Tulane drops series to FAU Owls

Hugh Pinkney (photo credit Parker Waters)

By Andrew Riedell

It sucks when you have to write two recaps of both teams you cover losing. (LSU as well.)

Well, here we are, after Tulane drops two out of three from the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Owls in a series where if they only pitched better, they probably sweep instead. FAU (31-16) impressed me with how well they swung the bats, especially without their best hitter Jake Duer, out for the season with a torn ACL. What impressed me even more from FAU, though, was how they kept chipping away at the Tulane pitching staff. Let's breakdown the three game series that had some major implications on the American Conference standings this weekend.

Game 1: FAU 16 Tulane 12

This game was a LONG one that featured multiple delays and then unfortunately, it was suspended around midnight. But, what if I told you all 28 runs were scored before the game was suspended? That indeed was the case for this game, as Luc Fladda got the start for the Green Wave. But, it was not his night, as he lasted only 1 1/3 innings and gave up 9 hits for 8 runs. The last four came on a Nick Romano grand slam to make it 10-1 Owls, but that came after a nearly two and a half hour rain delay. Delay, mind you, not suspension.

Will Clements threw only one pitch and got one out, but Gavin Smith followed him after the rain delay and give up the Romano granny. FAU's starter Trey Beard did not return after the delay, so Tulane was able to scratch for two runs from James Agabedis and Gavin Schulz RBIs.

After FAU was held scoreless in the third inning, Tulane was able to bring home five runs with a Jason Wachs walk and Gavin Schulz hitting a grand slam of his own to make it 10-8. After a clean 4th inning from J.D. Rodriguez, it started to unravel for the Tulane pitching staff, however, as Garrett Payne and Rodriguez allowed six runs to score, suddenly making it a 16-8 game.

Tulane responded and struck for four runs in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a Kaikea Harrison single, Jason Wachs sac fly, Matthias Haas single, and a Tanner Chun walk. Michael Lombardi struck out to end the threat, but more notably, tweaked his oblique during the at-bat and was unavailable the rest of the weekend.

The game was then suspended and resumed Saturday, when Tulane relied on Grayson Smith, who came in after Payne on Friday night, to come back after and give the Tulane bullpen some length. And that is exactly what he did, logging 4 1/3 innings in relief while striking out four. FAU countered with Carter Holjes and MJ Bollinger out of their bullpen Saturday to close out the game and seal the victory.

Game 2: FAU 10 Tulane 8

There wasn't a lot of time for Tulane to hold their head down, with just an hour break before the start of the second game, and they struck first off FAU starter Tyler Murphy. Theo Bryant IV brought home a run, and Gavin Schulz drove in two more on a single in the bottom of the second.

FAU scrapped for one on a John Schroeder RBI single in the 3rd before Tulane added four more between the 3rd and 4th, thanks to RBIs from James Agabedis, Rasmussen, and Haas. In the 5th, Marshall Lipsey and Romano scrapped two more runs for the Owls off Trey Cehajic and Tayler Montiel to make it 8-3.

Cehajic went only 4 1/3 innings, surrendering six hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out only three, but he was solid for the Green Wave. Montiel came in and surrendered a home run in the 6th to Emilio Gonzalez, making it 8-5, but Tulane still led.

After a clean 7th inning, Montiel began showing signs of fatigue, getting the first two outs after surrendering a lead off single. He was one out away from taking the game to the 9th and possibly handing the ball to Jacob Moore to close it out.

Instead, it was FAU that took advantage of it, getting back to back singles to load the bases for John Schroeder. Schroeder then sent the 1-1 pitch from Montiel over the left field wall for a grand slam that made it 9-8 FAU. That outcome suggests Montiel was left in for too long, but for Tulane, when you have had inconsistent arms all over the place, I don't know to whom you turn otherwise.

FAU added one more run before turning to Friday night starter Trey Beard, who threw only 15 pitches the night before, to close the game. Beard dominated the 8th before Tulane made it interesting in the bottom of the 9th. Trey Beard ended up getting Chun to strike out on an elevated fastball, ending the game and securing the series win for the Owls.

Game 3: Tulane 6 FAU 4

With Michael Lombardi banged up, Tulane turned to Blaise Wilcenski, and it worked out for the Green Wave. Wilcenski went 4 1/3 innings, allowing only four hits and walking one, while issuing no walks and striking out four.

For Tulane, they got on the board early vs FAU starter James Litman, thanks to Agabedis lining an RBI double down the right field line and Bryant IV hitting his fourth home run of the year, a shot down the left field line that scored Agabedis and himself to make it 3-0 Tulane.

In the 4th, Tulane scored three more runs with RBIs from Rassmussen and Hugh Pinkney, making it 6-0. One thing I learned this weekend, though, is that these Owls are fighters. They would fought and scrapped four runs off Carter Benbrook to suddenly make it a 6-4 game.

Julius Ejike Charles started the 8th but did not record an out, leaving with runners on first and second. Tulane turned to Jacob Moore, who last year had six saves but this year has struggled a little. Moore ended up stranding the runners by getting two big strikeouts and a ground out to escape the jam. Moore then induced three lazy fly ball outs in the 9th to preserve the win for Tulane in the series finale.

My thoughts:

Tulane may actually win this series if their coaching staff has more confidence in their pitching staff to put up zeroes. But, the staff has struggled, and key bullpen staples from last year, Henry Shuffler for example, have either struggled or not gotten the opportunities to throw more in high leverage situations to see what could happen.

Tulane can swing the bat well, and when they get to the conference tournament, they could do some serious damage. But, they are going to have to rely on their pitchers to put up zeroes to give them a chance to win.

Tulane has UNO in a midweek that I suspect will get canceled due to potential storms in the forecast, and then you have Memphis on the road followed by Charlotte at home to close the regular season.

In my opinion, Tulane must go 4-2 in those series to be in a good spot. You probably want end up on the other side of the bracket, not near UTSA, to avoid their bats early in the tournament. UTSA clinched the #1 seed in the tournament, and now FAU sits in a tie for second. Tulane sits in a tie for fifth, but these next two weeks are going to shake up the entire tournament.

*****