Feb. 15, 2004

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University baseball season opener was delayed twice, the field was soggy, and the weather outside was cold and windy, but for the team and its fans, it was well worth the wait and worth braving the elements as the Green Wave swept a doubleheader from Texas-Arlington, 10-3 and 6-1, Sunday afternoon at Turchin Stadium.

Tulane pounded out 21 hits, including eight for extra bases, and the pitching staff limited the Mavericks to just 13 singles and a double in the twin killing. Sophomore right fielder Brian Bogusevic went 4-for-6 with a double, a triple and three RBI, and freshman designated hitter Mark Hamilton added three doubles and six RBI in the two games as the Green Wave open the year 2-0. UT-Arlington, which was also playing its first games of the 2004 season, falls to 0-2.

"I think Arlington has a very good club, but neither one of us was really able to get on the field much during the past week," head coach Rick Jones said. "We thought there would be a few rough spots, but I thought all-in-all we played very well for the first day.

"The wind was blowing in and it held the ball up today, but the pitchers did a good job of throwing strikes and letting the defense work for them. But that's what happens sometimes. The field itself was so soft, and you had to worry about your footing out there. Those are the kind of things you have to adjust to, and we were able to do that today."

The Green Wave got off to a rocky start in game one as the Mavericks scored two runs on four hits in the first two innings, but the rest of the day belonged to the home team as Tulane outscored Texas-Arlington 16-1 over the final 16 stanzas.

Tulane starter Billy Mohl (1-0) settled down after the first two frames, and the bats began to wake up as the Green Wave plated four runs in the third and fourth innings to take control of the contest, and added a pair in the sixth put the game out of reach.

Junior shortstop Tommy Manzella got things started for the Wave in the third with a leadoff single and sophomore centerfielder Nathan Southard followed with a walk. UTA starter Jake Baxter (0-1) retired the next two Tulane hitters, but Hamilton came through with a two-RBI double to left to tie the game at 2-all. Junior first baseman Wes Swackhamer followed with a walk and Bogusevic made the free pass count with a two-run double of his own to give Tulane a 4-2 advantage.

A three-run double by Hamilton made it 7-2 one inning later, and Bogusevic drove in another run later in the frame to push the lead to six. Following a scoreless fifth, Swackhamer laced an RBI-double to right to score junior third baseman Joe Holland from second, and junior left fielder closed out the Tulane scoring one at-bat later with a single to left to plate Swackhamer.

UT-Arlington scratched across a run in the eighth when shortstop Josh McSpadden scored left fielder Hunter Pierce with an RBI-single, but the lead was too big to overcome and the Green Wave cruised to a season-opening victory.

In game two, it was Tulane that jumped out to the early lead as freshman second baseman Philip Stringer walked and Holland singled to lead off the bottom of the first before Swackhamer hit an RBI-single through the right side of the infield, Barket hit an RBI groundout and Bogusevic followed with a run-scoring base hit to right to give the Green Wave a 3-0 advantage they would never relinquish.

The Mavericks answered with a single run in the second on an RBI-fielder's choice off the bat of second baseman Casey Avants, but following four scoreless innings, the Green Wave plated three more runs in the seventh to account for the final score.

Southard started things off in the seventh with a single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Stringer, and Holland followed with a walk before Hamilton hit his third double of the day to make it 4-1. Swackhamer's single one hitter later loaded the bases, and Barket and Bogusevic followed with an RBI single and a run-scoring groundout, respectively.

Sophomore southpaw J.R. Crowel (1-0) got the win for the Green Wave after giving up just one run on four hits in a 5.0-inning start, and Tulane got three shutout innings from freshman right-hander Daniel Latham. In the ninth, Jones called on senior lefty Joey Charron, who gave up a single to open the frame, but the crafty lefty responded with a pickoff, a strikeout and a lazy ground ball to close out the game.

UTA starter Grant Varnell (0-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up three earned runs on five hits while striking out two and allowing three walks in 5.0 innings of work.

The Green Wave returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 17 when they travel across town to take on intra-city foe UNO in the opening game of the Popeyes Cup at Maestri Field. First pitch of that game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Tulane's next home game is on Friday, Feb. 20 when they open a three-game series against Maryland-Baltimore County at 6:30 p.m. at Turchin Stadium. For ticket information, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.