Baseball Faces UConn in Key American Athletic Conference Series

TULANE (15-18, 4-2 American) vs. UCONN (19-11, 6-0 American)
Time/Date:	Thursday-Saturday, April 13-15, 2017 • 6:30 p.m./6:30 p.m./11 a.m.
Location:	Greer Field at Turchin Stadium/New Orleans, La.
Radio:	88.3 FM WRBH/TuneIn Radio app
TV:	American Digital Network (Thursday only) (Gus Kattengell and Ron Swoboda)
Live Stats/Live Video:	www.TulaneGreenWave.com
Twitter:	@GreenWaveBSB
Instagram:	TulaneBaseball
Series:	UConn leads, 4-3
Tulane Coach:	Travis Jewett (Washington State, '93) • 15-18 (1st year)
UConn Coach:	Jim Penders (UConn, '94) • 474-331-4 (14th year)
Game Notes:	Tulane

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane baseball battles UConn in a significant American Athletic Conference series Thursday through Saturday at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.

The Green Wave (15-18, 4-2 American), tied for second place in the conference, and first-place UConn (19-11, 6-0 American) play at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.

Thursday's game will be broadcast on the American Digital Network. All three games can be heard on 88.3 FM WRBH and the TuneIn Radio app. Live video for Friday and Saturday, and live stats will be available on TulaneGreenWave.com.

Tickets are available by calling 5041-861-WAVE, or in person at the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office in James W. Wilson Center.

Series History
Tulane and UConn have played seven times. UConn leads the series, 4-3. The teams split two games last season in Storrs, as UConn won 9-4 and Tulane won 14-5, before the final game was canceled due to weather. The Huskies won two of three in the 2015 series in New Orleans – 6-0 and 5-2, while the Wave won the middle game, 5-1. Tulane won in the 2015 conference tournament, 3-1, before falling in an elimination game, 7-6.

Weekend Promotions
• The series opener is Throwback Thursday, and fans can receive a free throwback T-Wave t-shirt, featuring the logo used from 1986-1997 with blue and white waves moving through the middle of a block "T".
• Saturday, kids can join Riptide on the field following the game for an Easter Egg hunt.

Quick Notes
• Tulane has won 12 of its last 18 games.
• In its last five games, Tulane has hit .350, and totaled 37 runs, 62 hits, 35 RBI, 13 doubles and eight home runs.
• Tulane has tallied double-digit hits in 12 games, including 10 of the last 17 games.
• The Green Wave has raised its batting average 45 points in the last 18 games. During that span, Tulane has hit .301, and averaged 6.4 runs per game with 60 extra base hits; posted a 5.07 ERA and a .981 fielding pct. In its first 15 games, Tulane hit .220, and averaged 4.0 runs per game with 38 extra base hits; posted a 5.99 ERA and .966 fielding pct.
• Sophomore outfielder Grant Witherspoon was named on the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll this week, after hitting .444 in four games with nine RBI, four doubles, four runs scored, a .667 SLG% and a .500 OBP. He drove in nine runs in the weekend series win at Cincinnati, including two three-run doubles in consecutive games, from the leadoff spot in the batting order.
• Among Tulane's 15 wins, seven have been by one run. Tulane is 7-4 in one-run games. The Green Wave has posted two shutouts (6-0 vs West Virginia and 7-0 vs Columbia).
• Hunter Williams leads Tulane with a .365 batting average, 50 hits, 15 doubles, 21 extra base hits, a .599 SLG% and a .413 OBP. In his last 13 games, Williams has hit .431 (31-72), with 19 runs, 16 RBI, 16 extra base hits, a .750 SLG%, and a .462 OBP.
• Jarret DeHart has a team-high 31 RBI and seven home runs. Grant Witherspoon leads the Wave with 29 runs scored and seven stolen bases.
• Chase Solesky leads the Green Wave with a 2.70 ERA. He is 1-2 in 11 appearances and seven starts.
• Two players have started all 33 games for the Green Wave this season: Grant Witherspoon and Hunter Williams. Jake Willsey has played in all 33 games with 31 starts, and Jarret DeHart has played in and started 31 games.
• J.P. France has made eight starts, and pitched at least 6.0 innings in seven of them. In those seven starts (subtracting a 3.0-inning outing in which he allowed eight runs at UCSB), France has compiled a 3.24 ERA with 33 strikeouts, 15 walks and 18 earned runs in 50.0 innings.
• In his last two starts, France is 2-0 with a 1.76 ERA in 15.1 innings. In his last four starts, Corey Merrill is 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 25.0 innings.

Tulane Ranks in The American rankings as of 4/12
Hunter Williams leads the American Athletic Conference with 15 doubles, and ranks among the top-10 in batting average (3rd), slugging pct. (3rd), hits (T-2nd), and total bases (2nd). His 14 doubles also rank 10th nationally. Jarret DeHart ranks T-3rd in RBI and T-2nd in home runs, Grant Witherspoon ranks T-6th in hits and T-9th in stolen bases, and Lex Kaplan and Hunter Hope rank T-5th in home runs.

Double 'Em Up
Tulane leads The American with 38 double plays turned – nine more than Memphis, which ranks second. That figure ranks second in the nation, while Tulane's average of 1.15 double plays per game ranks third.

Winning Conference Series
Tulane won two of three games from USF to open conference play last weekend. It was the first time as a member of the American Athletic Conference the Green Wave has won its opening league series, including a 1-1 matchup at UConn in 2016. Tulane has claimed the opening series of conference play 10 of the last 14 years, dating back to 2004. Tulane has won its first two series to open conference play for the first time since 2010, and just the fifth time since 1990.

Thievery Denied
Tulane catchers have thrown out 20 of 53 potential base stealers this season (.623 stolen base pct.). Freshman Paul Gozzo has caught 8-of-27 runners stealing, and prior to his injury on March 5, Jeremy Montalbano had caught 8-of-17 runners stealing.

Going Deep
The Green Wave have hit 35 home runs this season, including four against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 21, and four against Nicholls State on April 11. Jarret DeHart leads the team with seven homers, while Lex Kaplan and Hunter Hope have six homers, Jake Willsey and Hunter Williams each have five homers, and Grant Witherspoon has three home runs.

Pitching Matchup
Thursday
Tulane: LHP Sam Bjorngjeld, Jr. | 2-2, 6.04 ERA, 14 APP, 1 GS, 22.1 IP, 23 H, 15 ER, 14 K, 19 BB
UConn: LHP Tim Cate, So. | 3-1, 2.40 ERA, 5 APP, 5 GS, 30.0 IP, 21 H, 8 ER, 44 K, 11 BB
Friday
Tulane: RHP Corey Merrill, Sr. | 4-2, 4.53 ERA, 8 APP, 8 GS, 47.2 IP, 50 H, 24 ER, 42 K, 24 BB
UConn: RHP Wills Montgomerie, Fr. | 4-1, 3.64 ERA, 8 APP, 8 GS, 47.0 IP, 48 H, 19 ER, 63 K, 21 BB
Saturday
Tulane: RHP J.P. France, Jr. | 3-3, 4.42 ERA, 8 APP, 8 GS, 53.0 IP, 59 H, 26 ER, 35 K, 19 BB
UConn: LHP Mason Feole, Fr. | 5-0, 2.28 ERA, 8 APP, 7 GS, 43.1 IP, 36 H, 11 ER, 39 K, 14 BB

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Baseball Faces UConn in Key American Athletic Conference Series

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Players Mentioned

Sam Bjorngjeld

Jarret DeHart

J.P. France

Paul Gozzo

Hunter Hope

Lex Kaplan

Corey Merrill

Jeremy Montalbano

Chase Solesky

Hunter Williams

Jake Willsey

Grant Witherspoon

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