Baseball To Open C-USA Play This Weekend vs. Charlotte
Mar 14, 2002 | Baseball
March 14, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University baseball team will begin its defense of its 2001 Conference USA regular season championship this weekend when the Green Wave play host to league rival Charlotte beginning at 6:30 Friday evening at Turchin Stadium.
Tulane, 12-6 on the year and winners of four of its last five ballgames, will look to continue its solid play at the plate, on the mound and in the field. The Green Wave will need all three facets of its game to be firing on all cylinders as the 49ers feature the 2001 and preseason Conference USA Pitcher of the Year John Maine who is expected to take the hill against on Friday night in a pitchers' matchup vs. Tulane junior southpaw Nick Bourgeois.
As a team, Tulane is hitting .310 and has tallied a .451 slugging percentage with 35 doubles, six triples and 15 home runs. Senior infielder James Jurries leads the team in several categories, a .437 batting average, a .775 slugging percentage, 4 home runs and three triples. Sophomore middle infielder Turner Brumby is second on the club in hitting with a .356 batting average, and sophomore first baseman/left-handed pitcher Michael Aubrey paces the squad with 20 RBI and is second in home runs (3) and slugging percentage (.549).
As a staff, Tulane pitchers have brought the team ERA from 11.88 in the opening weekend to a respectable 4.44 mark. Bourgeois leads the Green Wave staff with a 2.30 ERA and 36 strikeouts, and is tied with sophomore reliever Joey Charron for the team lead with three wins. Charron paces the squad with four saves and is second on the team with a 2.31 ERA and 32 strikeouts in a team-best 11 appearances.
Charlotte comes into this weekend's series 9-8 on the year and riding the wake of a five-game winning streak after sweeping Virginia in a three-game series last weekend and defeating St. Joseph's on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon.
As a team, Charlotte is hitting .297 and has a .430 slugging percentage. Brad Lamm leads the 49ers with a .415 batting average and 18 RBI, and Brad Erwin paces the squad with a .667 slugging percentage with two doubles and a team-best five home runs.
The 49ers have been solid on the mound, sporting a 6.16 team ERA. Matt Savage leads the team with a 3.86 ERA, while Maine paces the squad with 33 strikeouts. Maine, who won league pitcher of the year recognition last season, shares the wins lead (2) with Savage and Justin Brown. Three 49er hurlers have saves for the year, including a team-high two by Jacob Chaney.
This weekend's games against Charlotte mark the 51st, 52nd and 53rd times the Green Wave and the 49ers have play each other on the diamond. Tulane holds a 23-17 advantage in the all-time series, and the Green Wave are now 18-14 vs. Charlotte under head coach Rick Jones.
The Green Wave has won five of the last six regular-season encounters with the 49ers before Charlotte defeated Tulane 8-4 in the opening round of the 2001 C-USA Tournament. Tulane bounced back to beat the 49ers 6-2 two days later to eliminate Charlotte from postseason play en route to the 2001 C-USA Tournament Championship.
As Tulane has done all year, the Green Wave will once again throw a trio of lefties this weekend against Charlotte. Bourgeois is slated to take the hill on Friday night, but the next two starters will be game-time decisions. Expected starters are senior Beau Richardson on Saturday and sophomore Michael Aubrey on Sunday, but don't be surprised to see redshirt-freshman Kelly Comarda take the hill to start one of this weekend's outings.
After this weekend's series, the Green Wave returns to action on Tuesday, March 19 when Tulane travels to Zephyr Field for the first of three regular-season games against cross-town rival UNO. From there, Tulane will head to Texas to take on C-USA foe Houston in a three game series beginning on Friday, March 22 at 7 p.m. at Cougar Field.
