Pre-Game Talk Spurs TU Offense in 12-7 Thumping of UTSA
After some lackluster offensive performances by the Tulane offense against the top team in the American Conference over the last two nights, Wave position players were pulled aside for a bit of a wake up call by their Associate Head Coach Anthony Izzio.
It worked.
The Green Wave offense, which had scattered some hits and very few runs over the previous 18-innings against UTSA, found its bearing, exploding for five runs in the bottom of the first, then piling on another seven over the middle and later innings to take a 12 - 7 win over UTSA. The victory prevented the Wave from being swept by the Roadrunners.
"He was telling me a little bit about some things," head coach Jay Uhlman said about his associate head coach Izzio, "and I said, 'Go get 'em. Have at 'em.' They (the team and Izzio) game out about 20-minutes before the first pitch after batting practice.
"Sometimes the head coach knows less than the assistants," Uhlman continued, "and I felt that it was really important that he (Izzio) got that off his chest and let those guys know about pretty much what I've been telling them the whole year. I'm really proud of that. He's a really good coach, and I think he's going to be a good head coach one day. I thought it was really important that he have that moment."
After Sunday starter J.D. Rodriguez set down the Roadrunners in order, and 25-minutes post-Izzio's reality check, the Tulane bats roared to life.
Left fielder Tye Wood started the bottom of the 1st with a single, then 3rd bagger James Agabedis III, who had moved into the #2 slot in the lineup since his recent surge at the plate, scorched a triple to the right center field wall. Center fielder Jason Wachs sacrificed Agabedis home four run #2. After a ground out, Matthias Hass slashed a single, then catcher Hugh Pinkney crushed a home run over the right field fence to give the Green Wave a 4-zip lead. Designated hitter Brett Rowell was hit by pitch. Nate Johnson launched a double to the gap in right center, scoring Rowell and finishing up a five-run 1st.
"Some air might have gotten cleared," Uhlman told us after the game, "some accountability, interpersonally among the eighteen of them (position layers) may have happened. Nowadays, I think it's difficult for guys these days to have those frank and honest discussions. I'm very appreciative of that and proud of how we came out today."
UTSA is at the top of the conference for a reason. The Roadrunners answered with a single run in the top of the second, then took a two-run lead with a six-run top of the 5th. But the Tulane bats worked their magic again, scoring two runs in the 5th to tie the game, two more in the 6th, and three more 7th to put the game away.
"We see that it's in there," Uhlman pointed out about the offensive potential lying dormant. "I've said that (the team had the potential), poking and prodding. That (scoring those seven runs in the middle innings) was a big response."
Mound starter Rodriguez made it through 4.1-innings before being replaced by junior Jack Brafa who gave up two singles and a double. Reliever Jude Abbadessa stepped up, gave up a run scoring double and single, leading to his replacement by Tom Vincent, who pitched brilliantly. The graduate lefty didn't give up a hit over his 2-innings of work, gaining the victory. Sam Larson followed with 2.1-frames of hitless pitching to retire the Roadrunners and earn the save.
Jason Wachs, who started in center field then moved to right, his normal position, led the way offensively, going 2-for-4 with a homerun, a double and three RBI. Kaikea Harrison broke out of his slump in a big way, cranking a two-run homer in the 6th and sac fly in the 7th.
With the victory, Tulane improves to 22-23 on the year, 7-8 in conference play and in a four-way tie for 5th place in the American. With the loss, UTSA drops into a three-way tie for the top of the league with UAB and East Carolina, all standing at 12-6.
The Green Wave are back in Turchin Stadium Tuesday night the second half of a home-and-home series with nationally ranked Southern Miss. First pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
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Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.