Baseball Opens Series with 16-8 Win at Cincinnati

Friday, April 7

Cincinnati, Ohio

5:00 p.m.

Tulane University

13-17, 3-1

Cincinnati

14-15, 1-3

Tulane

Cincinnati

Baseball Opens Series with 16-8 Win at Cincinnati

Apr 7, 2017 | Baseball

Box Score

Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Tulane baseball scored eight runs in the first inning and did not look back on its way to a 16-8 win at Cincinnati in its American Athletic Conference series opener on a cold and windy Friday evening at Marge Schott Stadium.

The Green Wave (13-17, 3-1 American) tacked on three runs in the seventh, one in the eighth and four in the ninth inning to reach its highest run and hit (18) totals of the season. Lex Kaplan led the Wave with four hits in a 4-for-5, three RBI, two run night. Grant Witherspoon was 3-for-5 and accounted for eight runs alone, with five RBI and three runs scored from the top of the order. Hunter Hope was 3-for-5 with four RBI, including a three-run homer in the seventh inning that brought the lead back to eight.

The Bearcats (14-15, 1-3 American) responded to Tulane's first-inning onslaught with a run in the first and two more in the second inning to cut it to 8-3, then added five runs in the ninth.

Wave starter Corey Merrill (4-2) settled down after the first two innings to complete a 5.0-inning outing, in which he struck out four and allowed seven hits. Sam Bjorngjeld and Brandon Issa combined for three scoreless innings. Cincinnati starter Andrew Zellner (2-3) took the loss.

"The guys did a really good job of having good, quality at bats," Tulane head coach Travis Jewett said. "I liked the flight of the balls that were struck. We just tried to play underneath the wind, and some of the flights of the balls that led to that success. Anytime you jump out like that, it's hard to keep scoring. Corey battled through it, we gave him some room, and he got better as he went. I thought Sam did a good job coming in and changing the tempo of the game a little bit, with two quick innings. Then, obviously, we scored some there late to separate it."

Tulane sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning, and seven of them recorded hits and eight scored a run. Witherspoon provided the big blow with a three-run double to left center. Hope, Kaplan, Hunter Williams, Jarret DeHart all hit RBI singles, and DeHart scored when Paul Gozzo reached on a strikeout-wild pitch.

After its big first inning, the Green Wave went scoreless for five frames until the seventh, when Hunter Hope launched a three-run home run to left center field, cutting through the wind. It was the fifth homer of the season for Hope, who returned this week after missing three weeks with an injury. Williams drew a walk and DeHart singled to set up the homer, which made the score 11-3.

Kaplan then cut through the swirling winds in the eighth inning with a solo home run to right center field, making the score 12-3. The Wave tacked on four more runs in the ninth, as Paul Gozzo singled home a run, Witherspoon drove his second double of the game to left center to plate two runs, and Kaplan hit his second double, driving in the final run.

Cincinnati tallied three hits in the first inning, including a one-out RBI single by Ryan Noda. A pair of singles in the second inning led to a sacrifice fly by A.J. Bumpass and an RBI base hit by Connor McVey to cut Tulane's lead to 8-3. In the ninth, RBI doubles by Noda, Mason DeAnna, Manny Rodriguez and Treg Haberkorn combined with a sacrifice fly by Jace Mercer to plate five runs and make the final score, 16-8.

The second game of the series is at 3 p.m. CT Saturday. Sunday's series finale has been moved up one hour to 11 a.m. CT. The game can be heard on 88.3 FM WRBH and the TuneIn Radio app, and live stats will be available on www.TulaneGreenWave.com.

Follow Green Wave Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter and Facebook.

Tulane 16, Cincinnati 8 (Apr 07, 2017 at Cincinnati, Ohio)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tulane.............. 800 000 314 - 16 18 1 (13-17, 3-1 American)
Cincinnati.......... 120 000 005 - 8 15 1 (14-15, 1-3 American)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Tulane - MERRILL, Corey; BJORNGJELD, Sam(6); ISSA, Brandon(8); PRICE, Robert(9) and
GOZZO, Paul; ARTIGUES, Jonathon. Cincinnati - ZELLNER, Andrew; YOAKAM, Jarod(1);
ROBINSON, Reese(2); HAMMANS, Tristan(4) and THOMAS, Joey; DeANNA, Mason.
Win-MERRILL, Corey(4-2) Loss-ZELLNER, Andrew(2-3) T-2:40 A-683
HR TLN - KAPLAN, Lex (6); HOPE, Hunter (5).
Weather: Sunny, 54 degrees, Wind: NW 14
ROBINSON, R faced 2 batters in the 4th.

Baseball Announces Hiring of Billy Price As Volunteer Player Development Assistant

Thursday, September 04

Baseball Announces 2025-26 Incoming Class

Wednesday, August 27

Baseball Announces Hiring of Bryan Hodge

Monday, August 25

Baseball Earns ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award For Ninth Straight Season

Thursday, July 24

Next Event

Cincinnati

W, 6-2

Apr 8 (Sat)

3:00 p.m.

Box Score Recap Watch Listen Live stats History

Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Merrill, Corey (4-2)

L: ZELLNER, Andrew (2-3)

Tulane

Batting:

2B: Witherspoon, Grant 3 ; Kaplan, Lex 3 ; DeHart, Jarret 1

HR: Kaplan, Lex 1 ; Hope, Hunter 1

RBI: Witherspoon, Grant 5 ; Kaplan, Lex 3 ; Williams, Hunter 1 ; DeHart, Jarret 1 ; Hope, Hunter 4 ; Gozzo, Paul 1

SH: Gozzo, Sal 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Witherspoon, Grant 3 ; Kaplan, Lex 2 ; Williams, Hunter 2 ; DeHart, Jarret 2 ; Hope, Hunter 3 ; Rowland, Matt 1 ; Gozzo, Paul 2 ; Willsey, Jake 1

SB: Owen, Kobi 1

HBP: Kaplan, Lex 1

Cincinnati

Batting:

2B: NODA, Ryan 1 ; MERCER, Jace 1 ; DeANNA, Mason 1 ; RODRIGUEZ, Manny 1 ; HABERKORN, Treg 1

RBI: BUMPASS, A.J. 1 ; McVEY, Connor 1 ; NODA, Ryan 2 ; MERCER, Jace 1 ; DeANNA, Mason 1 ; RODRIGUEZ, Manny 1 ; HABERKORN, Treg 1

SF: BUMPASS, A.J. 1 ; MERCER, Jace 1

Base Running:

RUNS: THOMPSON, R.J. 1 ; BUMPASS, A.J. 1 ; NODA, Ryan 1 ; SANTIAGO, Eric 1 ; THOMAS, Joey 1 ; DeANNA, Mason 1 ; RODRIGUEZ, Manny 1 ; HABERKORN, Treg 1