Baseball To Host McNeese State, UNC-Asheville In Midweek Action

March 5, 2007

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University baseball team will play a pair of midweek games for the first time since the 2004 season as the Green Wave battle McNeese State on Tuesday, March 6, before taking on UNC-Asheville on Wednesday, March 7, at Zephyr Field.

The last time Tulane played a pair of midweek games in the same week was March 16-17, when the Green Wave split a pair of games against the Southern Cal Trojans. Tulane dropped the opener, 11-10 in 12 innings before bouncing back to take game two, 12-9.

"It's something that we're going to do a lot of next season with the start date changing next season," Tulane head coach Rick Jones said. "It's not something we're unaccustomed to doing as we did it a lot in the '90s when I was at Georgia Tech and here at Tulane. Prior to the last four years, we played a lot of games on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"What it does, it creates a situation where you have to develop a deep bullpen and more pitching across the board. Starting next year, when everyone is doing the same thing, no one will be at a competitive disadvantage. But from a positional standpoint, with our game being one of such repetition, this allows your hitters to get in more of a rhythm and I think you'll start to see those numbers go up."

Both games are slated to start at 6:30 p.m. and can be heard on the flagship station of Tulane baseball, WRBH 88.3 fm. Live audio can also be heard on the internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com to registered members of the All-Access Pass, and live stats are available on-line for free via GameTracker.

The Green Wave enter the midweek slate riding the crest of a five-game winning streak, including a three-game weekend sweep of Wright State. As a team, Tulane is hitting .295 with a .429 slugging percentage on the strength of 20 doubles, three triples and 11 home runs.

Junior shortstop Cat Everett leads the team with a .365 batting average while junior second baseman Brad Emaus and sophomore left fielder Anthony Scelfo follow with marks of .327 and .318, respectively. Emaus paces the club with three home runs and shares team-high RBI honors with sophomore right fielder Warren McFadden at 12. Tulane has successfully stolen 12 bases, including two each by Everett, Emaus and Scelfo.

In Tuesday's game against the Cowboys, Tulane will send senior right-hander Matt Goebel to the mound. Goebel started last Tuesday's 8-3 win at LSU and earned the victory after striking out four and allowing just one run. For the year, he sports a 1.08 ERA and has held opponents to a .172 batting average.

Rookie right-hander Taylor Rogers is slated to toe the rubber Wednesday against the Bulldogs. Rogers enters the ballgame 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA and four strikeouts in 4.0 innings of work. Wednesday's ballgame will be his first collegiate start and only his third career appearance. In his last outing, Rogers earned the victory over Wright State after fanning three and scattering two hits in 3.0 innings in Friday's 5-4, 13-inning win.

McNeese State comes to town 2-13 on the season and looking to snap a four-game losing streak. The Cowboys have played a tough schedule so far in 2007, however, with games against Texas A&M (No. 9), Oklahoma State (No. 16) and Alabama (No. 22).

As a team, McNeese is hitting .226 with a .329 slugging percentage courtesy of 19 doubles, two triples and nine RBI. Charlie Kingery leads the team with a .333 mark while Joe Hulett and Brad Becker follow with respective batting averages of .298 and .294. Kingery leads the team with four homers and 10 RBI, while David Leatherwood paces the club with 11 stolen bases in 13 tries.

The Cowboys will send one of two right-handers - either Kyle Bull or Jonathan Conrad - to the mound on Tuesday. Conrad is 0-2 with a 12.46 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 13.0 innings of work while Bull (0-0, 0.00 ERA) has just 1.0 inning under his belt in 2007.

UNC-Asheville, meanwhile, enters the week 3-10 on the year after being swept over the weekend by UNO at Maestri Field. The Bulldogs are hitting .271 as a team and sport a .342 slugging percentage courtesy of 22 doubles, three triples and two homers.

Edmund Locklear paces the Bulldogs with a .372 batting average while Rob Vernon and Matt Henson follow with averages of .327 and .296, respectively. Locklear and Vernon have the team's only two round trippers and Locklear leads the squad with 13 RBI.

The Bulldogs have not yet announced who will pitch against Tulane on Wednesday as they will play at Southern on Tuesday. UNC-Asheville enters the week with a 6.65 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 112.1 innings of work.

For ticket information for this weekend's games, as well as future Green Wave athletic events, please contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office 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.

PITCHING MATCHUPSTuesday, March 6       B/T   ERA   W-L  G/GS   IP   H   R   ER  BB   KTU - Matt Goebel       R/R   1.08  1-0   3/1   8.1   5   2   1   1   5MSU - Jonathan Conrad  R/R  12.46  0-2   4/3  13.0  22  23  18   9  13   or Kyle Bull        R/R   0.00  0-0   1/0   1.0   1   0   0   1   0Wednesday, March 7     B/T   ERA   W-L  G/GS   IP   H   R   ER  BB   KTU - Taylor Rogers     R/R   6.75  1-0   2/0   4.0   4   3   3   2   4UNCA - TBA             ---   ----  ---   ---   ---  --  --  --  --  --

Baseball To Host McNeese State, UNC-Asheville In Midweek Action

Players Mentioned

Brad Emaus

Cat Everett

Matt Goebel

Matt Goebel

Warren McFadden

Taylor Rogers

Anthony Scelfo

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Tulane University Athletics

Baseball To Host McNeese State, UNC-Asheville In Midweek Action

Players Mentioned

Brad Emaus

Cat Everett

Matt Goebel

Matt Goebel

Warren McFadden

Taylor Rogers

Anthony Scelfo

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