The Tulane Green Wave baseball team fell back after gaining some momentum in their loss to begin conference play.
Just when it seemed like the Tulane Green Wave might've taken a step forward on the diamond, the program found a way to unravel to begin American Conference play.
The Sluggerbirds dropped their conference-opening game against the Memphis Tigers by a score of 7-6. Heading into the matchup, the Tigers were in a bit of a funk with a 5-14 overall record, while Tulane rolled in off a pair of midweek victories over the New Orleans Privateers and the Northwestern State Demons.
Trey Cehajic was tabbed with the loss on the mound. The starting pitcher has been shaky over the past few outings after a very strong start to the season, and that continued on Friday night: through 5.0 innings pitched, Cehajic gave up five earned runs on six hits with two batters walked, one hit batter and five strikeouts.
Memphis struck in the top of the first inning as James Smith IV doubled to drive in Freddy Rodriguez -- though, that run was unearned, as Rodriguez only reached base thanks to a throwing error on Tulane's part. The Tigers would add a second run in the following inning to take a 2-0 lead.
The early deficit did push the Green Wave to action, and the team was able to put some runners on the base paths throughout the bottom of the second inning. Trent Liolios drove home the program's first run of the night on a double, and Kaikea Harrison's sacrifice bunt tied the game at two runs apiece.
Of course, that momentum was short-lived for Tulane. Memphis was able to load the bases with just one out in the top of the third and brought two runs home to take the 4-2 lead. A home run by Green Wave standout Jason Wachs in the bottom of the third cut the home team's deficit to just one run.
For anyone who is a casual fan of some exciting baseball, the start of the game was certainly fun to watch. Spoiler alert: the ending would be even better. But for the two teams on the diamond, the constant back and forth was more nerve-wracking than thrilling.
The Tigers added their fifth and sixth runs of the game in the fifth inning as Tyler Harrington and Cade Hitson each recorded solo homers to right field. Though Cehajic would manage to make it out of the inning for the home team, it came as his team was already trailing 6-3.
Tulane mounted a bit of a comeback over the next two innings, with Brett Rowell driving in Liolios on a single in the sixth inning and Hugh Pinkney recording an RBI single of his own to bring home Wachs in the seventh. Just as quickly as the program had fallen behind, it cut the deficit to just 6-5.
However, it was truly a tale as old as time in the eighth inning. Just as Tulane was closing back in, Memphis found a way to extend the lead. Trae Cassidy kept the string of RBI singles going with one of his own to put the visiting squad up 7-5.
Down to their final three outs, the Sluggerbirds attempted to mount one final comeback. The team put a pair of runners on with one out, and Wachs was able to score on a fielding error by the Tigers to make it a 7-6 game. Ultimately, it was just too little, too late for the home team.
There's a sense of desperation in Uptown, as the program has been on a bit of a downward slope heading into American play. A conference-opener loss to the worst team in the league is not the start the Green Wave envisioned, especially given the success the team has had in recent years. Tulane desperately needs to find a way to claim the final two games of the series and build some momentum heading into the thick of the season; it only gets tougher from here.