Tulane Homers Sink Utes, 9-0

Green Wave post third consecutive shutout for the first time since 1984 to improve to 8-1. Next: LSU at Zephyr Stadium Tueday.

The Green Wave bats hammered four home runs and four pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts as the Tulane University baseball team completed the weekend sweep of the University of Utah with a 9-0 shuout Sunday afternoon at Turchin Stadium.

The victory saw the Green Wave win their third straight game without giving up a run for the first time since the 1984 season, and marked the first time in the history of the program that Tulane swept all three games of a weekend series via shutout. The home team also ran its winning streak to six in a row as Tulane improves to 8-1 on the year. Utah, meanwhile, falls to 1-8.

After stranding a pair of runners in the first inning, Tulane got on the board in the second when freshman designated hitter Mark Hamilton drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a single by senior catcher Brian Bormaster, and scored on an RBI-single off the bat of junior first baseman Greg Dini.

One stanza later, sophomore outfielder Brian Bogusevic hammered a two-run homer to right central to give Tulane a 3-0 lead, and Dini followed in the fourth with a solo shot to push the Green Wave advantage to four.

Utah kept Tulane off the board in the fifth and sixth innings, but that would change in the seventh when junior third baseman Joe Holland singled and junior outfielder Wes Swackhamer clubbed a two-run shot to straight-away center in the following at-bat to make it 6-0. Then, in the eight, the Green Wave took advantage of a two-out error to plate a trio of runs as junior shortstop Tommy Manzella ripped a double to the gap in left center to score rookie second baseman Philip Stringer, and Holland followed with the first home run of his Tulane career to close out the scoring.

While the bats were going deep, the pitching staff was stellar once again. Starter Cory Hahn (2-0) struck out five and walked none while scattering four hits in 6.0 shutout innings. From there, sophomores Matt Goebel and Tyler Kimmons, along with senior Joey Charron, came out of the bullpen for an inning of relief, and the trio tallied two strikeouts apiece and combined allowed just two singles to preserve the shutout.

The Green Wave returns to action on Tuesday, March 2 when they play host to arch-rival LSU at Zephyr Field. First pitch of that ballgame is scheduled for 7 p.m. Bogusevic will take the mound for Tulane, and will be matched up with fellow southpaw Clay Dirks in the first of three meetings between the arch rivals during the 2004 season.

For ticket information to the LSU game as well as future Green Wave events, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE. Following Tuesday’s showdown at the Shrine on Airline, the two teams meet again on April 6 in Baton Rouge before closing out the series on April 27 in the Louisiana Superdome.

--www.tulanegreenwave.com--