Baseball To Open Three-Game Series Against UCLA Friday Evening
Feb 28, 2002 | Baseball
Feb. 28, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. -
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The Tulane University baseball team returns to action on Friday, March 1 when the Green Wave takes on UCLA at 6:30 p.m. for the first of a three-game series against the Bruins at Turchin Stadium.
The Green Wave, which dropped a 8-3 decision to UCLA last season in California, will looking to increase its fortunes against teams from the Golden State as Tulane lost the season-opening series at Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif., two games to one.
The Green Wave enters the weekend series against UCLA 7-3 on the year and riding the wake of a two-game winning streak. Tulane had its five-game winning streak snapped on Friday, dropping a 9-7 decision, but bounced back to win the next two games and take the series, 2-1.
As a team, Tulane is hitting .332 and has tallied a .508 slugging percentage with 22 doubles, four triples and 12 home runs. Senior third baseman James Jurries leads the team in several categories, a .512 batting average, a .953 slugging percentage, 4 home runs and 19 RBI. Sophomore second baseman Turner Brumby is second on the club in hitting with a .452 batting average, and sophomore first baseman/left-handed pitcher Michael Aubrey is second in HR (3), Slugging % (.744) and RBI (12).
As a staff, Tulane pitchers have brought the team ERA from 11.88 in the opening weekend to a respectable 5.50 mark. Junior Nick Bourgeois leads the Green Wave staff with a 3.18 ERA, and sophomore reliever Joey Charron paces the club in strikeouts (22), appearances (6), wins (3) and saves (1).
UCLA comes into this weekend's series 8-9 on the year and fresh off a 12-7 victory over California rival UC-Santa Barbara on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. The win over the Gauchos snapped a six-game losing streak by the Bruins to bring them within one game of a .500 record.
As a team, UCLA is hitting .322 and has a .452 slugging percentage thanks to 37 doubles and 15 home runs. Josh Arhart leads the Bruins with a .443 batting average while Adam Berry paces the squad in slugging percentage with a .635 mark (3 doubles, 6 home runs) and in RBI with 16.
The Bruins have been solid on the mound, sporting a 5.72 team ERA. Opposing batters, however, have hit the UCLA staff at a .324 clip, including 43 doubles and 16 home runs. Casey Johansson leads the team with a 1.69 ERA and is followed closely by fellow starter Chris Cordeiro with a 2.10 mark. Kyle Wilson leads UCLA with a pair of saves, and Doug Silva is next with one.
This weekend's games against UCLA will mark the fourth, fifth and sixth times the Green Wave have done battle with the Bruins on the diamond. UCLA holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series, and the Green Wave are 0-1 vs. UCLA under head coach Rick Jones.
The last time the two teams met was last season in Tulane's annual trip to the west coast. Inclement weather forced the two teams to cancel a pair of games in a scheduled three-game weekend series, and the Bruins took the only contest played, 8-3, on Feb. 23.
Tulane and UCLA will play again on Saturday at 2 p.m. before closing out the series on Sunday with a noon showdown. For ticket information, call the Tulane Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE. The Sunday contest will be televised on Jumbo Sports Network and can be viewed locally on WNOL Channel 38.
