The Green Wave struggled to hold onto an early lead en route to the disappointing loss.
Tulane Green Wave baseball's hopes for any late-season surge took a major hit over the weekend, as the team was swept in conference play for the second time this season after dropping its Sunday contest against the Charlotte 49ers by a score of 6-3.
Sam Larson produced a solid start on the mound, with seven strikeouts and just one earned run in 3.0 innings pitched. However, he struggled a bit with command, hitting two batters and walking another one. Reliever Jude Abbadessa was ultimately tabbed with the loss for the program.
Charlotte manufactured its first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning by drawing a bases-loaded walk to take the early lead.
Neither team would score again until the top of the fifth inning, when Tulane managed to bring the offense to life. James Agabedis drew a walk and Tanner Chun doubled to put a pair in scoring position, and Jason Wachs singled to bring in both runners and give the Sluggerbirds a 2-1 lead.
The 49ers would take the lead right back in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single and another bases-loaded walk. Tulane would manage to tie things at three runs apiece in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly.
From there, things fell apart quickly for the Green Wave on both sides of the ball. Charlotte started the home-half of the frame with a solo home run to take a 4-3 lead. The home team would add to that again before the inning was over, bringing home its fifth run of the afternoon on an RBI single. The 49ers added some insurance in the seventh inning by leading off the frame with their second solo-shot of the afternoon.
A 6-3 deficit would prove to be too much for the struggling Tulane offense to overcome. The team mustered just one hit in the final two innings and never came close to being a threat.
Offensively, the team had just four hits, though it did manage to draw seven walks. Wachs finished the day 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs batted in, while Agabedis went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored.
Up next, the Green Wave will hit the road to take on the LSU Tigers in midweek action. Though the Tigers are having a down year, a win over the defending national champions could be huge for Tulane. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday.