NEW ORLEANS -- With a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, Tulane baseball scored six runs to enact the American Athletic Conference run rule on their way to a 10-0 win against No. 18 UCF on Sunday at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium, giving the Green Wave their first American Athletic Conference series victory.
Tulane (24-15, 5-7) poured on the runs in the seventh to end the game early, as sophomore Hunter Williams, sophomore Jake Willsey and junior Richard Carthon all posted a single RBI before sophomore Stephen Alemais knocked in two with a single to centerfield. Carthon moved to third on that hit, and during sophomore Jake Rogers' at-bat, UCF's (26-15, 5-7) Brad Rowley threw a wild pitch that allowed Carthon to scamper home to end the contest.
"I think every team has holes and I think every team has a way to attack them," Tulane head coach David Pierce said. "Our pitchers just did that. They attacked the strike-zone the right way, they stayed a pitch ahead of them, and executed pitches. I thought it was a great effort by the entire staff. It was an outstanding effort. Everybody was in the game and everybody was expecting to win the series today. That's was we have to get to, we have to expect to win the series, expect to win the game."
Nearly every Green Wave batter got in on the offensive action, as Alemais and Williams both had multi-hit and multi-RBI performances on the day. Rogers was 2-for-3 at the dish, as well, while senior John Gandolfo and Alemais tied for the team lead with two runs apiece.
FINAL SCORE #Tulane #ROLLWAVE pic.twitter.com/CmjuaVT4u0
— Tulane Baseball (@GreenWaveBSB) April 19, 2015
Tulane jumped out to another early lead when Williams and senior Tyler Wilson knocked in runs in the bottom of the third. Green Wave hurler Alex Massey kept the Knights in check, as the Baton Rouge native only allowed five hits across 6.1 innings. Massey (4-2) also struck out five.
UCF made things interesting in the top of the seventh, as they loaded the bases on Massey before redshirt junior Jordan Gross induced a pop fly for the second out of the inning, and juniorIan Gibaut rolled a grounder to second for the third and final out. Gibaut picked up his third save of the season.
UCF used an array of pitchers throughout the contest, with Eric Hepple getting the start and allowing two runs on three hits and three walks in 2.1 innings. Hepple (3-2) was credited with the loss.
The win was also the second shutout for the Green Wave in the series, as the Knights were blanked 3-0 on Friday night. The two shutouts in the series for the Knights are the only two on the entire season for UCF. Tulane's pitching staff has now posted eight shutouts on the season, tying the single-season record for shutouts, set by the 1978, 2004 and 2005 staffs.
