Baseball Closes Out Regular Season Against East Carolina
May 14, 2003 | Baseball
May 14, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University baseball team will look to build some momentum and extend its school-record 23-game winning streak at Turchin Stadium on Thursday, May 15 when the Green Wave opens a three-game series against Conference USA foe East Carolina at 6:30 p.m.
This week's three-game series marks the first time the two teams have ever met on the diamond, but both squads will no doubt give their all with the Conference USA Tournament starting on Wednesday, May 21, and the NCAA Regionals one week after that. The two teams will play game two of the series on Friday at 6:30 p.m. before closing out the regular season on Saturday with first pitch slated for 2 p.m.
Tulane comes into the regular-season's final weekend 38-15 on the season and in third place in the league standings with a 18-9 mark in Conference USA play.
For the season, the Green Wave are hitting .315 as a team and are led by All-America candidate Michael Aubrey with a .433 batting average to go along with 14 home runs and 72 RBI. Senior centerfielder Jonny Kaplan is next with a .367 average and a league-leading 41 stolen bases, and sophomore junior shortstop Tony Giarratano is close behind with a .354 mark, six home runs and 34 RBI.
As a team, the Tulane pitching staff has tallied a 3.98 ERA in 465.1 innings in 2003. Opponents are hitting .282 off the Green Wave hurlers with 505 hits in 1,793 at-bats. Tulane has also done a good job of keeping the ball over the plate with 377 strikeouts and just 143 walks.
Junior Cory Hahn leads the team with an 8-1 record and a 2.54 ERA while ranking third on the club with 57 strikeouts. Freshman J.R. Crowel is next on the team with a 7-0 mark and 3.09 ERA while pacing the squad with 61 strikeouts. Junior reliever Joey Charron (3-5) leads the team in saves with 10 and is second with 60 Ks.
Tulane will send Hahn to the mound on Thursday to open the series, followed by freshman right-hander Billy Mohl on Saturday, and Crowel on Sunday.
East Carolina comes into the weekend 30-21-1 overall and 16-11 in C-USA action. The Pirates have already clinched a spot in the C-USA Tournament, but are no doubt looking to improve their seeding and make a run at the Regionals.
As a team, the Pirates are hitting .273 with a .417 slugging percentage courtesy of 94 doubles, five triples and 53 home runs. Darryl Lawhorn leads the team with a .323 batting average, followed by Jamie Paige with a .316 mark and Ryan Norwood with a .313 clip. Norwood leads the team with 13 homers and 43 RBI, while Lawhorn is next with 12 and 39, respectively.
On the mound, East Carolina has a 4.06 team ERA after giving up 217 earned runs in 481.0 innings. The Pirates are allowing holding opponents to a .269 batting average, and have 426 strikeouts to 165 walks. Will Brinson (3-3, 4.81 ERA) is slated to start on Thursday, but the Pirates' staff has been in turmoil since Monday when head coach Randy Mazey announced that ace Davey Penny was dismissed from the team for conduct detrimental to the program.
Following the showdown with the Pirates, Tulane returns to action in the Conference USA Tournament beginning on Wednesday, May 21 at Turchin Stadium. The winner of the tourney earns C-USA's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals. ECU is the reigning tournament champion, winning the tourney last year in Kinston, N.C., but Tulane has won the title on five occasions - most recently in 2001.
