Tulane University
ILLINOIS-CHICAGO
Baseball Completes Sweep OF UIC With 9-2 Sunday Win
Feb 24, 2008 | Baseball
Feb. 24, 2008
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Robby Broach may have been nervous when he took the mound on Sunday, but judging by the box score, one never would have realized.
A freshman from nearby Archbishop Rummel High School, Broach earned the victory in his collegiate debut - striking out a pair and giving up two runs in a 5.0-inning start - as the Tulane University baseball team completed the sweep of Illinois Chicago with a 9-2 decision Sunday afternoon at the new Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.
"In that first inning, I had some butterflies in my stomach," Broach said. "But I got through it, and after the first couple of innings, I got rid of them and settled in. I didn't feel like I had my best stuff today, but I was able to make pitches when I need to and my defense was great behind me. They helped out a lot and made some big plays out there."
Broach's lone hiccup along the way came with one out in the second inning when he gave up a two-run triple to Flames' centerfielder Steve McGuiggan, but battled back to retire the next two he faced and tossed bagels the rest of the way.
Trailing by a pair after two and half innings, the Green Wave offense came alive with three runs on four hits - including three consecutive doubles - in the third to take a 3-2 advantage and blew the game open with a five-run fifth.
Junior second baseman Seth Henry got things going in the third with a leadoff single to shallow center, and with one out, junior right fielder Drew Allain, junior left fielder Anthony Scelfo and junior first baseman Sam Honeck hit consecutive two-baggers to stake the Wave to the one-run lead.
After a scoreless fourth, Honeck posted his second hit of the day with an RBI-single through the right side of the infield to make it 4-2. Junior catcher Jared Dyer followed with a two-run homer to left center, and three batters later, freshman third baseman Rob Segedin ripped a two-run double to right to push the advantage to six. Barto capped the scoring with a solo home run in the seventh.
"We put some good swings on it and the ball was carrying well today," Tulane head baseball coach Rick Jones said. "When you're in a ballpark like this and you get rewarded for doing something well, you don't go away from that as quickly. Aja put a good swing on. Dyer put a good swing on. And that's what you can reinforce as a coach.
"This is a great college baseball experience, this weekend. Also, it was played the way it was supposed to. We beat a good club this weekend."
Broach gave up eight hits during his time on the mound, but was able to make big pitches in key situations to get out of several jams. He stranded a runner at second in the first, left another on in the third, and pitched his way out of two-on, one-out jams in both the fourth and fifth innings.
He had some help from his defensive mates as the Green Wave played errorless baseball and turned a double play. Scelfo had a couple of highlight-reel catches in left, including a diving snare of a sinking line drive in the third.
From there, Jones called on his bullpen and the combination of freshman Nick Pepitone and sophomores Preston Claiborne and Taylor Rogers held Illinois Chicago to just two hits in four scoreless frames to clinch the sweep.
Tulane pounded out a weekend-best 13 hits on Sunday, including two-hit performances by Allain, Scelfo, Honeck and Barto. Eight of the nine batters in the Green Wave lineup had at least one hit.
"I thought they did a really nice job at the plate of trying to adjust," UIC head coach Miek Dee said. "I thought today, in particular, they did a much better job of looking for something off speed and adjusting to that. They played solid defense all weekend, and I think they're a good ballclub."
Tulane returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 26, when they take on Southeastern Louisiana at 6 p.m. at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. The game is the first of two home midweek contest for the Green Wave as Tulane will take on Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
For ticket information for this week's contests and future Green Wave Athletics events, contact the Tulane University Athletics Ticket Office at 504-861-WAVE or go on-line at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
