NEW ORLEANS — The Green Wave baseball team returns home on Tuesday and will welcome Texas Southern to Greer Field at Turchin Stadium for the start of a 13-game homestand.
TULANE WELCOMES TEXAS SOUTHERN TO GFATS
• The Green Wave baseball team returns home on Tuesday and will welcome Texas Southern to Greer Field at Turchin Stadium for the start of a 13-game homestand.
• The first pitch on Tuesday is set for 6 p.m. The game will be aired live on ESPN+ and can be heard on WRBH 88.3 FM.
• The Green Wave will look to continue their momentum following a 2-1 series victory at Troy this past weekend.
• The Green Wave enter the midweek matchup having won five of their last seven games.
SERIES HISTORY
• Tulane’s matchup with Texas Southern will mark just the fifth time the two teams have met.
• Tulane has never lost to Texas Southern.
• The last meeting between the two teams took place last season with the Green Wave earning an 18-2 win at home.
AROUND THE HORN WITH THE WAVE
• Tulane enters its midweek matchup with Texas Southern with a .269 team batting average and an overall team earned run average of 4.28.
• The Green Wave raised their batting average to .269 from .249 after their weekend series at Troy. In addition, all nine spots in the lineup reached base safely at least once in all three games.
• The Green Wave rank among the league’s top three in seven offensive categories.
• Three Green Wave players own batting averages of .300-or-better
• Redshirt junior Frankie Niemann enters the game after he was named to the American Athletic Conference honor roll.
• In four games last week, Niemann batted .417, collected five hits, a pair of doubles, one home run and seven RBI. In addition, Niemann reached base safely for the team-best 12th consecutive time.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• Texas Southern enters Tuesday night’s game looking to bounce back after dropping a pair of home games to Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
• TSU dropped its first seven games to start the season, falling to Houston, TCU, Incarnate Word and Texas Tech.
• Following its seven-game slide to open the season, TSU bounced back and won four of its next five matchups.
• As team, TSU owns a batting average of .210 while opponents have batted .328 against the Tigers.
• The TSU pitching staff owns an ERA of 9.63 and has allowed 137 earned runs in the 16 games the Tigers have played.
• Nic Garza lead the team offensively with a .354 batting average.
LAST TIME OUT: RECAPPING THE TROY SERIES
• Tulane took two of three games this past weekend against Troy to pick up its first road series win of the year.
• As a team, Tulane batted .339 and outscored the Trojans by a 26-18 count.
• Tulane’s nine-run output in game one of the series was a season-best. Two games later, Tulane beat that mark, as it put up 14 runs to avenge a 12-3 loss on Saturday.
• Redshirt junior Frankie Niemann led the way offensively for the Green Wave, as he batted .400. Niemann saved his best performance for last on Sunday, driving in six RBI.
• Redshirt juniors Braden Olthoff and Jack Aldrich continued their consistency on the mound, as they went 7.0 and 7.2 innings, respectively to lead the way for the Green Wave pitching staff.
TULANE BASEBALL MOVES TO 18 PERCENT CAPACITY
• Tulane University Athletics announced this week an increase in capacity for Green Wave baseball games inside Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.
• In accordance with state, local and American Athletic Conference guidelines while maintaining six feet between seating pods, capacity for remaining games will increase to 18 percent.
• With this announced increase, Tulane Athletics has a limited number of tickets available to the general public for purchase.
• Fans can purchase tickets for the Western Kentucky (March 5-7) and Louisiana Tech (March 19-21) series matchups. In addition, fans can purchase tickets for mid-week matchups with Southern (March 9) and Texas Southern (March 17) while supplies last.
BURNS NOTICE
• Redshirt sophomore Collin Burns currently leads the team in batting (.375), slugging percentage (.625), hits (24), doubles (7) and triples (3).
• He leads The American in doubles and triples. His three triples also lead the nation.
• Burns opened the season by hitting safely in nine straight games.
• Six of his 11 RBI have come with two outs.
STARTING STRONG
• Tulane freshman second baseman Chase Engelhard has made his presence felt in the first 15 games of his collegiate career.
• Eight of Engelhard’s 15 hits have gone for extra bases.
• Engelhard currently leads the team in home runs with three.
OLTHOFF PICKS UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
• Tulane right-handed pitcher Braden Olthoff was masterful on Feb. 26 at then No. 5-ranked Mississippi State, as he guided the Green Wave to a win over a Top 5 opponent for the first time since 2014.
• Olthoff struck out six batters in 8.0 innings of work while only allowing one run on just two hits en route to his first win of the season.
• Last weekend against Troy, Olthoff struck out a season-high nine batters and allowed just two runs to lead the Green Wave to a 9-4 victory over the Trojans.
• In four outings this year, Olthoff owns a 2.52 earned run average and is holding opponents to a .237 batting average. He also is tied for the team lead with 25.0 innings pitched and leads the team with 27 strikeouts.
SO CLOSE
• In the first four weekends of the collegiate baseball season, Tulane has suffered four losses by two runs or less.
• In its matchup with then No. 5-ranked Mississippi State, Tulane was four outs away from completing a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs on the road.
• Tulane also held the lead in all three games at Mississippi State, heading into the bottom of the ninth.
• In the Green Wave’s lone loss against Western Kentucky on March 7, Tulane held a two-run lead heading into the seventh inning.
THE HIT PARTY
• In the series finale against Louisiana-Lafayette on Feb. 21, Tulane posted a season-high 20 hits.
• This season, Tulane has totaled 10-or-more hits in five games, including an 18-hit performance this past weekend at Troy.
MR RELIABLE
• Redshirt junior Justin Campbell has established himself as a reliable pitcher out of the bullpen for the Green Wave
• Campbell has appeared in eight of Tulane’s 15 games this season. His eight appearances rank second in the American and rank 17th nationally.
WORKING OVERTIME
• The Tulane baseball team got its money’s worth at the diamond during opening weekend, as it began its 114th baseball season.
• In all three games with in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette, nine innings weren’t enough to decide the outcome.
• Games one and two both went 10 innings with the series finale going 12 frames.
• During the first weekend of Division I collegiate baseball, 20 games went into extra frames.
• Tulane and Louisiana-Lafayette were the ONLY teams in Division I to see all three of its opening weekend games go into extra frames.
A THREE-HEADED MONSTER
• The Tulane baseball team returns all three players from its 2020 rotation for this season in the form of Braden Olthoff, Jack Aldrich and Donovan Benoit.
• The Green Wave trio combined for an 8-0 win-loss record, posted a 1.89 earned run average, logged 66.2 innings, struck out 83 and held opponents to a .181 batting average.
ESPN+ THE HOME FOR TULANE BASEBALL
• Tulane University baseball games will be more accessible than ever, as the program announced today that all 33 home games will be aired exclusively on ESPN+ for the 2021 campaign.
• Televised Tulane baseball road games will be announced on a weekly basis. Fans should check back on TulaneGreenWave.com for the latest broadcast information.
TULANE LOOKS TO BUILD OFF STRONG 2020 START
• The Green Wave will look to build off of their momentum from the 2020 campaign.
• Tulane finished the year with a 15-2 mark, which matched its best start to a season since 1972.
• The Green Wave closed the year on a nine-game winning streak – the program’s longest since 2010.
• Tulane also posted an incredible 11-1 record at home.
LEADING THE WAY
• The Green Wave led the American Athletic Conference in 11 team statistical categories in 2020.
TULANE RANKED AMONG THE FAB 50
• The Green Wave enters the 2021 season ranked among the Fab 50 by Collegiate Baseball.
• Tulane checked in ranked No. 43.
• The Green Wave were one of five teams ranked in the Fab 50 from the American Athletic Conference.
GREEN WAVE FEATURES A 56-GAME SCHEDULE
• The Tulane baseball team’s 2021 schedule features 10 non-conference games against teams from the state of the Louisiana, including matchups with Louisiana-Lafayette, New Orleans, Southeastern, Southern, Louisiana Tech and LSU.
• The Green Wave’s upcoming slate also features 32 games against American Athletic Conference opponents.
• Tulane will face four opponents that are ranked in the preseason Top 25 this fall.
• Tulane’s 2021 schedule ranks as the third toughest slate in the American Athletic Conference this season according to NCAA.com.
BRINGING HOME THE PRESEASON HARDWARE
• Following a 2020 campaign where right-handed pitcher Braden Olthoff posted a 4-0 record in just four starts while recording a microscopic 0.32 earned run average with 47 strikeouts across 28 innings of work, folks across the country are starting to take notice.
• Prior to the 2021 campaign, Olthoff was recognized as the American Athletic Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
• Olthoff has also earned preseason All-America honors from Perfect Game, Collegiate Baseball and D1Baseball.
MINDER EARNS PRESEASON NOD FROM THE AAC
• Redshirt junior Trevor Minder was named to the preseason all-league team this past December.
• Minder earned the preseason all-conference nod following a 2020 campaign where he finished the year with .359 batting average, three home runs and 14 RBI. In addition, the Springfield, Illinois, native posted 23 hits, five doubles and scored a team-best 20 runs.
• Minder also led The American in runs scored.
RANKED WAVE
• The Green Wave finished the 2020 campaign ranked No. 20 in the D1Baseball.com Top 25 poll.
• Tulane also earned national rankings in the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball National Polls.
FIVE YEARS WITH JEWETT
• Tulane baseball head coach Travis Jewett begins his fifth season in Uptown this spring.
• Jewett owns a career record of 105-98.
• In each of Jewett’s first three seasons at Tulane, the Green Wave have steadily improved in batting average, hits, runs, home runs, RBI and slugging percentage.
JEWETT WELCOMES 20 NEW PLAYERS
• Earlier this fall, Travis Jewett announced the addition of 20 members of the 2020 recruiting class.
• The 2020 class marks the fifth under Jewett.
• Joining the Green Wave for the 2021 season will be: Aaron Ball, Matthew Bihm, Walker Burchfield, Andres Castro, Zach DeVito, Chase Engelhard, Jared Hart, Tyler Hoffman, Brandon Howell, Keaton Knueppel, Jacob LaPrairie, Bennett Lee, Blake Mahmood, Jake McDonald, Kennedy Norton, Camryn Szynski, Lane Thomas, Turner Thompson, Brian Valigosky and Charlie Yanoshik.
GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
• This past fall, Tulane baseball continued to excel at a high level in the classroom, as 36 players earned their way onto the 3.0 club.
• As a team, Tulane posted a fall semester GPA of 3.367.
• Prior to the fall semester, the Tulane baseball team received the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Excellence Award for the fourth year in a row.
• The Green Wave are one of just 22 NCAA Division I baseball programs who have received the award in four consecutive years and one of just four American Athletic Conference programs along with Cincinnati, East Carolina and Memphis to earn the recognition.
• Tulane has posted a team GPA of 3.0 or better in nine straight semesters.
PLEDGE PER WIN
· Tulane fans can ensure that every Green Wave win makes a lasting impact this season by joining the Pledge Per Win campaign.
· Fans can participate in the Pledge Per Win campaign by pledging to give $5, $10, or $25 to the Green Wave Club for each game the Tulane Baseball team wins this season.
· Additionally, supporters are encouraged to pledge $1 for every strikeout by Tulane pitchers this season. Fans interested in enrolling in the Pledge Per Win and Pledge Per Strikeout campaigns are encouraged to visit www.GreenWaveClub.com/ppw.
HASKIN DRAFTED BY THE ORIOLES
· Tulane baseball outfielder Hudson Haskin was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the 39th overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
· Chosen with the second selection in the second round of the MLB Draft, Haskin becomes the highest-picked outfielder in program history topping Jason Fitzgerald who was taken No. 41 overall in the 1997 draft.
· Haskin extends the Green Wave’s streak to nine consecutive years with at least one player selected and becomes the third player in program history to be selected in the second round joining first baseman Mark Hamilton (St. Louis Cardinals, 2006) and pitcher Steve Mura (San Diego Padres, 1978).
· Haskin garnered significant national recognition prior to the 2020 season when he was named a Preseason All-America Second Team selection by Collegiate Baseball, Perfect Game/Rawlings, D1baseball and the NCBWA, respectively.
LOOK GOOD. FEEL GOOD. PLAY GOOD.
· The Tulane University’s uniform combinations are some of the most unique in all of collegiate baseball.
- The Green Wave baseball team features 33 different uniform combinations.
{Courtesy: Press Release from Tulane Athletics}