Tulane University
UAB
Seniors Lift Tulane Over UAB, 3-1
May 10, 2009 | Baseball
May 10, 2009
NEW ORLEANS- Tulane honored their ten seniors prior to first pitch Sunday afternoon before facing off against UAB in the rubber match of the Conference USA series but had no idea just how much an impact those teammates would have on the outcome of the game as the Green Wave picked up the 3-1 win to improve to 30-22 and 11-10 in C-USA action.
Between Jared Dyer's three-run bomb that served as all the run production Tulane needed and Drew Allain's phenomenal catch in right to rob UAB of a home run, they also received support from starting pitcher Conrad Flynn (6-3) , who threw a complete game pitching gem that led to the victory.
"He pitched great," head coach Rick Jones said of Flynn's outing. "You get a complete game on a Sunday with a six-hitter. We rolled a couple double plays and played well defensively."
Tulane jumped ahead first, putting a three-spot up in the bottom of the second. Seth Henry got things going with his eighth consecutive walk. He stole second and moved to third on Steve Moritz's ground ball to the right side. Drew Allain picked up a base on balls and with runners at the corners, Jared Dyer came up big for the Green Wave, working the count full before taking starter Kyle Roberson over the right field wall, giving Tulane the 3-0 lead after two.
"It feels great," Dyer said of his home run. "We couldn't buy any hits. We hit the ball hard all day long. The ball I hit wasn't the hardest hit all day but it was fortunate to go over the fence and get us three runs on the board. I'm so glad my senior class opened this stadium with a win and closed it."
The Blazers got one back in their half of the third when Jamal Austin blooped a single to center. He repeated Henry's pattern on the bases, stealing second and moving to third on a ground ball to the right side. Austin crossed the pay station on Brint Hardy's base hit through the left side but Tulane starter Conrad Flynn ended the inning, sending Jonathan Merritt back to the dugout with the strikeout.
The pitching duel continued through the eighth, with Flynn throwing three three-up, three-down frames while Roberson settled down to do the same. Flynn also got some defensive help from the guys behind him, as Josh Prince made an amazing play at short, bare handing the ground ball off the bat of Andrew Manning and gunning him down for the second out of the inning. In the top of the eighth, with the game still at 3-1 in favor of Tulane, Allain robbed Austin Taylor of a home run, with the Wave's right fielder going to the wall, timing his leap perfectly before pulling the ball back in, to get the out and take away the home run.
"With the wind blowing out like this, shooting out to right field, you always feel like if they drive a ball into the gap then you're going to make a play on the wall," Allain said. "I had peaked at the wall right before I made the catch and I just knew it was time to jump. It was weird. Right when I left the ground I knew it was going to go in my glove. I heard Nick give me the wall call and knew it was time.
"For all of us seniors, it was something special. It's real emotional. Especially for guys like Seth [Henry], and Johnny [Garrett] and Scotty [Powell] who have been here for four or five years. Every day of my life I'm coming to this place. The bond you make with your friends. This opportunity that these coaches gave me is really sinking in standing here in this great stadium with all the support from the fans. It's just something that's really special."
Tulane only posted two hits in the contest, both them coming from seniors in Dyer's home run and Scott Powell, who extending his hitting streak to 13 games but it was enough on Sunday as Tulane took the victory.
"We hit probably 10-12 balls right on the button right at them," Jones said. "That's the way the game is sometimes. It's unforgiving that way. I thought we swung the bat well. A lot better than our hit total showed."
The Green Wave will travel to Marshall for their final regular season series. Game one of the C-USA matchup will take place Thursday, with first pitch set for 1:05PM Central time.
