The Tulane baseball team continues to struggle, dropping four of their last five games en route to a profoundly disappointing 2-10 record. 

Their first two losses of the span came on Feb. 28 and March 1 against the South Alabama Jaguars and the New Orleans Privateers, respectively.

Against the Jaguars, Tulane surrendered four runs in the first three innings, a deficit they were unable to surmount for the remainder of the game. Green Wave pitchers struggled to keep the ball in the stadium, allowing three long balls in the contest which accounted for 7 of the Jaguars’ 11 runs.

On offense, nine different Tulane players recorded a hit and each of the first five hitters got an RBI. Nonetheless, the game ended as an 11-7 Jaguars victory, marking the Green Wave’s seventh loss of the season.

The first leg of the Pelican Cup against New Orleans was a close game, with no team holding a lead greater than 2 runs at any point. The Privateers drew the first blood of the game in the top of the third inning when shortstop and leadoff hitter Kasten Furr drove in catcher Jorge Tejeda on a double to left field. Tulane immediately responded with their first batter of the bottom half of the inning, when third baseman Simon Baumgardt hit a solo home run to tie the contest at 1. 

The Green Wave then took advantage of a series of Privateers gaffes. First, Michael Lombardi was plunked by a pitch, allowing him to advance to first base. Following a wild pitch and an errant throw by the Privateers pitcher fielding a bunt, Lombardi was on third and Jared Hart was on second. Then, another wild pitch scored Lombardi and moved Hart to third. Finally, a single by leadoff hitter Brady Hebert drove in Hart, giving the Wave a 3-1 lead. 

Making his presence known, Privateers third baseman Jeissy De la Cruz quickly tied the game at 3 with a 2-run home run. New Orleans added two more runs over the next three innings, taking a 5-3 lead entering the bottom of the eighth inning.

After designated hitter Brennan Lambert got on base with a one-out single, Jackson Linn tied the game with one swift swing of the bat, taking pitcher Daniel Nolan deep for a two-run homer to tie the game at 5.

In the top of the ninth, Tulane pitchers Teo Banks and Chandler Welch were unable to keep the Privateers off the scoreboard, and the Green Wave was unable to score in the bottom of the inning, ending with a 6-5 Privateers win.

Tulane then traveled west to Los Angeles, where they faced UCLA, USC and Sacramento State in one game matchups. 

Against the 12th ranked team in the country, the UCLA Bruins took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Tulane was able to tie the game at 2 runs after scoring in the third and fourth innings.

From there, UCLA dominated the game. Between the fifth and eighth inning, the Bruins’ unrelenting offensive attack put up 8 runs, while their pinpoint pitching held Tulane scoreless. Tulane was able to score a rather unimpactful run in the top of the ninth, finishing as a 10-3 victory for the hosts.

Though similar in the sense that it was a high scoring affair, the Tulane baseball team was unlike the football team in that it was unable to pull off a Cotton Bowl-esque upset over USC. Despite recording four of the game’s five home runs, the Green Wave proved incapable of keeping the Trojans off the basepaths, as they recorded both 13 hits and runs in the game. 

Over half of these runs — 7, to be exact — came in the top of the third inning, which saw the Trojans score their lone home run along with two triples.

Tulane’s lone win of the five game span came in dominant fashion against the Sacramento State Hornets, concluding with a final score of 14-6 in favor of the Green Wave.

Tulane got out to an early lead, accruing 4 runs over the first two-and-a-half innings while not allowing any runs. In the bottom of the third and fourth innings, the Hornets offense was awakened, scoring 5 runs, tying the game at 5 entering the fifth inning.

From that point onward, the Hornets felt the tireless wrath of the Green Wave. The remaining five innings of the game saw Tulane score nine runs across 10 hits, while Green Wave pitchers carved through the Hornets lineup, allowing just four hits, one run and seven strikeouts. 

Notable performances at the plate were Gavin Schulz and Baumgardt who notched four and three RBI’s apiece. On the mound, relief pitcher Welch was largely untouched by Hornets hitters, allowing just 1 run while striking out four across two innings of work.

Tulane baseball looks to turn their woes around in the upcoming eight game homestand and return to their 2022 winning form.