The Green Wave couldn't overcome a six-run first inning, ultimately dropping its second American Conference series in a row.
It's becoming a tale as old as time for the Tulane Green Wave: fall behind early, and never come back.
The Green Wave dropped Saturday's second game against the UTSA Roadrunners by a score of 8-2. This is the second straight American Conference series loss for the team, and it now has to fight back on Sunday to avoid getting swept.
Jake Toporek was tabbed with the loss on the mound for the Sluggerbirds, falling to 1-4 on the season. The left-handed starting pitcher gave up six runs on five hits and lasted just 0.1 innings.
The Roadrunners were able to jump all over the home team early with a massive first inning. Caden Miller opened the game with a leadoff home run, and the visiting team would load the bases with no outs. A single would drive in the second run of the frame and keep the bases full, and Cade Sadler blasted a grand slam to give his squad a 6-0 lead... still with no outs. After another hit batter by Toporek, Blaise Wilcenski entered the game and managed to get out of the frame.
UTSA would strike again in the top of the fifth inning with a two-out two-run home run by Diego Diaz, pushing its lead to 8-0. Meanwhile, Tulane had only mustered a pair of hits in that same stretch of innings.
The Green Wave wouldn't do much offensively until the bottom of the eighth inning. A pair of singles by Jason Wachs and Trent Liolios gave the team some life, and Brett Rowell walked to load the bases. James Agabedis singled to right field to drive in a pair of runs and cut the deficit to 8-2, but the momentum couldn't be sustained.
Offensively, Tulane managed just seven hits, and only one went for extra bases. Wachs went 2-for-5 at the plate with a run scored and a double, while Lilios had a 2-for-4 night with a run scored. If there's anything positive to take away from the performance at the dish, it's that the team as a whole only struck out five times while drawing five walks.
With the loss, the Green Wave now sits at 21-23 on the year with a 7-10 mark in conference play and just three weekends of action remaining before the American Conference Tournament. The team needs to turn things around as quickly as possible and attempt to regain some momentum if it wants to make any sort of magic happen.
The Sluggerbirds will close out their series against the Roadrunners on Sunday. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. CT from Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.