Tulane Battles with #12 ECU This Weekend

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GREENVILLE, N.C. – Tulane Baseball heads north this weekend for a three-game series with the 12th-ranked Pirates of East Carolina.

Start times will be (Friday-5 p.m. CT; Saturday-3 p.m. CT; Sunday-12 p.m. CT).

The Green Wave enters the weekend at 12-29 overall and 5-7 in the American Athletic Conference. The Pirates are 29-12 and 7-5 in the league.

SCOUTING THE PIRATES
ECU's Justin Wilcoxen leads the team with a .334 batting average and 12 doubles. Lane Hoover is tops in runs scored (35), while Jacob Starling has a team-high 44 hits and 33 walks. Jacob Jenkins-Cowart and Josh Moylan have eight home runs apiece and Moylan has a commanding lead in RBI with 40. Jenkins-Cowart also has a narrow edge in total bases with 79 and Luke Nowak has stolen 14 bases in 17 attempts.

Carter Spivey (4-2, 3.88 ERA in 46.1 IP) and Josh Grosz (4-1, 2.96 ERA, 54.2 IP) are the projected Friday and Saturday starters on the mound for the home team. The Pirates rank sixth in the nation in WHIP (1.25), sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.23), 12th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.21) and 15th in earned run average (3.89).

The Pirates, who are 24-2 at home this season, come into the weekend on a four-game skid (road sweep at Wichita State and a 5-4 Tuesday loss at NC State).

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE GREEN WAVE
Visiting Southern Miss scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning Tuesday evening to take a wild, back-and-forth affair, 11-10, over Tulane on Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.

The Golden Eagles improved to 24-15 with the win, while the Green Wave, who homered a season-high five times Tuesday, fell to 12-29 in the loss.

USM reliever Isaiah Rhodes (2-2) got the win, striking out four in two and two-thirds innings. He allowed two runs and two hits. Closer Justin Storm nailed down his fifth save, hurling a clean ninth inning with two strikeouts.

Tulane's Michael Fowler (0-2) took the loss, allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts.

USM center fielder Matthew Etzel, designated hitter Slade Wilks, third baseman Danny Lynch, right fielder Reece Ewing and second baseman Nick Monistere drove in two runs apiece. Wilks and catcher Blake Johnson recorded two hits and Wilks and first baseman Christopher Sargent.

Tulane shortstop Gavin Schulz had a big day, blasting two home runs in a 3-for-5 effort that saw him post four RBI and two runs scored. First baseman Brady Marget and designated hitter Jackson Linn had two hits each, while Marget and Hebert also scored twice.

After the Green Wave put up single runs in the first (Hebert scoring on an error) and second (Schulz's solo homer to left) innings, the Golden Eagles struck back in a big way with eight runs in the top of the third.

Schulz cut the margin in half with a three-run shot to center in the fifth frame and Hebert and catcher Brennan Lambert each ripped two-run shots in the sixth to the put Tulane back in front, 9-8.

Center fielder Teo Banks tacked on a solo homer down the left field line in the bottom of the ninth to push the Wave's lead to two (10-8).

USM, though, wouldn't be denied as Wilks clobbered a two-run homer on a 3-1 offering by Tulane's Billy Price to knot the score at 10 and Sargent's solo bomb to right off Fowler proved to be the game-winner. The Green Wave went in order in the bottom half of the inning against Storm.

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Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.

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Players Mentioned

Teo Banks

Michael Fowler

Brennan Lambert

Jackson Linn

Brady Marget

Billy Price

Gavin Schulz

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