Tulane University
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
Mohl In Control As Baseball Defeats Louisiana-Lafayette, 7-6
Apr 21, 2004 | Baseball
April 21, 2004
METAIRIE, La. - Sophomore right-hander Billy Mohl scattered six hits in a strong 8.0-inning start while shortstop Tommy Manzella and second baseman Joe Holland combined for six hits and three RBI as the Tulane University baseball team defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 7-6 Wednesday evening at Zephyr Field.
Both Manzella and Holland went 3-for-4, and the Tulane shortstop hammered his second home run of the year in the second inning to lead a 13-hit effort by the Green Wave offense. Tulane held a comfortable 7-2 lead after eight innings of play, but Ragin' Cajuns did not go away quietly as the squad for Acadiana plated four runs in the top of the ninth off freshman reliever Daniel Latham, but the rookie settled down to get nine-hole hitter John Coker to groundout to second to snap a two-game losing streak.
With the win, Tulane picked up its first win in three tries at "The Shrine on Airline" as the Green Wave improve to 27-12 on the year. UL-Lafayette, meanwhile, fell to 24-12.
The game, however, belonged to Mohl as the second-year player from Sugar Land, Texas shook off a two-run third to allow just three baserunners over his final four innings of work and faced two more than the minimum from the fourth through eighth innings to improve to 6-2 on the year.
Tulane jumped out to an early lead as sophomore centerfielder Nathan Southard walked and Holland doubled to open the bottom half of the first, and junior catcher Greg Dini brought the pair home with a single to center to give the Green Wave a 2-0 lead. Later in the frame, junior first baseman Wes Swackhamer came through with a two-out RBI single to right, and Manzella crushed a bomb to left center in the second to give the home team a 4-0 advantage.
The Ragin' Cajun cut the lead in half in the top of the third when shortstop Micah Cockrell hit a leadoff single and scored on a one-out RBI single off the bat of second baseman Justin Merendino, and the UL-Lafayette second sacker touched the paystation two at-bats later on a sacrifice fly by designated hitter Justin Borque to make it a 4-2 ballgame.
Following three scoreless innings, Tulane padded its lead with a pair of runs in the seventh courtesy of a leadoff triple by sophomore right fielder Brian Bogusevic, an RBI-single by Manzella and a two-out, run-scoring knock off the bat of Holland. Swackhamer closed out the Green Wave scoring in the eighth with an RBI double to right central to make it 7-2.
In the ninth, Tulane handed the ball to Latham, but the freshman was greeted rudely by pinch-hitter Brad Saloom who ripped an 0-2 pitch to left center for a single Fellow pinch-hitter Rhett Buras brought Saloom home two batters later with an RBI-double to left. With two away, left fielder Jason Rodriguez made it a three-run ballgame with an RBI-double of his own down the left-field line, and Cockrell lifted a two-run homer to left center to close out the scoring.
The rally by the Cajuns was a case of too little, too late, however, as Latham pitched his way out of the inning, and the Green Wave were able to breath a sigh of relief.
UL-Lafayette starter Brandt Sanders (1-2) was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on six hits in 4.0 innings of work, and the Green Wave were able to score one run off each of three Ragin' Cajun relievers to soften the blow of the ninth-inning rally.
Tulane returns to action on Friday, April 23 when the Green Wave plays host to C-USA rival Southern Miss at 6:30 p.m. at Turchin Stadium. The game will be the first of a three-game home weekend series for Tulane, and the squad will close out a five-game home stand against arch-rival LSU on Tuesday, April 27 in the Louisiana Superdome. For ticket information for Wednesday's game, as well as future Green Wave athletic events, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.
