Tulane University
LSU
Ballball Falls To LSU, 9-5, Tuesday In Louisiana Superdome
Apr 27, 2004 | Baseball
April 27, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tigers scored five runs in the top of the fourth, LSU reliever Jordan Faircloth pitched his team out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth, as the Tulane University baseball team dropped a 9-5 decision to their arch-rival Tuesday night before 21,343 fans in the Louisiana Superdome.
Trailing 9-4 after seven and a half, junior second baseman Joe Holland hit a leadoff homer to left of LSU starter Lane Mestepey, and junior catcher Greg Dini, senior third baseman Brian Bormaster and junior first baseman Wes Swackhamer hit consecutive one-out singles to load the bases. From there, LSU head coach Smoke Laval handed the ball to Faircloth who came through with a strikeout and a fielder's choice to get out of the jam and gave up just one baserunner via error in the ninth to earn his third save of the year.
With the win, LSU snapped a four-game win streak by the Green Wave and took the regular-season series two games to one while improving to 32-11 in 2004. Tulane, meanwhile, fell to 30-13.
Holland went 3-for-5 with a double and a home run, and rookie reliever Daniel Latham tossed 3.2 scoreless innings to close out the game, but it was not enough to overcome the Tigers' big inning or Faircloth's shutdown performance. Dini added a pair of singles and a double, and Tulane also got two-hit performances from Bormaster and Swackhamer.
The crowd was the fourth largest to watch a regular-season college baseball games, falling short of the 40,107 set earlier this season by San Diego State and Houston at PETCO Park - the new home of the San Diego Padres - back on March 11. The irony of Tuesday's game came in the score as it was the third 9-5 game recorded by the two teams in the Superdome. LSU defeated Tulane 9-5 in 2002 when the original attendance record of 27,673 was set, and the Green Wave returned the favor with a 9-5 win last season in the third game of the regular-season series between the state and national powers.
The two teams traded runs in the first, and after a scoreless second, LSU took the lead for good when designated hitter Blake Gill scored from third on a double-play ball off the bat of right fielder Jon Zeringue.
The Tigers took control of the game one inning later, when sophomore reliever Matt Goebel surrendered five runs on five hits, and LSU took advantage of a Tulane error to take a commanding 7-1 lead. Tulane cut the advantage to four when junior designated hitter Scott Madden hammered a two-run homer to the seats in right field, but the Tigers answered right back with a pair of runs of their own in the top of the sixth to chase Goebel from the game.
Latham gave up just two singles in his effort and struck out three, and Tulane brought the tying run to the plate twice in the eighth, but sophomore right fielder Brian Bogusevic struck out swinging and junior shortstop Tommy Manzella hit a ground ball to short that saw LSU throw out Swackhamer at second to thwart the rally and seal the outcome.
LSU starter Lane Mestepey earned the win after giving up five runs on 11 hits in 7.1 innings of work to improve to 5-1 on the year. Tulane's Billy Mohl did not fare as well, though, as the sophomore right-hander was tagged with the loss after allowing a pair of runs on seven hits in a 3.0-innnings start.
Tulane returns to action on Friday, April 30 when they travel to The Volunteer State to open a three-game series with Conference USA foe Memphis, Friday and Sunday's games are schedule to be played at the Tigers' on-campus facility, Nat Buring Stadium, while Saturday's contest is slated for AutoZone Park, home of the St. Louis Cardinals' Triple A affiliate Memphis Redbirds.
