Baseball Earns Fifth Seed At 2002 Conference USA Tournament
May 20, 2002 | Baseball
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May 20, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - On the heels of a three-game sweep of Southern Miss in the final regular-season series of 2002, the Tulane University will look to make it four in a row as the Green Wave and the Golden Eagles will do battle again in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Grainger Stadium.
With the sweep and a 2-1 series loss by East Carolina last week to Louisville, Tulane claimed the league's fifth seed. Southern Miss finished fourth and, like Tulane, is in the bracket along with regular-season champion Houston and eighth-seeded Saint Louis.
"Southern Miss has 35 wins, so they've had an outstanding season," head coach Rick Jones said. "We played very well against them last weekend, and it will be imperative that we play well against them again on Tuesday night.
"For us, this is a continuation of the season from the standpoint that we need to win as many games as we can. Obviously, winning the tournament is the goal as that ensures the automatic NCAA berth. But along the way, you want to win as many as possible to build a strong case with the NCAA Committee from the standpoint of gaining an at-large bid."
The Green Wave comes into the 2002 Conference USA Tournament 33-23 on the year and 17-13 in league play. Tulane enters the tournament riding the wake of a four-game winning streak while taking five of its last six and seven of its last 10 contests.
As a team, Tulane is hitting .305 and has tallied a .464 slugging percentage with 116 doubles, 13 triples and 59 home runs. Senior infielder James Jurries leads the team in several categories with a .412 batting average, a .791 slugging percentage, 19 home runs, four triples and 68 RBI. Junior infielder/outfielder Aaron Feldman is second on the club in hitting with a .351 batting average, and junior centerfielder Jon Kaplan is next with a .333 clip.
As a staff, Tulane pitchers have brought the team ERA from 11.88 in the opening weekend to a respectable 4.92 mark. Junior lefty Nick Bourgeois paces the Green Wave with a 3.04 ERA and 102 strikeouts. Bourgeois also leads the team in wins with 10, innings pitched with 100.2 and opponent batting average with a .216 mark. Sophomore Joey Charron is the Green Wave's relief specialist with nine saves in 25 appearances out of the bullpen.
Tulane is making its seventh appearance in the Conference USA Tournament in as many years as the Green Wave have qualified for the tourney in each year of the conference's existence. The Green Wave have had success in the postseason event, posting a 20-5 lifetime mark including championships in 1996, 1998 and 2001.
In Conference USA Tournament play, Tulane is undefeated against Cincinnati (3-0), Louisville (2-0), South Florida (2-0), Memphis (2-0), Saint Louis (2-0) and Houston (1-0) while posting a 5-1 record against Southern Miss, a 3-3 mark against Charlotte and an 0-1 clip vs. UAB. Tulane has never played TCU or East Carolina in C-USA Tournament play as the two squads are currently participating in their first season as league members.
Against the eight-team field at the 2002 Conference USA Tournament, Tulane is 11-7 this year with series sweeps of TCU and Southern Miss, 2-1 series victories over South Florida and Saint Louis, a 2-1 series loss to Louisville and a 3-0 loss to Houston.
After the Southern Miss contest, Tulane will take on either top-seeded Houston or eighth-seeded Saint Louis. If Tulane defeats Southern Miss, the Green Wave will play the winner of the Houston/SLU game on Thursday at 3 p.m. If they lose, Tulane will play the loser of the Cougar/Billiken contest on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
All Green Wave games will be broadcast live on the radio on WRBH 88.3 FM and are simulcast on the internet at www.tulanegreenwave.com.
