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Crowel Tosses Complete-Game In 4-2 Win Over Houston
April 12, 2003 NEW ORLEANS, La. - J.R. Crowel picked a great time to toss the first complete game by a Green Wave pitcher in 2003 as the freshman southpaw from Boynton Beach, Fla., struck out six and scattered five singles to lead the Tulane University baseball team past Conference USA rival Houston 4-2 Saturday afternoon at Turchin Stadium. Crowel (6-0) got some help from his friends as the Green Wave bats pounded out 11 hits and the defense was almost flawless and turned an inning-ending double play in the seventh to clinch the victory. With the win, Tulane improves to 25-11 on the year and 8-6 in C-USA action. Houston, meanwhile, falls to 18-17 overall and 9-5 league play. Junior shortstop Tony Giarratano, junior first baseman Michael Aubrey and sophomore second baseman Tommy Manzella each had two hits in the contest, but none was bigger than senior left fielder Aaron Feldman's RBI single in the eighth to give Tulane a two-run lead and that virtually iced the game for the Green Wave. Tulane drew first blood in the third when Manzella led off the frame with a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore designated hitter Gerald Clark, and scored two batters later on an RBI-base hit by Giarratano to take a 1-0 lead. Senior centerfielder Jonny Kaplan pushed the lead to 2-0 in the next inning with a leadoff homer, but the Cougars roared back in the fifth with a leadoff single by centerfielder Michael Bourn before designated hitter Hyung Cho belted a two-run bomb over the left field wall to tie the score.
The Green Wave had an opportunity to retake the lead in the sixth when junior third baseman Turner Brumby and Aubrey singled to open the frame, and Tulane had runners on the corners with only one out after Kaplan hit into a fielder's choice.
Houston starter Danny Zell, however, struck out Feldman, and with freshman right fielder Nathan Southard at the plate, the Green Wave set up a potential double steal as Kaplan took off for third base. Houston catcher Nick Bott did not try and get Kaplan, throwing short to second baseman Greg Buchanon, and Buchanon caught Brumby leaning too far away from third to quell the Tulane rally. Tulane did not let a scoring opportunity slip through its fingers one inning later, though, as Manzella hit a single to open the frame, went all the way to third on base hit by Clark, and scored one batter later when junior catcher Brian Bormaster hit a sacrifice fly to center to give the Green Wave a 3-2 advantage. The home team added an insurance run in the eighth when Aubrey hit a leadoff single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kaplan and scored on Feldman's single to right central to account for the final score. Crowel got off to a rocky start, walking a pair of runners in the first inning, and pitched himself into a corner on a few occasions as Houston had a pair of runners on in the first, third and fourth innings. But the rookie bounced back each time to get out of the jams with a two-out ground ball in the first, a pair of strikeouts in the third, and a fly ball and groundout in the fifth to escape each jam unscathed. Zell (7-3), who went the distance for the Cougars, did not fare as well and was tagged with the loss after giving up four earned runs on 11 hits while striking out six and walking none in eight innings. Tulane and Houston close out the weekend on Sunday with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. Following the series with the Cougars, the Green Wave travel to Baton Rouge where the boys in Olive and Blue will battle arch-rival LSU on Tuesday, April 15 before returning to Turchin Stadium next weekend for a three-game slate against C-USA foe UAB. |
 
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