Baseball Finishes Homestand Against No. 12 Southern Miss

Tuesday, April 28

New Orleans, LA

6:30 p.m.

Tulane University

Southern Mississippi

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Baseball Finishes Homestand Against No. 12 Southern Miss

Apr 27, 2026 | Baseball

TUESDAY: WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS

TULANE GAME NOTES

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane baseball team (22-23, 8-10 American) hosts the team's final midweek of the season and wraps up the current homestand taking on No. 12 Southern Miss (31-13) on Tuesday, April 28, on Greer Field at Turchin Stadium starting at 6:30 p.m.

Promotions
Tuesday: 90s Night – Free vintage t-shirt for first 300 fans; Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night

Media
The game against Southern Miss will be broadcasted on ESPN+ on Tuesday. The Voice of the Green Wave, Corey Gloor, will call the action on the Tulane Sports Network from Learfield on WRBH 88.3 FM/ Varsity Network. Airtime for the radio/stream for the game is 15 minutes before first pitch.

Pitching Matchup
Tulane is slated to start right-handed graduate student Jude Abbadessa in the contest. Abbadessa is 2-2 on the season with a 6.44 ERA. This is his 23rd appearance of the season and second start. In 29.1 innings pitched he has struck out 26

Southern Miss is starting redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher McCarty English. English is making his 11th appearance and seventh start on the mound. He is 1-1 with 4.63 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 23.1 while limiting opponents to a .247 batting average against.

Scouting Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles come into the game ranked in each of four major polls including No. 12 in the D1 Baseball poll.

Southern Miss took two-of-three over the weekend against Sun Belt Conference rival South Alabama.

Kyle Morrison leads the team with his .333 batting average and is tied for team lead with 54 hits and 12 home runs. Morrison also has 10 doubles, 38 RBIs, 104 total bases, a .642 slugging percentage, 25 walks, and a .444 on-base percentage.

Davis Gillespie is hitting .323 with 37 runs, 54 hits, 11 doubles, 12 home runs, 39 RBIs, 103 total bases, a .617 slugging percentage, and 25 walks.

Joey Urban has totaled 48 runs, 53 hits, 10 home runs, 34 RBIs, 93 total bases, a .550 slugging percentage, and 32 walks.

Caden Clark is 5-0 with a 3.21 ERA, five saves, and 40 strikeouts in 28 innings.

Camden Sunstrom has won three games with 59 strikeouts in 56 innings pitched.

Grayden Harris is 7-1 with 73 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched.

Christian Ostrander coaches the program. Ostrander is in his 3rd year with the Eagles. He has a record of 121-49 with the program

Series History
Tulane leads the all-time series with Southern Miss 100-69-1 since the first meeting in 1949.

The last meeting saw USM come up with a 5-4 victory in Hattiesburg (4/21/26) after scoring a run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Southern Miss has won the last eight contests against the Green Wave and are 22-11 against Tulane since the start of the 2010 season.

The Green Wave are 48-29-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles at home in New Orleans.

Against the Sun Belt Conference
The home game at Southern Miss will be the third of three for the program against a Sun Belt Conference (SBC) opponent this season. The team is 1-1 in the previous two contests against SBC opponents

The first meeting against a current SBC opponent came in 1946 with Tulane falling 7-1 to Louisiana.

Overall, the Green Wave are 204-161 against current Sun Belt Conference opponents.

Long Streak Over, New One Underway
Jason Wachs saw his 60 game on-base streak ended on Friday, April 10, against ECU after going 0-1 and only reaching base on a catcher's interference in the fourth inning. He did drive in a pair of runs though with a ground out and a sacrifice fly. The 60-game streak dated back to the end of last season. Wachs then promptly started a new streak has reached base in each of the last 10 games and has successfully been on base safely in 70 of his last 71 contests.

Who's Hot in the Last Five Games
Jason Wachs is hitting .421 with five runs, eight hits, three doubles, two home runs, four RBIs, 17 total bases, .895 slugging percentage, four walks, and an on-base percentage of .500

James Agabedis has seven hits, four runs scored, a .389 batting average, nine RBIs, a double, a triple, two home runs, a .889 slugging percentage, and a .450 on-base percentage.

Trent Liolios sports a .368 batting average with four runs, seven hits, two doubles, three RBIs plus a sacrifice fly, and a sacrifice bunt.

Tye Wood is hitting .348 with three runs, eight hits, three doubles, 11 total bases, a .476 slugging percentage, and three stolen bases.

Hugh Pinkney has a .333 batting average with a triple and a home run along with five RBIs

Blaise Wilcenski is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in seven innings.

Tom Vincent has pitched in three games with three strikeouts in five innings thrown along with a win and a save.

Trends
Dating back to the end of last season, 10 of the last 20 hits that James Agabedis has have gone for extra bases with seven home runs, two doubles, and a triple.

Agabedis also has four multi-hit games in his last seven starts and eight games. In that time, he has 12 hits, two doubles, a triple, two home runs, 10 RBIs, 22 total bases, and five walks.

Tulane's pitching staff has yet to allow a triple this season in 45 games. The last time the Green Wave surrendered a triple was the second game of the series against Florida Atlantic last season when the lead-off batter, Marshall Lipsey, hit a three-bagger to start the game (5/2/25). It has been 57 games (the final 12 last year and the first 45 this year) since the last triple was allowed. Those 57 games have accounted for 539 innings since Tulane last surrendered a triple. Tulane has the longest current streak in the nation as the top teams ahead of the program in the category in Auburn (61 games) and Georgia Tech (53 games) both allowed a triple three weekends ago.

Tanner Chun drew at least one walk in nine straight games (a total of 13 walks in that time) from March 15 – March 28. His nine-game walk streak was tied with Brady Hebert (April 2024) for the longest by a Tulane player the last eight seasons and tied for the longest by an American Conference player since Cincinnati's Josh Hegemann from March – April 2023.

Jason Wachs has reached base safely in 44 of the team's 45 games this season.

Nate Johnson is hitting .276 with three home runs and 27 RBIs in the games he starts this year.

Kaikea Harrison leads the team with 12 multiple run scored games.

Tulane sports a 18-11 record this year in games that Hugh Pinkney starts behind the plate.

The program is also 10-7 in games that James Agabedis starts as the third baseman.

Matthias Haas has started at four different positions this season with five games at first, nine games at third, nine games in right field, and 16 games as the designated hitter.

Nate Johnson has started at three different spots on the infield with seven starts at first, 23 at second, and three at third. He also has batted in eight different spots in the starting lineup order (2nd - 9th).

Tye Wood (LF) and Kaikea Harrison (SS) are the only two players on the team to start all the team's games at the same position all season long.

Nate Johnson leads the club with 12 two-out RBIs.

Trent Liolios is batting .800 (4-for-5) with the bases loaded.

The Green Wave are 5-1 in games that Jack Frankel starts on the mound.

Nolan Nawrocki leads the team with a pair of successful pinch hits. He is one of only six players that has registered at least one successful pinch hit this season along with James Agabedis, Matthias Haas, Jack Johnson, Hugh Pinkney, and Brett Rowell. On the flip side, the team's pitching staff has limited opponents to 4-for-27 (.148) in pinch-hitting opportunities.

After leading the American Conference last season with 131 doubles as team, Tulane is again among the leaders this season and are currently the league leader in two-baggers with 101 in the first 45 games.

The Green Wave are second in the conference in sacrifice bunts (31) and walks (238). The program is fourth in stolen bases (66) and sacrifice flies (23) plus fifth in runs (290)

Tulane is sixth in hit by pitches (62) and ERA (5.19). The team is second in double plays (38), fourth in fielding percentage (.974), and fifth in triples (7).

The program's pitching is averaging an impressive 8.7 strikeouts per game to place fifth in the American Conference. Tulane ranked second in the league in strikeouts a year ago with an average of 9.75 per contest.

The program is fourth in the American in shutouts (1) and seventh in strikeout- to-walk ratio (1.76).

The Tulane pitching staff has recorded 14 games with double figure strikeout totals this season.

Of the 23 new players on the roster this season, 20 have already made their Tulane debuts following the first 45 games of the season. The only newbies that have not appeared in a game this season are OF Cole Berge, OF/3B Matthew Major, and RHP Owen Geiss.

Individual Conference Leaders
Tanner Chun is third in the American Conference in walks (36) and hit by pitches (14).

Jason Wachs leads in doubles (19) and is third in on-base percentage (.478). He is sixth in walks (33) and sacrifice flies (4) plus seventh in batting average (.350) and slugging percentage (.594).

Jack Frankel leads in complete games with one.

Sam Larson leads in appearances (24) and is tied for sixth in saves (4).

Tom Vincent is eighth in saves (3).

Jude Abbadessa is third in appearances (22).

J.D. Rodriguez is sixth in wins (5) and 11th in ERA (3.78).

James Agabedis is second in sacrifice bunts (7).

Trent Liolios is fifth in sacrifice bunts (6)

Tye Wood is fifth in stolen bases (18), and tied for sixth in sacrifice flies (4)

Trey Cehajic is tied for the lead in games started (11)

Conference-Only Standouts
In conference-only play, Jason Wachs is hitting .382 with 21 runs, 26 hits, 10 doubles, a triple, five home runs, 14 RBIs, 53 total bases, a slugging percentage of .779, and an on-base percentage of .482.

Trent Liolios is hitting .326 with 14 runs, 20 hits, seven doubles, 14 RBIs, 12 walks, and a slugging percentage of .492.

Matthias Haas is hitting .339 with 11 runs, 19 hits, five doubles, and 11 RBIs

Tye Wood sports a .286 batting average with 16 runs, 20 hits, five doubles, 13 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases.

J.D. Rodriguez is 2-0 with 4.07 ERA in his 24.1 innings.

Tom Vincent is 1-0 with 0.00 ERA with a save and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings worked.

Blaise Wilcenski is 2-1 with 2.45 ERA in six games out of the bullpen and 18.1 innings.

Jack Brafa has thrown in seven games with eight strikeouts and a save in 8.0 innings pitched.

Notables from UTSA Series - 4/24-26
After dropping the first two games of the series to the Roadrunners, Tulane rallied to defeat UTSA by a 12-7 score in the third contest.

The six runs allowed in the first inning of the second game (4/25) dropped Tulane to 3-17 when the opposition scores in the opening frame and 6-17 when the opponent scores first.

Evan Burg's start in center field in games one and two of the series (4/24-25) was the second and third starts of his career and only the third time in 44 games that the team did not start Tanner Chun in center.

Tulane's pitching staff struck out 10 batters in the middle game of the series (4/25) for the program's 14th game in double figure strikeouts this season.

The program fell to 14-9 when drawing 5+ walks in a game this year after drawing five walks in the middle game of the series and 8-2 loss against the Roadrunner (4/25).

Jason Wachs has now reached base safely in 10 straight games and in 44 of the team's 45 games this season after reaching base in all three games of the series.

The centerfield start for Wachs in the third game (4/26) was his first of the season and the seventh time he has started in the middle outfield spot.

The multi-hit game on Sunday (4/26) was the 17th of the season for Wachs.

Tulane improved the squad's record to 16-7 when scoring in the first inning and 16-6 when scoring first overall with five runs in the opening inning of the series finale (4/26).

The team is also now 10-0 when scoring 10+ runs in a game after the 12-7 victory on Sunday (4/26).

Tulane is 5-2 this season when hitting 2+ home runs after two-run home runs from Wachs, Kaikea Harrison, and Hugh Pinkney.

The Green Wave are 7-10 all-time against UTSA including a mark of 4-8 at home in New Orleans.

Green Wave Chosen For Fourth and Has Two Named Preseason All-Conference
In a vote of the league's coaches, Tulane was picked for fourth and had two players selected as American Preseason All-Conference. The Green Wave were chosen for fourth overall with 57 points. The team also saw outfielder Jason Wachs and designated hitter Matthias Haas chosen as Preseason American All-Conference.

The 2026 Schedule
The Green Wave hosts 27 games at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium, along with one neutral-site game in Mississippi and 28 road contests in 2026. Tulane will compete across seven states, including matchups in California, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Kansas, Florida, and North Carolina. Notable opponents include seven teams that participated in the 2025 NCAA Tournament: Southern Miss (2 games), UTSA (3), Creighton (3), East Carolina (3), TCU (3), Mississippi State (1), UCLA (1), and LSU (1).

The 2026 Schedule - Part Two
Tulane is playing games against five teams this season that are ranked in the USA Today's Preseason Coaches' Poll in No. 1 LSU, No. 2 UCLA, No. 6 Mississippi State, No. 10 TCU, and No. 20 Southern Miss.

Uncommon Road Start
Tulane's start on the road this season is the first for the program since 2023 and only the 11th time since 1979 the program has not started the season with games in New Orleans (1979, 1980, 1982, 1993, 2002, 2006, 2013, 2015, 2023, and 2026)

A Brotherly Connection
Tulane has a pair of brothers on the 2026 roster in sophomore infielder Nate Johnson and graduate student infielder Jake Johnson. The two are Tulane's first set of brothers on a team since 2017 when twins Paul Gozzo, a catcher, and Sal Gozzo, an infielder, were playing for the Green Wave. The 2016 team also had brothers on the squad in Ross Massey, a left-handed pitcher, and Alex Massey, a right-handed pitcher.

Who is Back?
The Green Wave return 14 players from the 2025 squad that a made a run to the 2025 American Championship Game for the third straight season this season in James Agabedis (infielder), Kaikea Harrison (infielder), Matthias Haas (infielder/outfielder), Tanner Chun (outfielder), Julius Ejike-Charles (left-handed pitcher/outfielder), Jason Wachs (outfielder), Hugh Pinkney (catcher), J.D. Rodriguez (right-handed pitcher), Nate Johnson (infielder), Will Clements (right-handed pitcher), Michael Devenney (right-handed pitcher), Jacob Moore (right-handed pitcher), Blaise Wilcenski (right handed pitcher), and Trey Cehajic (right-handed pitcher)

Inside the Numbers of the Returners
The team's 14 returning players accounted for 52.7 percent of the runs (204/387), 53 percent of the hits (287/541), 55 percent of the doubles (72/131), 58 percent of the triples (7/12), 45 percent of the home runs (23/51), 49 percent of the RBIs (178/360), 52 percent of the total bases (442/849) and 55 percent of the walks (159/287). On the mound, the club returns 48.4 percent of the wins (16/33), 53 percent of the game started (31/58), 43 percent of the innings (212/532) and 34 percent of the strikeouts (308/547).

Newcomers
Tulane added 23 new players to the roster this year. The list includes seven graduate students (Tye Wood, Brett Rowell, Trent Liolios, Jack Johnson, Jake Toporek, Tom Vincent and Aidan Rath), a senior (Nolan Nawrocki), seven juniors (Jude Abbadessa, Sam Larson, Caden Tarango, Jack Brafa, Beau Sampson, Owen Geiss, and Max Maxinter), four sophomores (AJ Groeneveld, Jack Frankel, Johnny Elliott, and LuisPablo Navarro) and four true freshmen (Bryson Ayala, Cole Berge, Evan Burg and Matthew Major).

The 2025 Season Quick Hitters
Tulane went 33-25 last season and had five American All-Conference selections on the year in Michael Lombardi (P – 1st), Connor Rasmussen (2B – 1st), Gavin Schulz (DH – 2nd), Jason Wachs (All-Freshman) and Tanner Chun (All-Freshman). The five selections are tied with the 2024 team for the most for the program since 2016 (seven).
The team also had three chosen for the league's All-Tournament Team in Schulz, Tayler Montiel and Theo Bryant IV plus a pair on the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) All-State Team in Lombardi and Rasmussen.

Additionally, the program had three players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft in Lombardi (Kansas City Royals – 2nd round), Montiel (Arizona Diamondbacks – 12th round), and Rasmussen (Kansas City Royals – 15th round).

2025 Fun Stat Facts
Jason Wachs was ninth in the conference in batting average (.335) and on-base percentage (.457). Wachs and Tanner Chun were tied for 10th in the league in triples (2). Matthias Haas ranked second in the conference in doubles (21) and 26th in batting average (.303). Kaikea Harrison was tied for the conference lead in sacrifice bunts (8) and 38th in batting average (.283). Trey Cehajic and Blaise Wilcenski were tied for 10th in the league in wins (5).

Up Next
Next, Tulane gets back on the road and travels to take on Charlotte (20-23, 5-13 American) from May 1-3 in Charlotte, North Carolina at Hayes Stadium. Games times are at 5 p.m. (CT), 3 p.m. (CT), and 12 p.m. (CT)

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