Texas Christian University played its first game in the 2017 College World Series on Monday night.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the baseball team has competed in the tournament in Omaha.
And while the Horned Frogs did not come out on top against Florida, fans aren’t giving up hope.
Several dozen fans gathered at Fred’s Texas Café in Fort Worth to cheer on the team on Sunday evening.
Melissa Kahout, a Fort Worth artist, was among the crowd in the bar and grill.
She set aside a table in the corner to display her artwork, dedicated to the Texas Horned Lizard.
“I’ve become known as the Horned Frog Artist,” she said.
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Her love of the spiky-bodied reptiles began when she was a little girl in West Texas.
“I grew up playing with horny toads as a little girl,” said Kahout. “Pound for pound, the toughest mascot out there.”
Her creations have become a TCU fan favorite, celebrating the Rose Bowl, the Peach Bowl and TCU graduates.
Kahout is looking to add to her collection, perhaps having a horned frog appear next to or on top of a basketball in honor of TCU’s basketball team.
That’s just fine with head basketball coach Jamie Dixon.
Dixon stopped by the watch party and knows all too well what it’s like to play on big stages.
“To play in the World Series, to play in Madison Square Garden as we did,” he said. “It’s a dream come true for these guys and they’ll remember it for their entire lives there’s no question about it.”
Kahout’s newest watercolor and pencil creation is called ‘play ball.’
A horned frog is standing on top of a baseball mitt with a purple lace.
While she’s already started to think up a companion piece celebrating the College World Series, she’s not getting ahead of herself.
“Nope don’t want to jinx it,” she said laughing.
TCU lost against Florida 0-3.
The Horned Frogs take on Texas A&M on Tuesday.
