By Wendell Barnhouse | wendell@big12sports.com 
Big12Sports.com Correspondent 
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – One season after finishing at break even and not making the NCAA Tournament field, TCU has re-asserted itself as a force in college baseball.

The second-seeded Horned Frogs swept into the title game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship with a 4-1 victory over No. 7 seed Baylor Saturday morning. The Bears (26-31) were eliminated with both losses coming to TCU.

“We’ve worked hard to get here but we’re not done,” said TCU first baseman Kevin Cron, who drove in his team’s first two runs with singles in the third and seventh innings. “That’s what we talked about as soon as the game was over. We’ve got one more game to win.”

At 4:30 p.m. Sunday with the trophy and the NCAA automatic bid on the line, TCU (41-15) will face the winner of Saturday’s Texas-Oklahoma State game. The top-seeded Cowboys forced a decisive game in the other four-team bracket with a 3-1 victory over the Longhorns.

The Horned Frogs have won 26 of their last 29 and their hot streak has their RPI rising like an express elevator. With a Big 12 Championship, TCU could have a shot as a national seed.

“Somebody in our league needs to be a national seed and it might as well be us,” said TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle, whose team reached the College World Series in 2010 by winning a Super Regional at Texas.

The Horned Frogs won their third game here thanks to dominant pitching and timely hitting. Starter Brandon Finnegan worked into the fifth and then reliever Trey Teakell worked three scoreless innings.

“He was huge,” Schlossnagle said of Teakell, who improved to 5-0. “If he doesn’t do his job our bullpen is weaker if we had to play again (Saturday) or going into Sunday. He’s very, very dependable.”

Closer Riley Ferrell slammed the door has been dependable all season and earned his 13^th save. He inherited a first-and-third, two-out situation in the eighth and got a ground out with one pitch. He struck out the side in the ninth.

Baylor starter Daniel Castano was resolute in his six innings, allowing seven hits and one run.

“TCU has a tough lineup and they’re really tough with two strikes,” he said. “They do a great job of fouling off good pitches and they make you work for every pitch.”

Josh Michalec, who set the Big 12 single-season saves record, came on in the seventh with the score tied. He gave up five hits and three runs in two innings to drop his record to 0-5.

Baylor appeared to escape the third inning preserving a scoreless tie. With Cody Jones at third and one out, Lawton Langford snagged Boomer White’s line drive with a diving effort. Cron, though, singled to center to plate the first run.

The Bears and Oklahoma are the only teams to have participated in every Big 12 Championship. Pitching injuries and some young position players helped derail this season but Baylor battled to make the trip here.

“We didn’t want to THAT team that didn’t make it,” Baylor coach Steve Smith said. “I’ve been particularly proud of them down the stretch. We had one goal left and we had to fight to get into this tournament. And winning this tournament is tough. We don’t have anything to hang our heads about.”