Tulane rally falls short in Lafayette, 7-6

LAFAYETTE, La. – Sophomore left fielder Luke Glancy and junior first baseman Trevor Jensen each drove in three runs, but Tulane baseball’s ninth-inning comeback came up short at Louisiana-Lafayette, 7-6, Tuesday evening at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.

Jensen hit a three-run home run in the top of the ninth to pull the Green Wave (24-29) within 7-6, but that was as far as the rally reached. Glancy hit a two-run single in the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-2, then added an RBI double in the eighth to make the score 6-3.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (30-23) scored three runs in the first and two runs in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead. Tulane outscored ULL 6-2 in the final seven frames, but the early five runs coupled with solo home runs in the fifth and eighth innings by designated hitter Todd Lott made the difference in the game.

Sophomore designated hitter Grant Mathews and sophomore third baseman Kody Hoese also collected a pair of hits, as the Wave finished with nine hits. Hoese hit two doubles, and Mathews hit a pair of singles to record his fifth straight multiple-hit game.

“We won the backside seven, but it’s not a seven-inning game,” Tulane head coach Travis Jewett. “When you put yourself into a 5-0 hole before you can even blink an eye, then you’re playing uphill. We tried to run uphill, and just kind of ran out of steam at the end. Obviously, they got big home run from Lott there in the bottom of the eighth, and we just came up a little bit short.”

Trailing 7-3 entering the ninth, sophomore second baseman Jonathon Artigues was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game to start the inning, and junior center fielder Grant Witherspoon walked, setting up Jensen’s scorching three-run home run into the pine trees behind the left field wall. It was Jensen’s seventh homer of the season.

Tulane got on the board in the sixth inning when Glancy knocked a two-run single up the middle. Mathews lined a single to right field to start the inning, and Hoese followed by lacing a double down the left field line to set up the run-scoring hit.

Glancy provided another big RBI hit in the top of the eighth with a double off the base of the wall in straightaway center field to score Mathews, who had led off the inning with a single to left field, to cut the deficit to 6-3.

The Ragin’ Cajuns scored three runs in the first inning on a wild pitch, an RBI triple by first baseman Kennon Fontenot and an RBI single by right fielder Zach LaFleur. A wild pitch and a solo home run by left fielder Gavin Bourgeois made the score 5-0.

Tulane drew a pair of walks in the second inning, and then put two runners on in the third on a walk and a single by Witherspoon. Hoese hustled for a leadoff double to left center in the fourth inning, and junior catcher Acy Owen singled in the fifth, as the Green Wave left six runners on base in the first five innings before breaking through with runs in the sixth.

Sophomore starter Keagan Gillies (5-6) took the loss while ULL starter Nick Lee (2-6) was credited with the win.

Tulane travels to Orlando for a three-game conference series at UCF to close out the regular season. Game times are set for 5:30 p.m. CT Thursday, 5:30 p.m. CT Friday and noon CT Saturday.

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