Wave Rolls into AAC Baseball Final

Saturday, May 27

Clearwater, FL

11:45 AM

Tulane University

16-40

(2) Houston

36-22

Tulane

Houston

Brennan Lambert

May 28, 2023 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

GAME 1 BOX SCORE | GAME 2 BOX SCORE | POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

NEW ORLEANS – Seventh-seeded Tulane split with second-seeded Houston on Semifinal Saturday at the American Athletic Conference baseball tournament, but it was the latter contest, an 11-8 Green Wave victory, that sent the Olive and Blue to Sunday's championship game against East Carolina.

The Green Wave (18-40 overall) will face the top-seeded Pirates (45-16) at noon ET/11 a.m. CT in a game that will be carried on ESPNews and ESPN+. ECU got there by virtue of its 3-1 and 14-7 wins over eighth-seeded South Florida on Saturday.

It will be Tulane's first appearance in the Championship final. As the No. 7 seed, the Green Wave will look to become the lowest seed to win the American Baseball Championship (South Florida was a No. 6 seed in 2021).

Center fielder Teo Banks was the big star for Tulane in Saturday's nightcap, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI. He and shortstop Gavin Schulz also scored three times apiece.

Houston first baseman Justin Murray hit two home runs as well as he and third baseman Zach Arnold drove in three runs apiece with another homer. The duo combined to go 7-for-12 at the plate.

Tulane reliever Michael Fowler (1-3) went two and two-thirds innings to finish the game. He got the win, allowing just one run on three hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

The Cougars used nine pitchers, with starter Dan Wright (2-3) suffering the loss. He gave up four runs on five hits with one strikeout and no walks.

The Green Wave jumped on top 6-1 after three innings and held a 9-4 advantage after Banks' three-run bomb in the top of the seventh. The Cougars got the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but Fowler got pinch-hitter Dylan Post swinging to end the game.

Houston forced the "if necessary" game by virtue of an 11-8 victory of its own earlier in the day. In that affair, Tulane grabbed a 6-5 lead in the top of the fifth inning but Houston regained the advantage with two runs in the bottom half and held off the Green Wave the rest of the way.

The Olive and Blue's designated hitter Brennan Lambert and Schulz both had homers, while Arnold, designated hitter Alex Lopez and center fielder Drew Bianco did the same for Houston.

The Cougars' Kyle Ayers (4-1) got the victory in relief, allowing three runs on three hits with one strikeout and two walks over two and two-thirds innings. Brendan O'Donnell recorded his first save in a masterful closing performance, limiting Tulane to just one hit with five strikeouts over the contest's final two and one-third innings.

Tulane starter Ricky Castro (4-6) took the defeat, giving up seven runs (two earned) on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

The Green Wave struggled defensively throughout the first game, committing four errors.

Banks, who now leads the team with 18 home runs, has hit 12 of those since April 25.

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