Despite some issues on the diamond, have the Tulane Green Wave really struggled?
It's no secret that the Tulane Green Wave baseball team has had a difficult time on the diamond this year.
The Sluggerbirds are an even 17-17 on the season, including 4-5 in American Conference play. There have been plenty of highs and just as many lows on the year -- from claiming a 5-2 Pelican Cup win over the University of New Orleans Privateers on March 17th, to being swept by the UAB Blazers in the second league series of the season.
There are quite a few issues to point out for the program, with lackluster performances on the mound and inconsistency at the plate being the key concerns. However, truly how much has the program struggled when compared to its opponents?
Believe it or not, the Green Wave has performed well when compared to its foes, according to an average of statistics gathered between Tulane and its opponents so far this year.
For starters, the Green Wave is batting .251 as a team through 34 games played. Meanwhile, its various opponents are averaging a .253 batting average -- that's not significant enough to make much of a difference. The program has 221 runs to the opponents' 177, and leads significantly in RBI (206), doubles (76) and triples (4) despite having 30 less at-bats.
All in all, the Uptown boys have performed better than its opponents in most offensive categories. What more can you ask for?
Game in and game out, it's seemed like pitching has been the biggest problem for the program... but even statistics indicate that the Green Wave is notably outperforming its opponents. Tulane has a 4.91 earned run average, which is significantly better than the opposing average of 6.43. Once again, the pitching staff has the advantage statistically with 299 strikeouts, 155 batters walked and 37 hit batters.
If anything, this is proof that stats don't tell the entire story. A 10-run victory and a one-run loss might skew the stats heavily in favor of the Green Wave, while a one-run victory and a 10-run loss will throw things in the complete opposite direction. In the end, the margins don't matter -- unless teams simply want to feel good about how they look on paper.
Math is complicated, but Tulane's season on the diamond might be even more complicated at this point. The Green Wave enters its upcoming weekend series against a tough East Carolina Pirates squad on a low note -- the team dropped its midweek matchup to the Lamar Cardinals by a score of 9-5.