Tulane University
USC
Missed Opportunities Costly As Baseball Falls To Southern Cal, 8-5
Feb 24, 2007 | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2007
Box Score in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Sophomore catcher Jared Dyer went 3-for-4 and the Green Wave out-hit the Trojans, 12-10, but missed opportunities proved costly as the Tulane University baseball team dropped the series opener to Southern Cal, 8-5, Friday evening at Dedeaux Field.
Tulane had eight hits and led 4-2 after three and a half innings of play, but wound up stranding 14 runners on base, including eight in scoring position. The Green Wave left the bases loaded twice, and were 0-for-5 at the plate with a runner at third and less then two outs.
"Any time you out-hit a team and don't win, you know you missed a lot of RBI opportunities and that was the case tonight," Tulane head coach Rick Jones said. "We were not as competitive as I would have liked to see us in RBI situations early in the game. Southern Cal was able to stay close and had some two-strike at-bats.
"The bottom line is we just didn't play as well as we needed to play. I feel this was a game that had we played better we would have won. But we didn't and that's something that is our fault."
Seven of Tulane's nine positional starters tallied at least one hit, including two-hit performances by junior shortstop Cat Everett, sophomore right fielder Warren McFadden and sophomore designated hitter Nate Simon. Junior second baseman Brad Emaus was the lone Green Wave player to post a multiple-RBI contest with a two-run double in the third.
The two teams traded runs early on, but the Green Wave made it a 4-2 affair in the top of the fourth when Everett ripped an RBI-double down the first-base line with only one away. A hit batsman and a walk later, USC replaced starter Ryan Cook with reliever Hector Rabago, and the bullpen arm responded by getting a strikeout and fielder's choice to get out of the inning without any further damage done.
While Tulane struggled getting the key hit all night, the Trojans turned a two-run deficit into a two-run lead with two away in the home half of the inning. With two on and two away, USC leadoff hitter Nick Buss was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Grant Green ripped a three-run double to the gap in right central to give the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish. Green advanced to third on the play and scored on a passed ball during the ensuing at-bat to make it a 6-4 ballgame.
Tulane had a chance to answer in the top of the fifth as Dyer hit a leadoff double, Simon walked, and the pair moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore third baseman Seth Henry. Rabago, however, sandwiched a pair of strikeouts around a walk to escape the jam again, and retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings.
While Rabago was in charge on the mound, the USC offense padded its lead with an RBI-single by third baseman Hector Estrella in the fifth and a solo home run off the bat of left fielder Lucas Duda in the seventh.
The Green Wave brought the tying run to the plate in each of the final two innings, but Tulane manage to get just one run - a foul-ball, sacrifice fly off the bat of senior first baseman Tim Guidry in the eighth - to account for the final score.
Rabago (1-0) earned the win after holding Tulane to just one hit while striking out five and walking a pair in 3.2 innings out of the bullpen. Paul Koss earned the save, his fifth of 2007, after pitching his way around a pair of singles to leadoff the ninth as he got a double-play ball and a harmless fly ball to spark the USC celebration.
Tulane starter Sean Morgan (2-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up six runs (five earned) on seven hits and three walks while fanning five in 4.0 innings. Rookie Aaron Loup was solid out of the bullpen, and senior Matt Goebel tossed a perfect eighth.
Tulane and USC continue the weekend series on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (CST) before closing out the weekend on Sunday with first pitch slated for 3 p.m. (CDT). Following the series against the Trojans, the Green Wave will travel to Baton Rouge on Tuesday, Feb. 27, to do battle with arch-rival LSU at 6:30 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium.
