Tulane University
Pepperdine
Baseball Falls In Marathon Outing At Pepperdine, 30-21
Feb 9, 2002 | Baseball
Feb. 9, 2002
MALIBU, Calif. - The Tulane University baseball team outhit host Pepperdine 22-20 and tallied 11 extra-base hits, but it was not enough to overcome an opportune Pepperdine offense and four defensive errors as the Green Wave dropped a 30-21 marathon contest to the host Waves Saturday afternoon at Eddy D. Field Stadium.
In a game that took four hours and 47 minutes to play, the Tulane offense did its job all day. But Tulane used six pitchers, and none of them could keep Pepperdine off the scoreboard. The Green Wave also issued 16 free passes with 12 walks, three fielding errors and a pair of hit batsmen, and Pepperdine was able to turn that into 15 runs to take the victory.
Tulane's offensive stars included redshirt-freshman outfielder Gerald Clark, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and a walk in his first collegiate start, and junior centerfielder Jon Kaplan, who had two doubles, a single, an RBI and two runs scored.
The difference in the game though was pitching and defense. Pepperdine played flawless defense through five innings, and by that time, the Waves already held a commanding 19-9 advantage. Tulane starter Ray Liotta did not fare well in his first appearance, lasting just one third of an inning while giving up four runs and seven runs with one strikeout and three walks.
The combination of Nick Bourgeois, Kris Kline, Ricky Fairchild, Kelly Comarda and Dirck Hoagland all looked solid at times, but all gave up at least three hits and three runs as Pepperdine scored in every inning it had an at-bat.
Tulane actually drew first blood when Kaplan hit a leadoff double to center, advanced to second on a balk by Pepperdine starter Kevin Beavers and came around to score on an RBI groundout by James Jurries. The lead however, would be short lived as the Waves scored seven runs in the bottom of the frame and only allowed Tulane to get to within four runs once the rest of the way.
Clark was not the only Green Wave player to look impressive in his first action in a Tulane uniform. Reserve catcher Brian Bormaster, who came on in as a defensive replacement in the fourth, hit a home run in his first at-bat and finished the day 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI and a pair of runs scored.
True freshman Brooks Shankle went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI, and Roydell Williams - a two-year letterman on the Green Wave football team - hit a double in his only official at-bat and had a walk and two runs scored.
The Green Wave closes out its California trip on Sunday for the final contest of a three-game series with Pepperdine beginning at 3 p.m.
