UCSB Gauchos up next for Tulane in weekend series

NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane Green Wave baseball team returns to action this weekend, hosting the UCSB Gauchos for a three-game weekend series at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.

First pitch for the set begins Friday at 6:30 p.m., with game two beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. for the finale Sunday. All three games can be streamed online at TulaneGreenWave.com, with radio coverage on Sports 1280 AM all weekend with Todd Graffagnini on the call.

Friday is International Women’s Day, and the giveaway for the first 150 fans through the GFATS gates is a clear drawstring bag. Riptide’s Kids Club members will have access to the inflatable area and more on Sunday afternoon.

The Green Wave head into this weekend’s series with a 10-3 overall record, defeating the Texas Southern Tigers 13-1 on Wednesday. Tulane is 7-2 at home this season and is the first American Athletic Conference team to reach double-digit wins heading into weekend action.

The Tulane offense has been a force through the early portion of the season, having the seventh-best batting average in the nation at .332. On Wednesday the team produced its fifth game scoring 10 or more runs, while earning double figure hits for the ninth time in 13 games.

Junior Kody Hoese currently leads the team with a .404 batting average with a team-leading six home runs among his 23 hits and .754 slugging percentage. Kobi Owen’s 17 RBI are the most on the team to go along with his 13 walks.

The Tulane pitching staff held its third opponent to two hits in the win over the Tigers Wednesday, as C.J. Whelan earned his second win of the year as he struck out five and retired 10 straight batters in three innings of work. Friday starter Kaleb Roper leads the team with 19 strikeouts and a .177 opponent batting average, and when combined with his fellow weekend starters in Chase Solesky and Keagan Gillies, the trio have fanned 42 batters this season.

UCSB comes into the series off of a pair of wins against Pepperdine last weekend in Santa Barbara, as the Gauchos have won six-straight coming into the weekend, which includes a 13-2 win over UNLV, 14-0 win over Hartford and a 3-2 win over USC in Los Angeles.

The last time the two sides met in 2017 UCSB came away with all three wins in the first ever meeting between the two sides in California.

Tulane Green Wave (10-3) vs. UCSB Gauchos (8-2)
March 8 – 6:30 p.m. (Greer Field at Turchin Stadium)
March 9 – 2 p.m. (Greer Field at Turchin Stadium)
March 10 – 1 p.m. (Greer Field at Turchin Stadium)

TV
None

Live Stream
Tulane All-Access

Radio
Sports 1280 AM
PBP – Todd Graffagnini

Pitching Matchups
Friday
Tulane: Kaleb Roper
UCSB: Ben Brecht

Saturday
Tulane: Keagan Gillies
UCSB: Jack Dashwood

Sunday
Tulane: Chase Solesky
UCSB: Chris Troye

Around the Horn
Tulane gets back to action this weekend, hosting a three-game weekend series against the UCSB Gauchos in New Orleans.

This is the first of two straight weekends the Green Wave will be hosting a Big West opponent with UC Riverside coming in for a series next weekend.

The Gauchos and the Highlanders will square off for a Big West series showdown April 26-28 at UC Riverside.

Tulane is coming off of a 13-1 win over the Texas Southern Tigers Wednesday night at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.

The Green Wave have 10 wins through 13 games, the most in this time span since winning 11 through 13 games in 2015.

Coach Jewett on hosting the Gauchos…
“They’re good. I have some friends out on the west coast that have played them and they’ve said they are as advertised. They’re a good team that can pitch the ball well and hit. They can do some different things, so we’ll have to play well to win.”

Up Next
Tulane welcomes McNeese State for a midweek contest on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in New Orleans.