Tulane takes series from Memphis, setting their sights on last regular season home series

(Tulane Athletics photo)

By Andrew Riedell

The Tulane Green Wave hit the road this past weekend for their last road series of the regular season, finishing up at home vs Charlotte this weekend. Tulane is still fighting for seeding in the AAC conference, as after this weekend they can go as high as the two seed and as low as the six seed. But, they have take care of business for that to work out. Here is how the series went in Memphis for the Green Wave.

Friday: Tulane 3 Memphis 2

Luc Fladda got the start for the Tulane Green Wave and besides a home run given up in the first and a sac fly, he bounced back nicely after last week's outing vs FAU. Fladda went six innings, giving up only the two runs and striking out five. Tulane trailed for most of this game but did score in the top of the 1st when Connor Rasmussen found a hole for an RBI single that brought home Gavin Schulz.

It wasn't until the 7th inning that Tulane would score again, and it was thanks to Kaikea Harrison singling up the middle to bring home Theo Bryant IV that tied the game. Gavin Schulz followed that with an RBI single to again give Tulane the lead. The Tulane bullpen was phenomenal on Friday, Will Clements, Tayler Montiel, and Michael Lombardi going three scoreless innings, with nine up and nine down to close this one out.

Saturday: Tulane 3 Memphis 0

Trey Cehajic has been very up and down this conference season and finally got through the 5th inning, holding the Memphis batters to no runs and striking out seven. He looked solid and set it up for the Tulane bullpen to hold things down for a series win. Tulane struck first and did not look back, Bryant IV launching his fifth home run of the season to give Tulane the early lead.

Tulane scored two more in the 9th, thanks to Jason Wachs placing a beautiful bunt and Connor Rasmussen working a walk to bring home a run. The Tulane bullpen was solid again, Carter Benbrook, Tayler Montiel, and Michael Lombardi closing the game with four scoreless innings that put the series in the win column.

Sunday: Memphis 15 Tulane 6

It was all Memphis on Sunday, so much that I am reluctant to talk about it, but I will. Blaise Wilcenski and Will Clements struggled for Tulane. Head Coach Jay Uhlman has lamented before it is tough to use them when they are inconsistent, and that was the case again. Grayson Smith was solid again, and I felt he could have been used them a little longer. J.D. Rodriguez and Jacob Moore struggled again to be what they have shown they can be. There were some positives, though, for Tulane, and that was their offense. The top of the lineup stayed hot with Wachs, Rasmussen, Schulz, and Haas getting hits.

Riedell's Report:

I have been harping on it all year for Tulane that their pitching staff has not been consistent enough, and it continued this weekend. Yes, they took two out of three from Memphis, but you want to sweep teams near the bottom of the conference standings.

I am not worried about the offense, since they have swung it well all season and have found newfound stars in Jason Wachs and Tanner Chun to compliment Matthias Haas, Gavin Schulz, and Connor Rasmussen. But it will all come down to the pitching, and right now, the results leave me with trust in only a handful of guys.

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