The Tulane Green Wave baseball team struggled against UAB on the diamond and was heavily plagued by inconsistent pitching and a staggered offensive showing.
There's little positivity to take away from the Tulane Green Wave's disappointing weekend against the UAB Blazers.
The visiting Sluggerbirds were swept by a tough Blazers squad, and it was rarely much of a close contest. Friday's 9-6 loss was only that even on the scoreboard thanks to a six-run rally in the ninth inning by Tulane, and the team gave a away a close matchup in Saturday's 7-4 defeat. Even Sunday ended up being a disappointing outing: after taking a one-run lead in the ninth, the Green Wave would blow it by giving up a two-run home run to take the 5-4 loss.
Here's a look at the good, the bad and the uncertain from this weekend's matchup.
The Good: The Sluggerbirds were the cleaner fielding team on the weekend.
After a weekend like the one the visiting Green Wave just had, it's perfectly fine to celebrate the small victories.
Tulane wasn't perfect defensively, and at times it was costly, but the program had just two fielding errors through three games. Though the program would certainly like perfection, those numbers are about on-par with how most other teams in the country did over the weekend -- even the top ones! On the contrary, the Blazers had five errors on the weekend.
The problem? The Green Wave just couldn't find a way to capitalize on those mistakes, and it definitely made a difference.
The Bad: Tulane's pitching staff lacked much consistency.
What happened to that Sluggerbirds' staff that had a historic weekend on the mound to open up the season?
Sure, the competition has gotten a bit tougher, but not to the point that pitchers should be falling apart to the level that they are. The starters have started to go downfield, and the team seems to lack a true, clutch closer. As a whole, the staff gave up 29 hits and 18 walks while striking out 19 batters. Those numbers could be worse, but they are far from ideal.
Who can Tulane call on at this point? The starting rotation used over the weekend is a combined 4-5 on the year, and only five of the 13 players who toed the rubber for the team recorded more strikeouts than walks. As a whole, the pitching staff has a 5.07 earned-run average, a 1.52 WHIP and an opposing batting average of .258.
The Uncertain: Can the Green Wave's offense come together and make some magic happen?
With how up and down Tulane's pitching staff has been, it's offense needs to find a way to carry the team and pick up wins.
The team is made up of some pretty solid players, many of whom are on the younger side. Sophomores Jason Wachs and Nate Johnson have been the strongest batters for the team so far, but there's talent and grit spread all across the lineup.
At this point, the offense has had its fair share of struggles when trying to string at-bats together -- which is a bit of a shock given how nearly every player in the lineup has demonstrated the ability to swing the bat effectively. Perhaps a bit of a change in the lineup is needed, or some players just need to work out of slumps. Regardless, something needs to happen, and fast.
The Sluggerbirds will look to bounce back on the diamond as they host the Nicholls State Colonels in a rematch of an early-season loss. First pitch from Greer Field at Turchin Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night.