It was all about pitching this past week as the Green Wave strung together a streak of four
four consecutive shutouts in beating cross-town rival UNO 2-0 in a midweek game and then
dominated weekend foe Siena by scores of 6-0, 2-0, and 19-0.
The Siena series was the last non-conference weekend series befre the Green Wave opens
Conference USA action next weekend.
The pitching highlights of the week start with the six innings of four-hit, shutout ball against UNO by Matt Goebel, who improved his record to 3-0. Goebel started the game inauspiciously by walking UNO leadoff hitter Brandon Bowser to open the game and giving up a single to third baseman T.J. Baxter in the next at-bat. Aided by a 4-6-3 double play, Goebel retired the final two hitters of the inning, and from that point allowed only 3 hits through the next five innings.
Preston Claiborne took the middle relief role and allowed one hit, striking out three. Daniel
Latham threw a three-up, three-down ninth and got his fifth save.
The high point of the Green Wave pitching staff came in the first game against Siena, starter
Sean Morgan dominated the Saints striking out 14 and setting down 18 batters in a row and
allowing only one hit and walked three in eight innings of work.
In the second game of the Siena series, Shooter Hunt started and threw seven innings, allowing
three hits and walking two while striking out four.
Brandon Gomes threw the Sunday game and scattered six hits and two walks. Gomes struck out seven.
The bullpen was strong with Daniel Latham getting his fifth and sixth saves of the year.
Freshman Preston Claiborne continued his development, making two appearances and allowing
three hits. Claiborne struck out four and walked one.
Taylor Rogers, the second of the Green Wave's freshman rightys, also made two appearances,
allowing two hits and striking out one in two innings of work.
The two freshman leftys, Aaron Loup and Drew Zizinia, made one appearance each, each
working one inning. Loup struck out two and allowed no runners. Zizinia allowed one hit in
his inning of work.
Leaving the 19-0 third game of the Siena series out of the equation, Tulane's offense produced
10 runs in winning the other three games. Against the Saints the pitching was there, but can the pitching always be there to this degree against superior opponents? One can only hope that offensive production improves so that the pitching staff isn't looking at a consistent run support level of about three runs per game against the tougher opponents coming up as the Green Wave swings into C-USA action.
In the first three games, the Green Wave was led by Aja Barto, who was 4-of-8 with 3 walks
and a RBI; Anthony Scelfo, who was 5-of-10 with 3 RBI; and Tim Guidry, who went 4-of-11
with a walk.
The rest of the starters in those games combined to go 9-of-58 which cyphers to a .155 batting
average. That group - Dyer, Wallace, Emaus, McFadden, Everett, Simon, and Henry also
accounted for five RBI.
This week, Tulane has UNO in a midweek game Tuesday at Maestri Field on the Privateers
lakefront campus. First pitch at 6:30 p.m. Next weekend the Green Wave travel to Huntington,
W. Va. to face the Thundering Herd of Marshall in the opening series of conference play.