Baseball Closes Out Homestand Tuesday vs. Nicholls State
Apr 21, 2003 | Baseball
April 21, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Green Wave will put their 19-game winning streak at Turchin Stadium on the line and close out a four-game home stand Tuesday night when the Tulane University baseball team takes on in-state foe Nicholls State with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m.
Tulane, which concluded a three-game series sweep of Conference USA foe UAB on Sunday courtesy of a walkoff three-run homer by junior All-American candidate Michael Aubrey, comes into the contest 29-12 on the year. The Green Wave continue to work their way back into the league title hunt, and with a 12-6 C-USA mark, are just two games behind current leader Southern Miss with 12 conference games left to play.
While Tulane has not lost in front of the home crowd since dropping a 6-3 decision to George Mason back on Feb. 15, the Green Wave will be taking on a hot-hitting team as Nicholls State (21-21) enters the contest with an impressive .316 batting average and a .419 slugging percentage courtesy of 75 doubles, nine triples and 18 home runs. The Green Wave will also be facing a familiar foe as former Tulane catcher Wyn Spencer currently dons the Red and Grey of Colonel Country.
Tulane will try and silence the NSU bats with freshman right-hander Billy Mohl. Mohl, who will be making his 12 appearance and eighth start of his rookie season, enters the game on a tear after claiming a pair of victories and earning a save in his last three appearances. For the season, Mohl is 4-1 with two saves and a 4.50 ERA while striking out 38 and walking five in 38.0 innings of work.
As a team, the Green Wave are hitting .317 and are led by Aubrey with a Conference USA-best .452 batting average. Aubrey also leads the club in home runs with eight and RBI with 52. Senior centerfielder Jonny Kaplan is next in all three categories with totals of .375, eight and 32, respectively, and junior shortstop Tony Giarratano is third on the team in hitting with a .347 average.
Senior shortstop Chuck Hickman leads the Colonels with a .418 batting average, followed by David Tano with a .387 average and Brad Dantonio with a .357 mark. Dantonio leads the team with four home runs, and Bryan James paces the NSU club with 44 RBI.
The game will also feature two of the nation's top base stealers in Tulane's Kaplan and Nicholls's Hickman as the duo has combined to tally 55 stolen bases in 2003. Kaplan is 33-for-35 in thefts as a senior, and Hickman is 22-for-27. As a team, Tulane has stolen successfully on 80-of-99 attempts while Nicholls State has stolen 83 bags on 116 attempts.
Tuesday's game marks the 60th meeting between the Green Wave and the Colonels on the diamond, and Tulane holds a 38-21 advantage in the all-time series. Under head coach Rick Jones, Tulane is 18-5 against the Colonels, including last year's series sweep when the Green Wave took a 7-4 decision on Feb. 19 in Thibodaux before defeating Nicholls State 12-3 on April 2 in Turchin Stadium.
Following the showdown with the Colonels, the boys in Olive and Blue head to Missouri to battle C-USA opponent Saint Louis in a three-game series beginning on Friday, April 26.
