Tulane splits Saturday doubleheader against UC Riverside

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Tulane Green Wave baseball team exploded for five runs in the bottom of the second inning and scored in the next three innings after that to claim a 10-1 win over the UC Riverside Highlanders in game one of a doubleheader Saturday.

Tulane (12-6) belted 12 hits in the win, including hitting four home runs and six doubles, with seven different players earning hits and four earning multiple hits.

Senior Trevor Jensen hit two of the team’s four home runs in the game, driving in four and scoring twice, while Kody Hoese hit his 10th of the year in a 3-for-3 afternoon with two runs scored. Frankie Niemann had hits in his first two at-bats of the game, while Hudson Haskin hit his third home run of the season and drove in two.

Kaleb Roper (2-2) earned the win by limiting the Highlanders (6-12) to a run on five hits, striking out five and walking four in 6.2 innings of work on Saturday, retiring the side in three frames. Ryan Green allowed just one hit in 1.1 innings, while Ross Massey made his 2019 debut to close the game in the ninth and struck out a pair of batters.

Riverside’s Shamus Lyons (2-3) suffered the loss as two of the six runs that came across the plate in his 2.2 innings pitched were earned, scattering six hits with a walk. Skyler De Los Reyes had two of UCR’s six hits at the bottom of the Highlander lineup.

After the Highlanders got on the board first thanks to two hits to open the second inning, Niemann singled with an out on the board to reach first. He moved to second on balk by the pitcher, as Jonathon Artigues battled through a lengthy at bat to double to left center to tie the game at 1-1.

An errant throw from third base keep the inning alive for the Green Wave and allowed Artigues to score from second to give the Green Wave the 2-1 lead. After a sacrifice bunt, Jensen unloaded a shot to left and was followed by Hoese who hit one over the scoreboard to push the lead to 5-1.

Two pitches into the bottom of the third, Haskin hit a solo shot to left to extend the Tulane lead to 6-1. In the fourth, three consecutive doubles to start from Hoese, Grant Mathews and Haskin plated two more runs to make it an 8-1 game.

The hit parade continued for Tulane in the fifth, as Gozzo doubled to left and Jensen hit his second home run of the day as Tulane went on top 10-1.

Game 2: UC Riverside 10, Tulane 1

Tulane was looking to put together the doubleheader sweep on Saturday, but the UC Riverside Highlanders scored 10 runs over the course of four innings in the latter half of the contest to hold off Tulane for a 10-1 victory in game two to salvage a split.

No team was able to get a run across the board until the Highlanders (7-12) scratched the game’s first run across in the top of the fourth. From there the visitors would plate four runs in two of the next three innings, while the Green Wave (12-7) would only manage a single run in that time frame in the loss.

Starter Keagan Gillies (0-1) suffered the loss allowing four runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in 4.2 innings of work. Tulane used five pitchers in the contest, as Brendan Cellucci was the only one to keep the Highlanders off the scoreboard in the final 2.1 innings of the game, striking out three and scattering a pair of hits.

Senior catcher Acy Owen drove in Tulane’s only run of the day on an RBI single in the seventh, with the team’s other five hits coming from Trevor Jensen, Kody Hoese, Luke Glancy, Jonathon Artigues and Brendan Power.

In six innings, UCR starter Riley Ohl (3-1) limited the Green Wave to three hits to help secure the win for the Highlanders, striking out two and walking two others, as Jared Noonan (2) picked up the save by pitching the final three innings and allowing a run on three hits with a walk.

Designated hitter Connor Cannon hit a three-run home run among his three hits to lead the visitors, while Yeager Taylor went 3-for-4 with a run scored.

Tulane will close out the series against UC Riverside Sunday at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.