May 15, 2003

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Sophomore left fielder Wes Swackhamer and junior first baseman Michael Aubrey both hit home runs, but the Green Wave defense committed a season-high six errors as the Tulane University baseball team dropped an 8-7 decision to Conference USA foe East Carolina Thursday night at Turchin Stadium.

The Green Wave, which came into the series against the Pirates ranked fourth in the nation in defense, failed to turn a pair of inning ending double plays, including one with one out in the ninth that could have sealed the win. Tulane led 7-6 going into the final frame, but a pair of defensive miscues in the stanza - including the potential double-play ball - led to a pair of Pirate runs that proved to be the difference in the ballgame.

With the loss, Tulane falls to 38-16 on the year and 18-10 in C-USA play while the Green Wave saw their 25-game home winning streak come to an end. East Carolina, meanwhile, improves to 31-21-1 overall and jumps to fourth in the conference standings at 17-11.

East Carolina jumped ahead of Tulane with single runs in the second and third innings, but Swackhamer put the Green Wave ahead in the bottom of the third with a two-out three-run blast over the wall in right to give the home team a 4-2 advantage.

Following a scoreless fourth, the Pirates tied the score in the fifth on an RBI-single by third baseman Mark Minicozzi, and took the lead in the sixth with a pair of runs courtesy of a two-out, two-RBI double off the bat of catcher Jake Smith who went 3-for-5 in the contest.

ECU padded its lead in the top of the seventh without the benefit of a base hit as second baseman Kevin O'Sullivan drew a leadoff walk, advanced the bases on a balk and a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a sacrifice fly by leadoff hitter Jamie Paige. Tulane would answer in the home half of the frame, however, as senior centerfielder Jonny Kaplan hit a one-out single, junior shortstop Tony Giarratano reached on an error and Aubrey belted his 15 homer of the year to tie the score. Swackhamer drew a walk one batter later, and following a flyout by designated hitter Brian Bogusevic, Swackhamer stole second and scored on an RBI-single up the middle by senior right fielder Aaron Feldman to give Tulane a 7-6 lead.

East Carolina put the tying run in scoring position in the eight when Ryan Norwood singled to open the inning, and pinch runner Brian Cavanaugh advanced to second on a balk, but junior reliever Joey Charron retired the next two Pirate hitters to get out of the inning unscathed.

The Pirates refused to go away in the ninth as Minicozzi lifted a leadoff triple into center field and O'Sullivan drew a walk to put runners on the corners with nobody out, and following a flyout to center, Kaplan's throw to the plate sailed over the head of catcher Brian Bormaster that allowed O'Sullivan to move to second base. The miscue forced the Green Wave to intentionally walk Paige to load the bases, and Charron induced a potential double-play ball off the bat of Jones, but sophomore Tommy Manzella could not glove the ball at second base and two runs scored on the play to provide the winning runs.

Tulane mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth as Swackhamer and Bogusevic hit back-to-back one-out singles, but Pirate closer Greg Bunn got Feldman to ground into the Green Wave's third double play of the day to end the game and earn his ninth save of the year.

ECU reliever Chris Sears earned the win after holding Tulane scoreless in 0.2 innings of work, allowing just one hit to improve to 5-4 on the year. Charron, meanwhile, was saddled with the hard-luck loss to fall to 3-6.

Tulane and East Carolina continue the three-game series on Friday, May 16 at 6:30 p.m. and close out the regular season on Saturday with first pitch slated for 2 p.m.