NEW ORLEANS, La. - Taking advantage of ten walks by Tiger pitchers and two errors, Tulane University (10-6) edged the Tigers (1-14) by a 10-7 margin, earning a sweep of its four-game series with Towson at Greer Field.
Despite outhitting Tulane by a 12-9 margin, the Tigers dropped their fourth game in a row to the Green Wave.
Playing their 15th consecutive road game to open the season, the Tigers lost their 13th game in a row. The Tigers will host Mount St. Mary's in their home opener on Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. at John B. Schuerholz Park.
Senior first baseman Steve Yarsinsky, senior rightfielder Kevin Collins and freshman designated hitter Mike Schmidt led the Tigers' 12-hit attack with three hits each. Yarsinsky, who batted .500 in the series at Tulane, was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs batted in. Collins was also 3-for-5 while Schmidt went 3-for-4, including a pair of doubles.
Tulane took advantage of an infield error to score four unearned runs off sophomore righthander Tyler Austin in the first inning. After Austin struck out the first two hitters of the game, catcher Brandon Crohan drew a walk. Third baseman Rob Segedin extended the inning when he reached base on an error by junior second baseman Chris Wychock. A walk to Brandon Boudreaux loaded the bases. When Austin walked Garrett Cannizaro on 3-2 pitch, Crohan scored the go-ahead run. When Brennan Middleton singled to centerfield, two runs scored to give the Green Wave a 3-0 lead. Moments later, Middleton and Cannizaro pulled off a double steal as Cannizaro scored to give Tulane a 4-0 lead. Austin pitched out of the inning when he struck out Brian Barry.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Green Wave added to its lead by scoring two more runs. Nick Boullosa led off the inning with a triple to rightfield. When Matt Ryan doubled to left, Boullosa scored to give Tulane a 5-0 advantage. Crohan's RBI single to centerfield scored Ryan to give the Green Wave a 6-0 lead. Austin then retired the next three hitters in a row.
In the bottom of the fourth, Tulane scored two more runs with two outs and knocked Austin out of the game. Segedin's double to left center field started the rally. An RBI double by Boudreaux to left center scored Segedin to make it a 7-0 lead. Cannizaro drove home Boudreaux with a single to center, upping the lead to 8-0. Sophomore righthander Sean Bertrand came out of the bullpen to relieve Austin and retired Middleton on a fly ball to the outfield.
Robby Broach shut out the Tigers through five innings before Towson staged a two-out rally in the sixth inning. With two outs, Collins singled up the middle. After Collins stole second base, Yarsinsky doubled to leftfield, cutting the deficit to 8-1. However, Broach retired junior third baseman Austin Harclerode on a fly ball, ending the inning.
In the seventh inning, the Tigers added another run when Wychock singled with one out. Schmidt drove in Wychock with an RBI double to right centerfield, making it an 8-2 contest.
The Green Wave added another unearned run in the bottom of the seventh inning to up its lead to 9-2. With one out, Quinn Pippin drew a walk. Pippin advanced to third base when Bertrand made a throwing error on a ground ball by Karl Mundt. Barry's infield single drove in Pippin before Bertrand got Ryan to line into an inning-ending double play.
Trailing by 9-2 in the eighth inning, the Tigers staged a rally to try and get back into the game. Sophomore Ben Winter led off the inning with a single before back-to-back singles by Collins and Yarsinsky loaded the bases with no outs.
Ryan Doiron was called upon to pitch and he was greeted by Harclerode, who blasted a grand slam home run over the right field fence, cutting the lead to 9-6. After Doiron retired the next two hitters, Schmidt doubled to right center. However, Kurt Wertz grounded out to end the inning,
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Green Wave added another run without a base hit. Junior Tyler Bugna opened the inning by walking Crohan. Freshman righthander Mike Bronakoski came in to pitch and he walked Segedin. After retiring Boudreaux on a fly ball, he walked Cannizaro to load the bases. Sophomore lefthander Andrew Newfield relieved Bronakoski and retired Pippin on a sacrifice fly as Crohan scored to make it a 10-6 lead. After catching the fly ball, Winter threw out Segedin trying to advance to third base, ending the inning.
Drew Ziznia came on to pitch the ninth inning for Tulane and the Tigers rallied for another run to make it a 10-7 game. With one out, Winter drew a walk. After Winter advanced to third base on a pair of wild pitches, Collins was retired on a fly ball to centerfield. Yarsinsky's second double of the game, a shot down the left field line, drove in Winter. However, Ziznia nailed down the win by striking out Harclerode.
