The Green Wave used a strong ninth inning to propel it to a 12-4 victory over the Owls in Sunday action.
While the weekend didn't go as planned for the Tulane Green Wave on the diamond, the team managed to scrape together a 12-4 Sunday victory against the Florida Atlantic Owls to avoid being swept.
With the win, the Sluggerbirds are now 21-20 on the year with a 7-8 mark in American Conference play. The team is currently in a four-way tie with the South Florida Bulls, Rice Owls and Memphis Tigers for fifth place in the league.
J.D. Rodriguez earned the start on the mound for Tulane, pitching 4.0 innings and giving up one run on seven hits with two strikeouts. Blaise Wilcenski was ultimately tabbed with the victory after 2.2 solid innings of relief in which he allowed three hits and one run while striking out two batters and walking one.
After a two long games that featured stagnant offense, the Green Wave bats came alive early on Sunday.
Jason Wachs blasted a solo home run in the first inning to put the visiting squad up early. A double by Trent Liolios in the third inning drove in a pair of runs, and a two-run homer by James Agabedis put Tulane up 5-0 in the fourth inning.
Florida Atlantic managed to cut into the deficit some in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single, but Wilcenski struck out the next two batters he faced to limit any additional damage. The Owls would plate another run in the sixth on a fielding error by the Sluggerbirds defense to make it a 5-2 ballgame.
The top of the seventh would prove to be interesting. Tanner Chun was hit by a pitch to put a runner on base, and in an effort to set up a double play opportunity, FAU chose to intentionally walk Wachs with one out in the frame. Wachs stole second as Chun was on third, and the home team tried again to set up a double play by intentionally walking Matthias Haas. This loaded the bases with just one out, and Liolios brought home a run with a sacrifice fly to push Tulane's lead back to 6-2.
Florida Atlantic would cut the deficit in half in the eighth inning with a pair of runs scored, but the Green Wave managed to get out of it with a double play -- ironically, with no intentional walks needed.
Tulane would tack on plenty of insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning. Tye Wood walked, stole two bases and scored on a throwing error for the visiting squad's seventh run of the afternoon. Wachs walked and scored on a double from Haas, and a single by Liolios put a pair of runners on with no outs. A bunt single by Jack Johnson loaded the bases, and all three runs would come home on an RBI triple by Hugh Pinkney. He'd come around to score on a groundout by Kaikea Harrison, and the Olive Green and Sky Blue would ultimately roll to the 12-4 win.
Liolios finished the day going 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI and one run scored. Pinkney added three RBI and one run of his own on a 2-for-4 appearance at the dish, while Agabedis went 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run scored and one walk.
The next week will be tough for Tulane, as the program will travel to take on the 18th-ranked Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The team then welcomes the UTSA Roadrunners to Greer Field at Turchin Stadium for a three-game conference series beginning on Friday.