Crowel, Big Second Lead Baseball Past Southern Miss, 17-1

Crowel, Big Second Lead Baseball Past Southern Miss, 17-1

Green Wave plate nine runs in the second inning and take advantage of 14 walks, five errors and

Sophomore southpaw J.R. Crowel struck out five, walked two, and scattered six hits in a complete-game win over Southern Miss Friday night at Turchin Stadium.

April 23, 2004

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Sophomore southpaw J.R. Crowel struck out five in a complete-game effort and the Green Wave took advantage of 14 walks, five errors and three hit batsmen by the Golden Eagles as the No. 18 Tulane University defeated Conference USA co-leader and 11th-ranked Southern Miss, 17-1 Friday evening at Turchin Stadium.

After scoring an unearned run in the first, Tulane blew the game open with a nine-run second and never looked back as the Green Wave have now won nine of the last 10 regular-season meetings between the two teams at the on-campus facility. Crowel's lone miscue on the day came in the fourth when USM right fielder Ryan Frith hit a solo home run to lead off the stanza, and the crafty lefty scattered six hits and walked a pair to improve to 6-1 on the year.

With the win, Tulane snapped a two-game C-USA losing streak to improve to 28-12 overall and 11-5 in league play. Southern Miss, meanwhile, dropped to 30-9 in 2004 and 12-4 in conference action.

The Green Wave wasted little time jumping on Southern Miss starter Cliff Russum and an uncharacteristic suspect Southern Miss defense as sophomore centerfielder Nathan Southard reached on a two-base error to open the home half of the first, and following a groundout off the bat of junior second baseman Joe Holland, junior catcher Greg Dini drove the run in with an RBI-single up the middle.

One inning later, junior designated hitter Scott Madden drew a one-out walk, went to second on a single by Southard, and came around to score on an errant throw to second by Russum on a fielder's choice ball off the bat of Holland. Junior outfielder Matt Barket made the miscue hurt when he hammered the next pitch over the wall in left central for a three-run bomb to give Tulane a 5-0 advantage.

Walks hurt Southern Miss the rest of the inning as Russum and reliever Josh Grant issued three straight free passes, and all three came home to score on a two-run single by sophomore right fielder Brian Bogusevic and a two-RBI double down the left field line by junior shortstop Tommy Manzella. Noah Tritz, the third pitcher used by Southern Miss in the inning, then plunked Madden and Southard reached on another error by the visitors to load the bases before Holland lifted a sacrifice fly to right to put the finishing touches on the nine-run frame.

Tulane added a pair of runs in the third on another two Southern Miss errors, and after Frith's solo shot in the fourth, the Green Wave scored two runs in the sixth and another three in the seventh to account for the final score.

Manzella led Tulane's 11-hit effort by going 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of RBI, and Barket chipped in two hits in three official at bats. The difference in the game came via the USM staff's failure to keep the ball over the plate as Barket and junior first baseman Wes Swackhamer drew three walks each, and seven of the free passes wound up coming around to score.

Russum (6-2), who left the game in the second with a pulled biceps muscle in the second, was saddled with the loss after giving up seven run (five earned) on three hits while walking five and striking out none in 1.1 innings of work. Grant did not record an out in his stint and allowed three earned runs on a pair of hits and a walk. Tritz kept Tulane off the board in the fourth and fifth innings, but was touched up for four runs on a pair of hits and seven walks in 4.0 innings of relief, and Nick Valluzzo gave up three earned runs on four runs and a walk while fanning three in 2.2 frames.

The two teams return to action on Saturday at 2 p.m., and the C-USA rivals close out the weekend on Sunday with first pitch slated for 1:07 p.m. Both games will be aired live on the flagship station of Tulane baseball, WRBH 88.3 fm, and live stats can be found on the internet at www.tulanegreenwave.com. Sunday's contest will be televised locally on Cox 10 with Larry Matson and Bob Del Giorno, Jr., bringing fans all the action live from Turchin Stadium, and the game will be re-aired on Monday, April 26 on Cox Sports Television (local Channel 37) at 7 p.m.

NOTE: The start time for the Tulane-LSU baseball game in the Louisiana Superdome on Tuesday, April 27, has been pushed back to 7:45 p.m., officials of the schools announced Friday. Originally scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., the time of the first pitch will be moved 45 minutes to make it easier for fans to access the Superdome as the two teams attempt to break the national collegiate single game baseball attendance record of 40,106. Game four of the NBA playoff series between the New Orleans Hornets and the Miami Heat in the New Orleans Arena, adjacent to the Superdome, is scheduled for 7 p.m. The later starting time for the baseball game will ease traffic in the area and will allow NBA fans to come over and catch the last half of the baseball game for a truly unique doubleheader experience. The game time change was made after consultation with the Hornets and with officials of SMG, which manages both the Superdome and the Arena.