The Green Wave took an early lead and never looked back as it picked up its third win in the past four games.
The Tulane Green Wave rolled to an 8-4 win over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions on Tuesday, but the game didn't come without a scary moment on the field.
In the bottom of the first inning, Lions left fielder Rhett Centanni took a blow to the head as he and a teammate both went after a routine fly ball. Centanni laid on the ground unmoving for several minutes, as coaches and trainers attempted to help him until paramedics arrived. He was transported by ambulance to an area hospital.
Following the somber few minutes that put humanity far above the game being played, both teams were able to take the field again and continue with the game.
The Sluggerbirds would quickly take a commanding lead. Matthias Haas was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the first run of the night, and Trent Liolios followed that up with a single to drive in another run. A throwing error against SLU brought in a third run while still keeping the bases loaded. Tanner Chun was nailed by the second bases-loaded hit batter of the inning for the fourth run of the game, and a groundout by Hugh Pinkney combined with another throwing error gave Tulane the 5-0 advantage.
The Lions struck back in the third inning with a two-run home run, but the Green Wave tacked on another run in the bottom of the frame, as Tye Wood drew a bases-loaded walk. A single by Kaikea Harrison in the fourth inning brought home another run and pushed the home team's lead to 7-2.
Southeastern Louisiana added one run each in the fifth and seventh innings, both coming on solo home runs by Justin Williams. With the lead now cut to 7-4, James Agabedis responded in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single. The Lions did threaten in the final two frames with a pair of hits and a walk, but Tulane was able to shut down the offensive attack every time.
Luispablo Navarro earned the win on the mound. The starter pitched a solid 3.0 innings, giving up two runs on two hits while walking one and striking out one. Tom Vincent ultimately had the best outing of the four relief pitchers used in the matchup, recording two hits and one run with four strikeouts.
Up next, Tulane will look to continue its hot streak as it takes on the Florida Atlantic Owls in Boca Raton in a Friday-Sunday series. First pitch for the opening game of the weekend is set for 5:30 p.m. CT.