April 20, 2007

Final Stats

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METAIRIE, La. - Cougars' starter Aaron Brown struck out seven in 7.0-shutout innings and got plenty of help from his offense as the Tulane University baseball team dropped the Conference USA series opener to Houston, 7-0, Friday afternoon at Zephyr Field.

Junior shortstop Cat Everett went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, but the difference in the ballgame was two-out hitting as six of the Cougars' seven runs originally reached base with two out and nobody on, and all seven runs scored with two away. With the loss, Tulane falls to 28-12 on the year and 8-5 in C-USA play. Houston, meanwhile, improves to 20-17 overall and 7-3 in league action.

"Houston just out-played us today, and that's disappointing," Tulane head coach Rick Jones said. "One game does not a program make, but we've got to be better in all phases. We didn't do a very good job of executing the short game early and we didn't pitch as well as we wanted to out of the bullpen late.

"But you have to give Houston a lot of credit. (Brown) did a good job of settling in and making some pitches, and they did a good job of executing their offense. It was a day where Houston really, really out-played us." The Cougars out-hit the Green Wave, 15-5, including a 3-for-4 showing by nine-hole hitter Zak Presley and two-hit performances by five other players. Left fielder Jimmy Cesario was one of the Cougar players with a multiple-hit day, including an RBI-double to cap a three-run sixth.

Tulane had chances to get on the board early on with a pair of walks with nobody out in the first and back-to-back singles by sophomore catcher Jared Dyer and Everett to open the third. On both occasions, however, the Green Wave failed to get a bunt down and the runners never advanced in the respective frames.

The Green Wave stranded nine runners on base, but the Cougar combination of Brown and reliever Chris Wright allowed just one runner to get as far as third base, and that came in the seventh.

Tulane starter Sean Morgan shook off a one-run first to hang zeros over the next four innings. With two out in the sixth, however, the Cougar offense got going as shortstop Bryan Pounds, Presley, second baseman Ryan Lormand and designated hitter Felix Fanaselle hit consecutive singles to plate a pair of runs before Cesario's double down the right-field line. The damage could have been more, but sophomore right fielder Aja Barto was able to get to Cesario's two-bagger, threw to the cutoff man, and Everett fired a strike to Dyer at the plate to cut down Fanaselle trying to score from first.

"We didn't execute our short game early, and that hurt," Jones said. "It didn't give Sean an opportunity to get any kind of cushion out there. I thought he had good rhythm and good stuff, but he was pitching all day with a very small margin for error simply because we didn't do anything to put any pressure on them."

Barto had a solid day in right, posting all three putouts in the third inning, including a home-run saving grab at the wall on a well-hit shot by first baseman Josh Stirneman. Barto finished the day with five putouts to go along with his assist in the sixth.

"Aja gave us a real good lift defensively for us early, and those are the kinds of things you can build on," Jones said. "We didn't take advantage offensively, but I thought Aja played really well out there for us today." The Cougars wasted little time taking the early advantage as Cesario sparked a two-out rally in the first with a bunt single, went to second on hit batsman, and scored on an RBI-single off the bat of Stirneman.

After the three-run sixth, Houston added to its lead with another two-out RBI single in the eighth - this time by Lormand - and plated a pair in the ninth on a two-out, two-run single to shallow right by right fielder Bryan Tully.

Morgan (7-3) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on 11 hits while walking a pair and striking out four in 7.0 innings. Freshman southpaw Aaron Loup allowed the three runs late in 1.2 innings of work, and rookie right-hander Drew Zizinia closed things out by allowing just one hit in the ninth.

Brown (6-2) picked up the win for the Cougars after scattering five singles and two walks - both of which came in the first inning - before Wright slammed the door with a pair of no-hit frames.

Tulane and Houston continue the C-USA series on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. before closing out the weekend on Sunday with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. For ticket information for this weekend's games, as well as future Green Wave athletic events, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at 504-861-WAVE. The Zephyr Field Ticket Office is located on the third-base side of stadium and will open approximately two hours before first pitch for each Tulane home game.