CLEARWATER, Fla. — Tulane Athletics’ miraculous turnaround continued Sunday when the Green Wave baseball team won its first American Athletic Conference championship in program history.
Tulane entered postseason play Tuesday with a seventh seed, with a 15-39 overall record, and an 8-16 record in conference play. Five days later, they are crowned AAC champions with an 8-6 win over top-seeded East Carolina in the championship game Sunday.
BOX SCORE: https://tulanegreenwave.com/sports/baseball/stats/2023/-1-ecu/boxscore/22087
How It Happened:
Tulane opened today’s final with a 3-run first inning, capped off by a 2-RBI double from Brennan Lambert. East Carolina would respond with 4 runs in the bottom of the frame and would take a 5-3 lead in the second after an RBI double by Josh Moylan.
Tulane was down but not out. In the top of the fifth inning, the Green Wave scored 3 runs courtesy of an RBI single from Teo Banks, a wild pitch, and an RBI ground out from Simon Baumgardt.
Baumgardt would plate another run in the top of the seventh with an RBI single to give Tulane the 7-5 lead. East Carolina responded in the bottom of the 8th with an RBI single from Jacob Starling to cut the lead to 7-6.
Tulane would begin to see light at the end of the tunnel in the 9th inning. An RBI single from Brady Marget would provide an insurance run for the Green Wave in the top of the inning. With an 8-6 lead in the bottom of the frame and Ricky Castro on the mound, Tulane would finish the job with a two-out pop-out to Brady Marget.
“As soon as that ball landed in Brady’s glove, it was euphoria. You know, it was hugs and I didn’t even get a chance to see it. Curtis, our ops director, and I were mauling each other. I tried to get to my assistants in the other corner and they were mauling each other. So, those are the things when people don’t believe they lose faith and you don’t and you hang in there and those kinds of things show up. It makes it extra special for the journey,” says Tulane head baseball coach Jay Uhlman.
Tulane defeated East Carolina, 8-6 to become the lowest seed to win the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Teo Banks was named tournament MVP with 3 home runs, and 11 RBIs on 11 hits.
Up Next:
Tulane clinches their first NCAA Regional berth since 2016. The Wave will learn their Regional destination during the NCAA Regional Selection show Monday at 11 a.m.