Baseball's Brian Bogusevic Named C-USA Pitcher Of The Week
Apr 12, 2004 | Baseball
April 12, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Tulane University baseball standout Brian Bogusevic was named Conference USA Pitcher of the Week, the league announced Monday afternoon.
The sophomore southpaw earned the award after tossing a career-best 8.2 shutout innings in a 1-0 Green Wave win at arch-rival LSU on Tuesday. Bogusevic held an LSU team that came into the game hitting .333 with a .528 slugging percentage to a four hits. He gave up just one extra-base hit - a leadoff double off the bat of left fielder Ryan Patterson in the fourth - but never allowed more than one baserunner to reach in any inning while pitching a trio of three-up, three-down frames.
In addition to his performance on the mound, Bogusevic also chipped in a .312 (5-for-16) mark at the plate with a double, a home run, four RBI and three runs scored, including a 3-for-4 showing in the third game of the Louisville series when he belted a home run and tallied two RBI.
Bogusevic will take the hill again on Tuesday when the Green Wave returns to action against cross-town foe UNO at 6:30 p.m. for game three of the Popeyes Cup at Zephyr Field. The series stands tied at one game each as the Privateers won 4-1 on Feb. 17 and the Green Wave emerged victorious 5-0 on March 9.
Bogusevic enters the game 5-2 with a team-leading 3.30 ERA, 33 strikeouts and seven walks in 43.2 innings of work. He has won his last five starts, including shutout wins over Nicholls State twice, UNO and LSU. He will be matched up on the mound with UNO senior right-hander Chris Bourgeious, who comes into Tuesday's contest 0-2 with a 9.90 ERA in 10.0 innings. Bourgeois will be making his fourth start and sixth appearance of the 2004 season, and has nine strikeouts and eight walks while allowing opponents to hit .325.
Offensively, Tulane is hitting .313 as a team, and junior outfielder Matt Barket leads the way with a .425 batting average. Junior infielder/outfielder Wes Swackhamer and junior second baseman Joe Holland are second and third on the team with marks of .353 and .340, respectively.
Junior catcher/infielder Greg Dini paces the team in home runs with seven, and Bogusevic leads the team with 38 RBI. The Green Wave have done a good job on the basepaths with 46 steals in 60 attempts, and junior shortstop Tommy Manzella heads the individual thefts list with 10.
UNO, meanwhile, is hitting at a .268 clip, and Dana Tosoni and Kody Valverde lead the Privateers with identical .333 batting averages. Jay Yaconetti paces the squad with nine home runs, and Mike Forbes leads the team in RBI with 29.
Following game three of the Popeyes Cup, Tulane returns to action on Friday, April 16 when they travel to Birmingham, Ala., where the two teams open a three-game weekend series with C-USA foe UAB at 7 p.m. at Jerry D. Young Memorial Stadium. The two teams will play again on Saturday at 2 p.m. before closing out the series on Sunday with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.
