Baseball Caps Week One Of Fall Ball With Sunday Scrimmage
Oct 1, 2007 | Baseball
Sept. 30, 2007
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NEW ORLEANS, La. - Junior catcher Marc Robért went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in the bottom of an extended seventh inning to lift Team Green to a 2-1 victory as the Tulane University baseball team wrapped up week one of fall practice with its first intrasquad scrimmage at the new Turchin Stadium.
The score was knotted at 1-all following the scheduled seven innings, but as the teams began to head toward the dugout and call it a day, Tulane head coach Rick Jones called for one more at-bat. From there, Robért stepped to the plate and hammered a first-pitch offering high over the wall in left.
"Other than days that we won games to put Tulane in the College World Series, this is the greatest baseball day I've ever had in my life," Jones said. "We've back home. It rained all morning and we didn't even think about. We just went out and played because we knew the field would be dry. It was a perfect afternoon.
"We had a great crowd here to watch us and I thought we played well. I thought the new guys looked like they fit in pretty quickly and they are going to make an impact. We've got a long fall, and things will begin to settle in, but today was just an absolutely fun day."
Fourteen pitchers threw one inning each and combined for seven strikeouts on the day, including a pair by newcomer Matt Petiton. Since the game was tied at the end of regulation, no pitcher was issued a win or a loss.
Both teams scored runs in the first inning on Sunday. Junior left fielder Warren McFadden lifted a sacrifice fly to center to plate Delgado transfer Drew Allain from third to give Team Black an early 1-0 advantage, but sophomore shortstop Josh Prince walked, stole second and scored one at-bat later when junior right fielder Andrew Rodgers ripped an RBI-single through the left side of the infield to tie things up.
From there, the game belonged to the pitchers. Three Team Green pitchers tossed perfect innings, and utility athlete Rob Segedin - who went 2-for-3 and posted four assists as the team's starting third baseman - pitched his way out of a bases-loaded top of the seventh to set up Robért's extra at-bat heroics.
Team Green had at least one runner reach base every inning, but Team Black pitchers responded to strand a combined seven runners on base. Junior southpaw Peter Connick allowed singles to the first two batters he faced before retiring the next three hitters in order.
Neither team committed an error, and Team Black made a couple of highlight-reel plays defensively. In the second inning, Allain cut down a runner at third base from his post in right, and McFadden did the same from left in the sixth.
"I think our talent level is very solid and I like our makeup and our attitude. One of the major keys for us is not just ability level, but how much team orientation has. There's no question in my mind that a big, big piece that we have to get back to is to be team-first, team-last from top to bottom. I know it's really early, but I like the makeup of our team so far, and I believe the young guys showed that they can give us some help, too."
Regardless of the score, the strikeouts or the hit totals, Jones said his team is happy to simply be back home. The past six days of practice marked the first time Tulane played on campus since June 13, 2005, when the Green Wave defeated Rice, 9-6, in game three of the NCAA New Orleans Super Regional to punch their ticket to the College World Series. The squad spent Fall 2005 in Lubbock, Texas, following the affects of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans area, and spent last fall at Zephyr Field as construction on the new Turchin officially restarted.
"Knowing that this was our first intrasquad and knowing this was going to be the first time for us to play on the field in a game situation, I didn't sleep much last night because I was so excited about it. I was here way early this morning just thinking about it, and I could tell that it was the same way for our players - especially the ones who have been around a year or two. It was a positive day in every respect."
The Green Wave return to practice on Tuesday, Oct. 2, when they take the field at 2:15 p.m. The team will hold intrasquad scrimmages this week on Saturday and Sunday, with both slated to begin at approximately 2 p.m. The Tulane team will hold week-day practices from 2:15-5:30 p.m., weekend sessions will begin at 1 p.m. and Monday will be the team's off day. Practice will continue through Nov. 11, and the final five days will be the Green Wave's annual Fall World Series.
