Next Up: South Alabama Visits Turchin
Apr 12, 2011 | Baseball
April 12, 2011
4/13/2011
South Alabama Jaguars at Tulane Green Wave
First Pitch: 6:30 p.m.
Stadium: Greer Field at Turchin Stadium
Series: South Alabama Leads Series 25-22
*** A pregame ceremony will be held to honor head coach Rick Jones' 1,000th career head coaching victory. The ceremony will start ten (10) minutes prior to first pitch of Green Wave's contest versus South Alabama. ***
Looking at the Green Wave
The Green Wave snapped their six game losing streak over the weekend by taking two of three games during their trip to UCF. Tulane won a 10-8 contest to open the series and grabbed a 6-5 victory on Saturday, but the Knights rallied from a 7-0 deficit to take the series finale, 8-7, and deny the Olive and Blue the sweep.
Entering the week, Jeremy Schaffer continues to lead the squad in batting average (.377), runs scored (25), hits (46) and RBI's (26), while Blake Crohan has walked 22 times to lead the team. Over the last five games, Nick Boullosa is hitting at a .398 clip and is a perfect four-for-four in stolen base attempts, while Crohan is hitting .412 with six walks and six runs scored in his last five games.
Wade Konvicka will make his first career appearance with a start versus South Alabama on Wednesday. The freshman was an All-District selection while a senior at Foster (Texas) High School. In the bullpen, Alex Facundus has made 21 appearances and leads Conference USA in that category, while sitting tied for first in the conference with six wins. Andrew Garner picked up the first win of his career on Saturday in relief at UCF, while David Napoli grabbed his first save in the same game.
Looking at the Jaguars
Alabama A&M will travel to Turchin Stadium on Wednesday for their second midweek contest of the week, hosting Nicholls State on Tuesday evening in Mobile, Ala. The Jaguars started the season 9-4 before losing 12 of their last 18 games to enter the week with a 15-16 overall mark. A series loss to Florida Atlantic last weekend dropped them to 5-7 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Five of their nine everyday starters own a batting average of over .300 and, as a team, South Alabama is hitting .287. The Jaguars average just over five runs a game and average almost ten hits per contest through 31 games. Logan Kirkland paces the team with a .345 batting average, while Brent Tanner has hit six home runs, drive in 27 RBI's and amassed 68 total bases to lead the team in all categories.
As a pitching staff, South Alabama owns a 5.49 ERA in 273.2 innings of work and have fanned 185 batters to just 99 walks this season. Kyle Dees leads the Jaguars bullpen with a 3-1 record in 17 appearances, to go along with two saves, while Cory McGinnis is 1-0 and leads the team with three saves.
Inside the Series
Tulane trails 22-25 heading into just their second meeting with South Alabama in the last five seasons. The Green Wave dropped a 7-2 ball game last season in Mobile, Ala. In New Orleans, the Green Wave is 15-12 and Tulane holds a 3-1 edge in neutral site games. The Jaguars have held serve on their home field with a 12-4 record against TU in Alabama.
Three of their last ten meeting have not been pre-arranged, with the NCAA Regional setting hosting them. South Alabama owns the longest winning streak in the series, winning seven straight from April 1973 to March 1977, while Tulane won five straight between 1968 and 1970.
