Tulane University
Louisiana-Monroe
Road Opener Unkind in 9-3 Loss at ULM
Feb 21, 2012 | Baseball
Feb. 21, 2012
Box Score (PDF) | Season Statistics
Senior D. Ponder Postgame Comments (Video) | Senior J. Schaffer Postgame Comments (Video)
MONROE, La. - A five run first inning was too big of a deficit for the Tulane baseball team on Tuesday (Feb. 21) afternoon at Warhawk Field, as the Green Wave dropped a 9-3 decision to the University of Louisiana-Monroe. It was the first road contest of the season for the Olive and Blue and snapped their four-game winning streak to start the 2012 campaign.
"It was a disappointing loss," said Tulane head coach Rick Jones. "We swung the bats really well early...but we left too many ball up in the strike zone and they put good swings on them. We left too many balls up in the zone, didn't make an adjustment at the plate in the middle innings and we were bad defensively. We're a better club than we showed today. There are some pieces to the puzzle that we are still working on and we are going to make some adjustments."
It didn't take long for the Warhawks (3-1) to take the lead in their home opener, with an error and a walk putting two runners on base with no outs in the bottom of the first inning against Tulane (4-1) starting pitcher Alex Byo. Joey Rapp then hit his second home run of the season - first of the game - to left field and it was a 3-0 lead for ULM. A pair of singles followed and an RBI groundout from Judd Edwards pushed the home team out to a 4-0 lead.
The second Green Wave error of the afternoon allowed the fifth run of the contest to score in the bottom of the second inning, but Tulane grabbed a pair of runs back in top of the third.
With ULM Leading 5-0, Garrett Cannizaro extended his hitting streak to eight games with a one out single and Jeremy Schaffer hit his first home run of the season to left field. It was the 33rd home run in Schaffer's career and marked the 41st career multi-RBI game for senior, pulling Tulane within two runs at 5-2.
Byo sat the Warhawks down in order in the third inning and Cannizaro pulled the Olive and Blue one run closer with an RBI ground out that scored Brennan Middleton from third base. ULM starting pitcher Fraser Adams was relieved before Cannizaro's RBI ground out and Reliever Shelby Adams proceeded to retire 17 of the final 18 batters he faced in the contest.
Rapp didn't allow that gap to get any closer with his second home run of the game in the fourth inning. With two outs in the fourth, a Caleb Clowers single was followed by a line drive that skimmed over the left field fence to extend the ULM lead to 7-3.
Byo (0-1) tossed four innings in his first start of 2012 and allowed seven runs - five earned - on six hits. He walked three batters and struck out two. D.J. Ponder threw three innings of relief, allowing one run on two hits to go along with two strikeouts and Alex Facundus tossed one inning with one run allowed on one hit.
ULM capped their scoring with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to account for the final margin of 9-3.
The two teams each chipped in nine hits and turned one double play, but Tulane stranded seven runners on base and committed three errors in the field.
Schaffer led all players with three hits and added two RBIs and a run scored and Blake Crohan posted his first multi-hit game of the season with a pair of singles. Brandon Boudreaux extended his hitting streak to three games with a fourth inning base hit and Middleton has reached base in all five games this season, going one-for-three with a walk on Tuesday.
Tulane will return to action on Friday, Feb. 24 when they open a three game series against Indiana (2-1) starting at 6:30 on the Turf at Turchin. The Green Wave and Hoosiers will also play a single game on Saturday, Feb. 25 (2:00) and Sunday, Feb. 26 (1:00).
GAME NOTES
- Tuesday marked the 45th meeting all-time between Tulane and ULM, Tulane leads all-time series, 36-9
- Jeremy Schaffer hit his 1st home run of the season - a two-run home run - and 33rd of his career in the third inning.
- With two RBIs, Schaffer now has 41 career multiple RBI contests
- Blake Crohan posted his first multi-hit game of the season and 32nd of his career on Tuesday at ULM
- D.J. Ponder had a streak of 17 straight batters retired snapped by a seventh inning single
- Garrett Cannizaro extended his hitting streak to eight games, dating back to the 2011 season
- Cannizaro, Brennan Middleton and Schaffer have all reached base in each of the first five games
