The Green Wave struggled in just about every aspect as it dropped three-straight games to the Blazers in Birmingham.
The Tulane Green Wave would probably like to forget its weekend on the diamond.
The Sluggerbirds dropped all three contests to the UAB Blazers in the team's first road American Conference series of the year. With the trio of losses, the team is now 14-15 on the year and 2-4 in league play.
Friday's first game marked the start of what would be a disappointing weekend all around. Tulane fell behind by four runs as early as the second inning and trailed 9-0 heading into the ninth. The offense would find a way to come alive late with six runs in the top of the ninth inning, but it was much too late to mount a full comeback. Still, there was hope that the program could carry some of that late momentum into Saturday's matchup.
Unfortunately for the Green Wave, that didn't happen, either. UAB would go up 1-0 in the first frame before Tulane found a way to pull in front on a pair of RBI by Brett Rowell and James Agabedis in the second inning. That lead was short lived as well, as the Blazers plated two runs in the home half of the second to take a 3-2 lead. The home team would blow the game open with a four-run sixth inning -- there were three walks, two singles and one error by the Sluggerbirds in that half-inning alone. The Green Wave would go flat on offense aside from an RBI single by Jason Wachs in the seventh, ultimately dropping the second game 7-4.
With the series already lost, the best Tulane could do in Sunday's third game was clinch one game to avoid a sweep. For at least a little while, it looked like the visiting squad might have a chance to do that.
UAB once again struck first with a bases-loaded RBI single to drive in a pair of runs in the second inning. The Green Wave tied things up the fourth inning and would take the 3-2 lead on a Tye Wood homer to left field in the sixth. A home run by the Blazers once again knotted things up in the bottom of the eighth inning, leading to a tense finish. Though Tulane would see a clutch at-bat from Kaikea Harrison that would result in an RBI single and the 4-3 lead, the Sluggerbirds' hearts would break just minutes later. UAB walked the game off with a 5-4 win on a two-run home run against pitcher Sam Larson.
At this point, a loss like this is a major blow to Tulane's outlook for the rest of the season. While things are far from over for the program, there's plenty of soul-searching left to do, as there are much more difficult matchups ahead. As it stands now, the Green Wave is tied with the Memphis Tigers and the Florida Atlantic Owls for last place in the conference.
Tulane will take on the Nicholls State Colonels in midweek action at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31st, at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. The program will look to avenge a 6-5 loss to the Colonels that occurred back on March 3rd.