Green Wave Baseball to Take On LSU Tuesday Night
Mar 30, 2009 | Baseball
March 30, 2009
Complete Pregame Notes in PDF Format 
New Orleans- The Tulane baseball club is looking to get back on track after dropping the final two games of their Conference USA opener to Houston over the weekend and will host the Tigers of Louisiana State University Tuesday evening at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. The Green Wave will use the midweek game as a prelude to their upcoming weekend series against C-USA foe Rice in Houston.
The first of two scheduled matchups between the in-state rivals this season, Tulane (16-11, 1-2 C-USA) is looking to pick up where they left off during last week's midweek contest after the offense came out in fine form in a 15-2 showing against Nicholls State. The Wave fell victim to the strong pitching of the Houston Cougars staff over the weekend; particularly dominant for Houston was reliever Donnie Joseph, who shut down the Tulane bats which had been hot in their previous five games.
While Tulane struggled to get that one clutch hit on Saturday and Sunday, their defense turned in fine performances, going error-less in the team's last four outings. Freshman catcher Jeremy Schaffer is currently leading C-USA, having thrown out 10 runners attempting to steal bases. Schaffer, who is batting .357 and enjoying a seven-game hitting streak, is the first true freshman to handle the majority of the duties behind the dish while also posting solid offensive numbers for the Wave since now-associate head coach Chad Sutter did it during his freshman year in the 1996 season. Schaffer went an impressive 7-14 last week while also tallying seven RBI.
Tulane is also being led by senior Sam Honeck, who leads all Conference USA hitters with 10 home runs and 39 RBI. Honeck is batting .389 with a .821 slugging percentage while junior shortstop Josh Prince has posted a .365 average that includes a Conference USA-leading four triples. Prince has also stolen 21 bases on the season and was a perfect 3-3 on the base paths last week.
The Green Wave will send Aaron Loup, a southpaw from Luling, La. to the hill Tuesday night to face Tigers' freshman hurler Chris Matulis, a lefty out of Park Vista High School in Boynton Beach, Fla. Loup has started two previous midweek games for Tulane while also working out of the bullpen in relief. The 6-0 lefty stands at 0-1 with a 5.50 ERA while Matulis enjoys a 4-0 record and a 2.51 ERA.
First pitch is scheduled for 6PM at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. Parking will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis for $5.00 per parking spot. No trailers, RVs, or campers will be permitted to park in the lot. All City of New Orleans parking regulations will be enforced and those parking on the neutral ground will be ticketed by NOPD. Fans are strongly encouraged to arrive early. Gates to Greer Field at Turchin Stadium will open at 4PM.
