Baseball Carries Four-Game Winning Streak into Series Against Houston
Apr 30, 2015 | Baseball
NEW ORLEANS - Riding a four-game winning streak, Tulane's baseball program will host American Athletic Conference foe Houston for a three-game series at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium over the weekend, including the nationally televised series opener on Friday, May 1, at 6pm CT on CBS Sports Network.
Game two of the series will be on Saturday at 2pm CT, followed by the series-finale at 1pm CT on Sunday, May 3. All three games will be broadcast on 88.3 FM WRBH. Live streaming audio and video will be available at the Tulane All-Access Pass at TulaneGreenWave.com for Friday and Saturday's game, but only live audio will be available for Friday's game due to the nationally televised broadcast.
CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. To local the channel in your area, visit www.cbssportsnetwork.com/channel-finder.
Tulane swept Cincinnati last weekend to get over .500 in conference play at 8-7 before winning in dramatic fashion on Tuesday against Southeastern Louisiana when senior Tyler Wilson hit a pinch-hit, walk-off, two-out home run in the bottom of the 10th inning for a 5-4 victory. Tulane is 28-16 overall heading into the Houston series.
The Cougars shut out Sam Houston State, 3-0, on Tuesday after taking two of three from USF last weekend. Houston has won three-straight American series after dropping their first two against then-No. 6 UCF and Memphis. Houston sits at 30-15 overall and 9-6 in the conference.
This series will mark the second meeting on the season between the two teams, as they are travel partners in The American. Tulane dropped two games at Houston back on April 10-11 before redshirt junior Alex Massey tossed a two-hit, complete game against the Cougars on April 12.
Tulane has collected 46 hits over the last four games, including nine against Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday. The team raised its batting average to .249, while sophomore Stephen Alemais continues to pace the team in hitting with a .332 average. He and sophomores Hunter Williams and Jake Willsey will take four-game hitting streaks into Friday's contest. Sophomore Lex Kaplan leads the team in homers with five, while Williams' owns a team-high 25 RBI.
The Cougars are hitting .266 as a team, led by Chris Iriart's .321 average and Josh Vidales' .302 average. Iriart leads the team in homers with 13, while he and Vidales are tied for the lead in RBI with 31 each. Iriart and Jacob Campbell have nine doubles each to tie for the team lead.
Neither squad has set a definitive weekend rotation. Last weekend, Tulane used a trio of righties in Corey Merrill (3-3, 1.82 ERA, 60 Ks), Emerson Gibbs (3-2, 2.74 ERA, 44 Ks) and Alex Massey (5-2, 3.26 ERA, 50 Ks), while Houston rolled out a pair of righties in Andrew Lantrip (6-2, 2.37 ERA, 67 Ks) and Kyle Dowdy (6-1, 3.21 ERA, 44 Ks) in games one and two, respectively, against USF before using southpaw Seth Romero (5-3, 1.92 ERA, 61 Ks) in game three.
On Friday, there will be oil change giveaways from Car Doc on Friday and Saturday. Fans will also be allowed to receive $4 off each service with their ticket stub at Car Doc. Should Tulane score four runs in Friday's contest, fans will be able to buy one, get one free combo at participating Raising Canes restaurants in the Greater New Orleans area as part of the Canes Challenge.
On Saturday, the first 250 fans into the park will receive a free Tulane baseball pennant.
On Sunday, there will be Kids Day, which gives members of the Riptide's Kids Club the opportunity to stand next to their favorite player during the national anthem while also running the bases postgame. Additionally, members of the Riptide's Kids Club will have the opportunity to take part in a post-game pizza party. To sign your child up for the Riptide's Kids Club, call Jessica Lange at 504-247-1238 or visit the Tulane Marketing Tent on the main concourse at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.
The seventh set of Tulane baseball trading cards will be passed out on Sunday, as well. Players, coaches and staff featured on the cards will be available for postgame autographs.
After the series with the Cougars, Tulane will host USF from May 8-10 before playing a makeup game against Southern Miss on Tuesday, May 12, at 5pm CT, after the regularly scheduled contest was postponed due to inclement weather.
Tickets to any home Tulane baseball game, or any other Green Wave sporting event, can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283). Tickets can also be purchased by visiting the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center's first floor ticket office.
Fans can follow the Tulane baseball program on Twitter (@GreenWaveBSB) or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GreenWaveBaseball.
