have made a huge commitment over the past seven years. Our administration had stepped out on a limb and made a huge financial commitment.

“We felt like we needed to honor that.’’

The Horned Frogs did, and they did so in the toughest of environments. A year ago, Texas had denied TCU a trip to Omaha by winning the super regional in three games at Disch-Falk Stadium. The Horned Frogs returned to Austin again this season and won the first game, only to be crushed 14-1 in the second.

With the season on the line, TCU got a career pitching performance from Kyle Winkler, who shut out the Longhorns for 7.2 innings. The Horned Frogs scratched across an early run, then saw Aaron Schultz’s first hit of the super regional land beyond the left-field fence for a two-run homer and a 3-0 lead in the seventh.

Bryan Holaday’s solo homer in the eighth made it 4-0, and reliever Tyler Lockwood gave up an unearned run in the ninth before finishing off the Longhorns to spark a joyous celebration on a field on which TCU had experienced more than its share of disappointments.

“No question, winning there made it a little more special,’’ Schlossnagle said.

When Tulane earned its first trip to Omaha in 2001, the Green Wave had to go through Louisiana State in Skip Bertman’s final season as coach. TCU finally sealed the deal in Austin, where Schlossnagle says the greatest coach in the history of college baseball — Augie Garrido — hangs his hat.

“Texas and LSU are programs that go to Omaha all the time,’’ Schlossnagle said. “They are the programs that we all try to emulate. To beat people like that, it’s not about trying to rub their noses in it or anything like that.

“It’s about beating the best in incredibly challenging environments. That’s what makes it so special.’’

And it’s about getting over a hump that appeared to be a mountain when Schlossnagle took the job seven seasons ago. He has steadily built the program into one of the nation’s best. TCU has won Mountain West Conference championships the past five years. The Horned Frogs are one of only 14 schools that have made the NCAA tournament each of the past seven seasons.

“We’ve made a lot of steps over the year,’’ Schlossnagle said. “Yesterday wasn’t the final step because we definitely want to get up to Omaha and play well. But it definitely was a big step for our program.’’

One thing that sold TCU administrators on Schlossnagle was his reputation as a recruiter. His first recruiting class ranked third in the nation behind Texas and Arizona State. All seven have been ranked in the Top 25, with three landing spots in the Top 10.

How did Schlossnagle sell a program with limited tradition when he first hit the recruiting trail?

“I sold guys on what happened yesterday,’’ he said. “I went after some guys that could have gone anywhere. A couple of those guys from my first class are now in the big leagues.

“We went after guys with a lot of options and tried to convince them to come here and be a part of something special. People started noticing when we got some guys that could have gone anywhere. That put us on the map.’’

The journey now heads into some uncharted territory for the Horned Frogs. Schlossnagle said he’s already told his players that they’ll need to soak in everything that makes being in Omaha such an experience.

“But I’ve also told them the teams that get caught up with everything that goes on outside the stadium are the ones that head home quick,’’ he said. “We have a chance to do well, especially since our pitching gives us a chance to match up with anybody.

“As long as we don’t freak out and get caught up in all the other stuff, I think we have a chance to do well in Omaha.’’

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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