Tulane tops Cincinnati 5-3 to open conference play

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane baseball put up five runs in the first inning and the pitching staff made the scoring stand up as the Green Wave opened American Athletic Conference play with a 5-3 win over Cincinnati Friday evening at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.

Four Tulane pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts, nine of which came from junior starter Kaleb Roper (2-3) in 6.0 innings of work. Sophomore shortstop Sal Gozzo drove a two-run double as the big blow in the five-run opening frame. The Green Wave (10-13, 1-0 American) did not score after the first, but the stellar mound performance held the Bearcats (9-11, 0-1 American) at bay. Freshman Connor Pellerin was perfect in 1.1 innings with two strikeouts to earn his first career save.

“I was proud of the way the kids came out and handled the strike zone. It started with (Jonathon) Artigues and got some guys on base, and we were able to put up a crooked number,” Tulane head coach Travis Jewett said. “We allowed ourselves a little bit of space that way, and Roper gave us what we needed in the start to get into the middle of the game. I thought we did some nice baton passing there between Sam (Bjornjgeld) and Chase (Solesky), and it was really nice to see Pellerin there at the end.”

Sophomore second baseman Jonathon Artigues started the first inning with an infield single and slid under the tag at the plate on an infield grounder by senior designated hitter Matt Rowland. Junior first baseman Trevor Jensen drove a single into center field to score junior center fielder Grant Witherspoon, and with the bases loaded, Gozzo lined a double to left center to plate Rowland and Jensen. Junior right fielder Tyler Heinrichs drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 5-0.

Witherspoon’s one-out single in the sixth inning was Tulane’s only other hit in the ballgame. The four Green Wave pitchers, however, made up for it by keeping enough distance between the home team and the visitors to seal the win.

Roper gutted out six complete innings before he gave way to senior Sam Bjorngjeld to start the seventh. The Kenner native stranded the bases loaded in the fifth before tossing a quick sixth inning. Bjorngjeld recorded two strikeouts, sophomore Chase Solesky retired three batters to end the seventh and begin the eighth, and Pellerin turned away all four batters he faced to close out the game.

Cincinnati scored a run in the second inning on an RBI double by catcher Joey Thomas, added a run in the fifth on an RBI single by third baseman Connor McVey and cut it to 5-3 in the seventh on a solo home run by shortstop Manny Rodriguez. Bearcats starter JT Perez (2-2) went 5.0 innings, and AJ Kullman tossed the final three innings.

Tulane and Cincinnati continue the series at 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets can be purchased at TulaneTix.com or in person at the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office in the James W. Wilson Jr. Center. The game will be streamed online and can be heard on 88.3 FM WRBH or via TuneIn Radio.

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