Baseball To Host Louisville In Critical C-USA Weekend
May 2, 2002 | Baseball
May 2, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University baseball team will look to continue climbing the Conference USA ladder this weekend as the Green Wave play host to league foe Louisville in a three-game series this weekend at Turchin Stadium beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Fresh off a 15-5 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday night, the Green Wave are aiming to put themselves into a good position not only to claim a high seed in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament but also earn a berth in the 2002 NCAA Regionals. With three league weekend series' against teams that currently rank ahead of Tulane in the conference, the Green Wave can help their own cause with some solid performances.
"We need to have a good weekend," head coach Rick Jones said. "We've got nine games left - all in the league and six are at home - against teams that are in front of us in the league, and we can certainly do some things to help ourselves. Right now, we've got 27 wins. If we can play hot down the stretch and do well in the (Conference USA) tournament, I still think we're a viable NCAA (Regional) club. That's our goal."
The Green Wave comes into this weekend's series against Louisville 27-20 and 11-10 in C-USA play. As a team, Tulane is hitting .305 and has tallied a .460 slugging percentage with 95 doubles, 13 triples and 47 home runs. Senior infielder James Jurries leads the team in several categories with a .397 batting average, a .760 slugging percentage, 15 home runs, four triples and 54 RBI. Junior outfielder Aaron Feldman is second on the club in hitting with a .348 batting average, and sophomore first baseman/left-handed pitcher Michael Aubrey is next with a .333 clip.
As a staff, Tulane pitchers have combined to tally a 4.79 ERA. Junior lefty Nick Bourgeois paces the Green Wave with a 3.62 ERA and 88 strikeouts. Aubrey leads the team in wins with eighth, and sophomore reliever Joey Charron heads the club with eight saves in 45.1 innings out of the bullpen.
Louisville comes into this weekend's contests 29-12 on the year, including a 14-7 record in Conference USA play that currently ranks them second in the league.
As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .310 and have a .491 slugging percentage courtesy of 86 doubles, 10 triples and 51 home runs. Mark Jurich paces the team with a .420 batting average, and J. T. LaFountain is next with a .331 mark. Jurich also paces the club with 11 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs and 44 RBI. Morgan Bojorquez and Josh Bolen are tied for second with nine homers each.
The Cardinals have been solid on the mound, sporting a 4.38 team ERA. Carlos Fernandez leads Louisville with a 3.47 ERA and is one of three relievers with two saves. Mike Tisdale is second on the squad with a 3.96 ERA and paces the squad with 61.1 innings pitched and 45 strikeouts while walking just six.
After Friday's contest, Tulane and Louisville play again on Saturday at 2 p.m. before closing out the series on Sunday with first pitch slated for noon.
