Tulane evens Pelican Cup with 4-2 win at UNO

NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University baseball team (23-10-1) bested the University of New Orleans (19-11) by a score of 4-2 on Tuesday night at Maestri Field.

Tulane mustered just five hits but made plays when it counted as the bullpen kept the Privateers at bay for the first Green Wave win at Maestri field in its last seven visits.

“We had to come to this facility and get one,” head coach Travis Jewett said. “This was a really important win. We’ve proved to ourselves we can come here and get a win, and we have also gotten ourselves right back in the Pelican Cup with one game to go.”

Graduate student Carter Robinson got his seventh start of the year for Tulane and allowed one earned run on four hits and two strikeouts in three innings of work. Robinson was on a pitch count to make him available for the weekend series.

Senior Kyle Khachadourian took the hill for the Privateers and pitched two clean innings to get the Privateers going. Khachadourian allowed no hits and walked a batter.

The Privateers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on back-to-back doubles. Robinson was able to escape a first-and-third and one out jam later in the frame, limiting the damage.

UNO added another run in the bottom of the fifth on a groundout with the bases loaded and one out. Keaton Knueppel struck out the next batter with runners on the corners to stop the bleeding.

Tulane had just one hit until the top of the sixth when Bennett Lee singled to left before freshman Brady Marget launched a two-run, game-tying home run over the wall in right.

It's @BradyMarget1 world and we're all just living in it!#RollWave 🌊⚾️ pic.twitter.com/PmJZA6Xeju

— Tulane Baseball (@GreenWaveBSB) April 13, 2022

The blast was Marget’s second of his career, the first a grand slam against Mississippi State. “It felt really good,” Marget said. “It was a changeup over the middle of the plate, and I saw it early. I’m just happy I put a good swing on the ball and helped the team win.”

After Marget’s blast, there was a 52-minute lightning delay. After the delay, Clifton Slagel entered the game with runners on first and second and two outs. Slagel struck out UNO’s leadoff hitter to keep the game at 2-2.

Two K's in six pitches for @doublek34#RollWave 🌊⚾️ pic.twitter.com/1UU3Y9hxNP

— Tulane Baseball (@GreenWaveBSB) April 13, 2022

In the top of the seventh with two outs and Jared hart on second base, Ethan Groff hit a ground ball to the first baseman who dove to his left to field the ball. Hart sprinted to third and rounded the bag before sliding in behind the catcher before the throw could get to the UNO backstop. Hart was ruled safe, giving Tulane a 3-2 lead.

Brian Valigosky pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two Privateers.

Tulane added an insurance run in the top of the ninth when Brady Hebert singled, stole second, advanced to third on a first wild pitch, and then scored on a second errant fastball, increasing the lead to 4-2.

Zach DeVito came in for the bottom of the ninth and recorded his ninth save of the year with a 1-2-3 inning.

NEXT UP
The Privateers will head to Hammond on Thursday to start a series against the Southeastern Lions at 6 p.m. while the Green Wave heads to Houston for a conference series also starting Thursday night at 6:30.