The Green Wave lost its fifth game in a row by a score of 16-6.
The Tulane Green Wave took a late game collapse to a whole new level on Friday night, ultimately falling to the South Florida Bulls by a score of 16-6.
The team has now lost five games in a row and is on the verge of being eliminated from American Conference Tournament contention before the regular season even concludes. The Sluggerbirds will have to find a way to bounce back and win the final two games of the series if they even want a chance to make some postseason magic happen.
J.D. Rodriguez was tabbed with the loss on the mound for the Green Wave, continuing to struggle after such a promising season. The starting pitcher lasted 4.0 innings on the mound, giving up six runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and one walked batter.
Believe it or not, Tulane actually jumped out to an early lead and had some momentum on its side. Trent Liolios blasted a three-run homer in the opening frame to give his team the advantage, which it would maintain through the first three innings of action.
South Florida responded in the top of the fourth inning with a three-run home run of its own to tie the game. The Bulls would quickly take the lead in the fifth, scoring two runs on a double and another on a single to hold a 6-3 advantage. The seventh run of the night for the visiting squad would come home just moments later on a wild pitch.
The home team climbed back into the contest in the bottom of the frame. Jason Wachs drove in Tye Wood, and Matthias Haas hit a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 7-6.
Those would ultimately be the final runs scored of the night for the Olive Green and Sky Blue, but USF would more than double its advantage in the final three innings. A pair of hits drove in three total runs in the seventh inning, then the Bulls would strike with two more runs in the eighth and four in the ninth.
South Florida finished with 18 hits and drew five walks against Tulane's struggling pitching staff, though the Green Wave did manage to strike out 11 total batters. The home team's defense didn't help matters by recording three errors, two of which led directly to unearned runs.
Offensively, Liolios finished the night 2-for-5 at the plate with one run scored and three RBI, while Haas went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI of his own.
If the Green Wave can't find a way to win against South Florida on Saturday night, then its season is all but over. The two teams will face off beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT from Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.