Tulane University
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA
Baseball Downs Southeastern Louisiana In Season Opener, 19-4
Feb 9, 2007 | Baseball
Feb. 9, 2007
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METAIRIE, La. - Junior right-hander Sean Morgan struck out nine in a 7.0-inning start and the Green Wave offense blew open a 5-3 ballgame with 14 runs over the seventh and eighth innings as the Tulane University baseball team opened the 2007 season with a 19-4 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in game one of the Senators Cup Series Friday evening at Zephyr Field.
Tulane (1-0) led 5-1 after six innings of play, but the Lions (0-1) took advantage of a passed ball and an errant throw to plate a pair of runs to make it a two-run ballgame. The Green Wave, however, answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame and plated 10 in the eighth - including a pinch-hit grand slam that landed in the pool beyond the right field wall off the bat of junior Rustin Rebowe - to make it a route.
"We seemed to have had a ton of good at bats in the eighth," senior first baseman Tim Guidry said. "The first game of the season is so intense. We settled down toward the middle of the game, and good things started happening. We were a little antsy at the beginning."
All nine Green Wave starters tallied at least one base knock as Tulane out-hit Southeastern Louisiana, 18-8. Guidry went 4-for-7 with a pair of doubles and three RBI while junior shortstop Cat Everett, sophomore right fielder Warren McFadden, sophomore centerfielder Aja Barto and sophomore designated hitter Jonny Weiss tallied two hits apiece. Rebowe's slam and four subsequent RBI led all players while Guidry and Barto followed with three apiece and Everett drove in a pair.
"I think we were swinging at a lot of first pitches and left a lot of runners on base early," McFadden said. "We just needed something to get us relaxed."
Lost in the drama of the late-inning offensive explosion, the relaxing factor may have come from Morgan (1-0), who allowed just one earned run on five hits while giving up just a leadoff walk. He fell behind in the count often in the early goings, but after settling in and finding his breaking ball crossing the plate for strikes, was able to keep the Lion offense off balance the rest of his outing. Freshman Preston Claiborne retired the side in the eighth, and fellow rookie Hunter Johnson allowed just a run in the ninth.
The Lions got an admirable performance out of starter Wade Miley (0-1), who allowed three runs on five hits over 4.1 innings. Miley, however, did not get much help from his defense as the Lions committed three of their four errors during his time on the mound which led to a pair of unearned runs.
Southeastern used seven pitchers on the night, but no one out of the bullpen could stop the Green Wave offense as the Lions' relievers combined to allow 16 runs on 13 hits and 10 walks over the final 3.2 frames.
The Green Wave drew first blood in the ballgame, capitalizing on a pair of SLU errors as MacFadden and Barto stake Tulane to a 2-0 lead with back-to-back RBI-singles with two away in the first. The Lions cut the lead in half on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Dillan Sudduth in the third, but Tulane plated a pair of runs in the fifth on an RBI-triple by Barto and a bases-loaded walk by sophomore left fielder Anthony Scelfo - who had three walks on the night - and added a single run in the sixth on the fourth error of the game by the Lions.
After Southeastern cut the lead to two in the top of the seventh, Guidry provided a little breathing room with a bloop, two-RBI double and McFadden made it a 9-3 affair later in the frame with a two-run single.
Tulane poured it on in the eighth as the Green Wave sent 15 batters to the plate in the inning, including five pinch hitters. Of the nine hits in the frame, none had more impact than Rebowe's bomb, marking the first time in his career that he sent one deep.
"That's just baseball," Rebowe said. "I just went up there to be aggressive. I got in there when there was no pressure, and I just swinging relaxed."
The Green Wave return to action on Saturday when Tulane and Southeastern Louisiana square off in game two of the Senators Cup Series on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Hammond, La. The two teams will close out the series on Sunday at Zephyr Field with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.
Season tickets for Tulane baseball are now for sale through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office and can be picked up in person on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center, via the internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com or over the phone at 504-861-WAVE. The Zephyr Field Ticket Office is located on the third-base side of stadium and will open approximately two hours before first pitch for each Tulane home game.
