Baseball To Open Season Friday At Pepperdine
Feb 7, 2002 | Baseball
Feb. 7, 2002
MALIBU, Calif. - The Tulane University baseball team will look to get the 2002 season started on a positive note when the Green Wave opens the season on Friday at 4 p.m. vs. the Waves of Pepperdine University at Eddy C. Field Stadium.
Friday's game marks the first of a three-game series Tulane will play against Pepperdine as the Green Wave will look to avenge last year's 2-1 series loss to the Waves at Turchin Stadium.
The Green Wave will be looking for a few players to fill some big vacancies after losing four first-team All-Conference USA selections from a year ago, but is not without the personnel to do so. Tulane returns five starters and 21 lettermen from the record-setting 2001 squad, including preseason all-league selections Michael Aubrey, Anthony Giarratano, James Jurries and Jon Kaplan.
Pepperdine comes into the weekend 1-3 on the year after opening last weekend with a three-game series with Nevada and a Tuesday night contest at UC-Irvine. The Waves are currently on a three-game losing streak after taking the season-opener, 2-0.
As a team, Pepperdine is hitting .158 and is led by Ty Harper with a .286 batting average. Harper paces the Waves with four hits, and is one of six players to start all four games so far in 2002.
The Waves' pitching staff has a cumulative 3.34 ERA and has help opponents to a .244 batting average. Brandon Boesch paces the Pepperdine hurlers with a flawless 0.00 ERA and has the lone win with 7.0 innings of shutout baseball when he allowed just three hits against Nevada.
Expected starters for this weekend's matchup at Pepperdine are a trio of lefties in senior Beau Richardson on Friday, true freshman Ray Liotta on Saturday and sophomore Michael Aubrey on Sunday.
Richardson earned the win last season vs. Pepperdine, striking out seven while giving up four hits and one run in 7.0 innings of work. In his final outing of 2001, Richardson pitched 7.0 strong innings against Nebraska in the College World Series.
Aubrey, the 2002 Preseason Conference USA Player of the Year and consensus All-America candidate, did not pitch against the Waves last season. For the year, Aubrey went 3-1 with a save on the hill and also hit .361 with 13 home runs and 69 RBI.
Liotta, meanwhile, will be making his first collegiate appearance after a stellar career at Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie, La. Liotta was drafted in the 12th round of the Major League Amateur Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers after earning first-team all-state and all-metro honors his final two prep seasons.
The Green Wave's home opener is on Friday, Feb. 15 when Tulane plays the first of a three-game series against Big East foe Villanova at 6:30 p.m. at Turchin Stadium. The Villanova weekend marks the first of five-straight home series for Tulane as the Green Wave will host George Washington on Feb. 22-24, UCLA on March 1-3, Rutgers on March 8-10 and Conference USA foe Charlotte on March 15-17.
