March 2, 2009

New Orleans- Coming off an exciting 4-3 extra-inning win on Sunday, the Green Wave ball club will host Northwestern State for a two-game matchup, beginning Tuesday evening at 6PM and concluding with a Wednesday afternoon contest at 3PM.

Tulane took three of four games from Wright State over the weekend, improving their record to 6-3. Matt Petiton earned his first win of the year after throwing 6.2 innings on Saturday and striking out four. Sophomore Nick Pepitone picked up his first save of the year, throwing 2.1 innings of relief and giving up no runs and just one hit. In game two on Saturday, Josh Zeid notched his second win of the season, throwing a complete game, giving up just four hits. Preston Claiborne got his first victory of 2009 after entering the Sunday contest in relief of starter Jonathan Garrett in the sixth inning. Claiborne, who posted his longest outing in a Green Wave uniform, threw 5.0 innings and struck out a career-best eight batters.

Offensively, Tulane outfielder Scott Powell led the team during the series, going 6-15 (.400, 3 RBI) including a double, a triple and a home run to notch a .800 slugging percentage. Sophomore Nick Boullosa was also 2-2 on the base paths while Evan Mistich made his collegiate debut, posting a .429 series average that included a ground-rule double in his first at-bat as a member of the Green Wave club. Sam Honeck is leading the team in RBIs with 11 while Seth Henry has tallied 10 on the year.

Northwestern State (5-3) is coming off of a three-game sweep of Houston Baptist University over the weekend. The Demons, who clinched game three with a 14-6 win on Sunday, received offensive support from Tyler Baisley, who notched two home runs and three RBI in Sunday's victory. Chad Sheppard tossed 2.2 relief innings, allowed just one hit and now runs while striking out seven to lead Northwestern State to a 14-6 win over Houston Baptist.

Tuesday's starter for Northwestern State will be Clayton Cooper (0-1, 13.50 ERA), while the Green Wave will send Aaron Loup (0-1, 4.91) to the mound. Demon hitters will also face Taylor Rogers on Wednesday, with the NSU starter to be determined.

The Wednesday afternoon edition will also be a "Businessperson's Special" that includes a $5 bleacher seat ticket or a $10 chairback ticket to those fans who present a business card. The Wave will get the two-games series under way Tuesday night, with first pitch for the nightcap slated for 6PM at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. Both Tuesday and Wednesday's games will be broadcasted on WRBH 88.3FM with the pre-game show beginning 30 minutes prior to first pitch.