The MLB draft starts tonight with the first two rounds. Rounds 3 through 10 are tomorrow and rounds 11 through 20 are Tuesday.

Tulane has six players who potentially could get drafted, with Chandler Welch the most likely and Teo Banks next. There is a significant drop after that, but the other four from most to least likely are Brady Marget, Colin Tuft, Jackson Linn and Gavin Schulz. If any of them get taken, they almost certainly will leave, although Banks will want decent compensation and the guarantee his final year of college education gets paid because his family wants him to get his Tulane degree. The best-case scenario is losing one of the six. There is a decent chance two will get drafted and maybe three, but I doubt it will be more than that, although the draft is such a crapshoot, you never know. All it take is one team being interested in a player.

in 2021, the first year with the current set-up of 20 rounds, five Tulane players were taken (Burns, Olthoff, Benoit, Gilles (a steal in the 15th round) and Aldrich. The last two years had only one player taken (Hoffman in the 17th round in 2022 and Carmouche in the 15th round in 2023. The day to play close attention will be Tuesday because I don't think any of these guys will go in the first 10 rounds. Monday and Tuesday start at 1 p.m.

As far as I have heard, no productive player has entered the transfer portal. The closest is Ben Romano, who made the shutout-saving leaping grab in right field to end Tulane's victory against Nicholls in the Corvallis regional but wants a bigger role than defensive replacement, which was what he did well for Tulane with only 18 at-bats in 33 games this year. He is leaving with the blessing of the coaching staff.

Tulane has several additions from the portal, getting a couple of catchers in case Tuft is drafted. The biggest name among the others is Grayson Smith, a transfer from Florida who had a rough year (8.00-plus ERA) but was rated the 143 national prospect coming out of high school by Perfect Game. Grad transfer Jackson Emus from Duke is another. He, too, had an ERA above 8.00 after pitching three so-so years at Princeton before arriving at Duke. The third pitcher is Dominic Pieto, a grad transfer who was Long Island's Saturday starter (6.50 ERA but 79 Ks in 72 innings) this year. They also got left-handed USC shortstop KaiKea Harrison, who hit .323 in 62 at-bats as a second-year player. The last one I know about is Theo Bryant, a grad transfer outfielder from Tennessee Tech who hit .265 with 10 home runs and 10 doubles this past year and is protection in case Banks and/or Linn get drafted.

Does anyone have an idea on which Tulane baseball players are playing this summer? And, what football freshmen and transfers who were not here for the Spring semester are now enrolled in summer school?

Thanks in advance,

Roll Wave!!!

Since Guerry is on vacation, baseball season is over, and football hasn’t started yet, there are a couple of interesting topics I am curious to get thoughts on.

1. Former Colorado State AD Jack Graham brought up the possibility of a P/E funded best of G5 conference. P/E would encompass all financial aspects of the conference, distribution payout, NIL/player salaries, TV negotiations, sponsorships, possibly negotiations with the CFP, etc. Tulane was mentioned as a name alongside Oregon State, Washington State, San Diego State, Boise State, CSU, Air Force, Army, Navy and UConn. That got me thinking, how would this work? Here are my thoughts:

- Conference would be football only
- Conference is only viable if it has CFP access. To get CFP access, there needs to be a unique structure or feature that elevates the conference. Maybe this sort of conference could be a first mover to get CFP access and shutout the rest of the G5 entirely.
- My idea of a 16 team national conference with 8 conference matchups, and a conference tournament of the top four teams. NFL style league where every game matters. Winner goes to CFP playoff.
- Some sort of incentive to schedule Power 4 matchups.
- Schools chosen for the conference would be some combination of football budget/willingness to spend, program history/brand awareness, local market size and attendance, and a minimum academic credential that university presidents would want to associate with each other.
- The 16 schools I would choose are: West: Oregon State, Washington State, Boise State, SDSU, Colorado St, Air Force, UTSA, Rice. East: Army, UConn, Navy, Tulane, Temple, USF, ECU, Memphis. Top two schools from each division make conference tournament.

Since this is a football only conference, Tulane would obviously need to find a home for its remaining sports. Southland Conference (along with Rice and UTSA in my scenario) would be the obvious choice. IMO, if the financials on the football only P/E national conference made sense, the rest of the sports in the Southland is not a bad idea. The AAC has become a 1 at-large bid league in baseball and basketball as is. Tulane would be able outspend other schools in the Southland to maintain a competitive advantage, save travel costs and gain back a regional aspect.

What does everyone think?

2. What’s going on with the IPF/bubble? I wonder if Sumrall told DH the football team wouldn’t use it much and not bother. I think it is obvious that the football team use wouldn’t be much, but I always saw the IPF/bubble as more space for the entire department. Other sports would get good use out of the space and upgraded turf for workouts, which in turn gets them out of football’s way on the rest of the campus.

PaLanding Drammeh. A DL from Hoover, AL. Chose Tulane over GT. Three star on 247, not rated yet on Rivals. Recently recommitted from Troy.

The professional baseball season is about half over and several former Tulane players are pulling down a professional baseball paycheck. These are the ones I’m aware of:

Jake Rogers. Jake is in his fourth season with the Detroit Tigers. Last year, he hit .221 with 21 home runs but has regressed through the first half of this season with only 6 HR’s and a .208 batting Average. The good news: after only throwing out 16% of stolen base attempts last year, he’s upped that to 31% this year.
Ian Gibaut. Ian entered this season as an integral part of the Cincinnati bullpen after appearing in 74 games last year (75.2 innings and a 3.33 ERA), but injuries limited him to only 6 innings of a rehab stint in the minors this year and what may be a season-ending placement on IR.
Grant Witherspoon. After being released by the Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) last August, Grant was picked up this spring by the AA Arkansas Travelers. Unfortunately, he hit only .143 in 41 games and was released on June 25. At 27 years old, his baseball future is in doubt.
Kody Hoese. After hitting .188, .232, and .244 the past three seasons in AA ball, Kody, a one-time first round draft choice for the Dodgers, fell out of their “top 50” prospect list. Nonetheless, he was invited to the Dodger’s Spring training camp where he performed well enough to be advanced to their AAA team. Although he’s not shown the power normally expected of a corner infielder (7 HR’s in 241 at bats), he’s hit .303 so far this season and may still have a shot at a major league career.
Hudson Haskins. Since being drafted four years ago by Baltimore, Haskins moved steadily through their system landing in AAA in 2023. There, he hit .268 with three HR’s in 82 at bats before injuries ended his season in June. This year, he’s also spent time on IR and his batting average has suffered accordingly, hitting only .198 in 131 AAA at bats this season.
Brendon Cellucci. Brandon is in his second year of AA ball. After posting a 5.29 ERA in 51 innings last year, he’s thrown 24.1 innings to a 5.92 ERA this season. At 25 years old he has a little time left, but he needs to improve.
Chase Solesksy. After a brief stop in AAA last season, Chase was released by the White Sox and started the year in an Independent League. Despite poor results (33.1 innings and a 5.67 ERA), he was signed in early June to play AA ball in the Washington Nationals organization. He’s only pitched 12.1 innings so far but to a good ERA of 3.65. He’ll be 27 in September, so time is starting to run out for him.
Collin Burns. After a lot of IR time earlier in his career, Collin has been pretty injury-free this season in AA ball. He’s now splitting time almost evenly between short stop and 2nd and 3rd base, which probably adds some value to him. Unfortunately, he’s only hitting .227 with 5 HR’s in 203 at bats, so that has to improve.
Donovan Benoit. Benoit had some elbow difficulties last year that resulted in him spending the last half of the season on IR. This year he has been relatively healthy and has pitched 33 innings in AA ball to a 4.91 ERA. Opponents are only hitting .215 against him but he’s put 20 guys on base with free passes.
Keagan Gillies. Thanks to extended stays on IR, Keagan has only thrown 85 innings in his four-year professional career. This year started slowly but he’s now pitched 21.1 innings to a 4.44 ERA in AA.
Conner Pelerin. Connor has only pitched 33 innings so far in his professional career due to multiple injuries. This, his fourth year, ended before it started as he’s out for the entire season.
Tyler Hoffman. Tyler has an ERA of 6.65 in 23 innings so far this year in Class A. He’s still only 24 years old so there is time to advance.
Dylan Carmouche. Dylan bypassed the rookie league in this, his first professional season, and has pitched 71 innings over 13 starts and three relief appearances in A ball. He’s 6-1 overall with a 3.04 ERA, so that is very encouraging.

Players who played for Tulane but finished elsewhere:
J. P. France. After an excellent major league campaign in 2023, J.P. started poorly this year and was returned to the minors where an injury caused him to be placed on IR for the remainder of the year.
Bennet Lee. Bennet started the season on IR, but after a brief stint in A ball, was promoted to Advance A in early May. It hasn’t gone well so far there as he’s only got 8 hits in 72 at bats (.111) with 1 HR. Worse, as a catcher, he’s only thrown out 5 of 41 guys attempting to steal.

Roll Wave!!!

Perry, from Teurlings Catholic, is in the Rivals and 247 databases but does not have any stars yet from either site. He is not in the On3Sports database.

He visited last weekend.

Perry

Fired today by Texas.

Florida pitcher Grayson Smith is transferring to Tulane. He struggled this year as a freshman, but really it was Florida State that killed him. In three outings against the Seminoles, he gave up 10 runs in 3.1 innings. Against everyone else, he gave up 7 runs in 14.1 innings over 12 appearances, including a six-strikeout performance in 2.1 scoreless innings of relief against Texas A&M.

Juelz Baptiste committed tonight during his official visit.

The St.Aug. OT had offers from Houston, Missouri and Pittsburgh among others.

Baptiste

My story is up on the front page.

Parham

I am back after eight days in Mexico and then five days dealing with COVID (not me, but first my wife right when we returned to New Orleans and then my son a few days later, forcing me to do all the shopping and cooking). I just talked to Oliver Mitchell and plan to talk to as many of the recruits (some who committed like Mitchell) who visited this past weekend as possible.

Here is my interview with Mitchell, a very rare Karr commitment: Obviously the December signing period is a long way away, but If anyone knows who the last Karr signee was, post it here. Rivals rates him three stars while ON3 and 247 do not rate him, but it sure looks like Rivals has it right. Look for him to have a big senior year, which could draw more recruiting attention, a topic he addressed at the end of the interview.

On why he chose Tulane:

“It’s an elite academic school, and that’s important to me. The coaches, (wide receivers) coach Carter (Sheridan) and (running backs( coach Brock (Hays), they are my dogs. They are from New Orleans, so building a bond with the coaches on a deeper level than just football, being able to have a person to go talk to whenever I had a problem going on or anything like that. The culture around there. There’s nothing like New Orleans. I hear a lot of people there’s nothing like New Orleans. Being a hometown kid from New Orleans, it was just like why not? It’s a great experience. It’s one of the best programs in the nation.”

On comfort factor:

“I felt extremely comfortable. Coach Carter was my first D1 offer. He came in the building (last year as part of Willie Fritz’s staff) and immediately started scouting me and started recruiting me right off the bat because he saw how hard I was working and things like that, and then on top of that, he is one of the realest people you will ever meet. He has no filter. He’s going to tell you the full, honest truth at all times.”

On how much he likes the current staff:

“Coach Brock has transferred in from Troy. On top of that coach Sumrall was a proven winner at Troy, so they are bringing that to Tulane. Coach Carter has more than enough experience dealing with great receivers. Malik Nabors, Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase, people like that, so it’s like why would I not want to work under somebody with that type of background.”

On his best assets:

"I feel like I need to improve my speed. I need to get a lot faster and get more twitchy with my route running. My route running and my hands are my top two best aspects as a receiver right now. I feel like I have some of the best hands in the nation."

On Karr wanting to bounce back from rare "down" year (it got blown out by John Curtis and lost to Acadiana in the semifinals of the state playoffs):

“Our motto this year is reclaim. That means we want to reclaim the championship that was already ours that got taken away. We just want to reclaim that and bring that back to the new building.”

On Karr preparing him for big-time college football:

“It’s a great opportunity first off. You come here and they’ll prepare you for college right off the bat. You’re working out all the time. You’re eating great meals. You are recovering your body. Underneath coach Brice (Brown), he has so many connections, it’s ridiculous. He’s one of the best coaches in the nation, if not the best in my eyes. He had dealt with the No. 1 player in the nation before with Speedy Noil. He has dealt with five-star recruits like Destyn Hill and then Aaron Anderson. Like Racey McMath, the dude is in the NFL right now. He has dealt with top guys in my position, so why not just lean towards him to be my mentor in this sport that I love so much and learn from him."

On his Tulane visit:

"I went Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The vibe was great. The dudes that were with me, Dennis (Uzochukwu) and Antwaun (Parham), they were relatable, cool dudes and possess great talent as well, the same as me, so it’s like everything is going to be great. I’m going to be ready to work when I get there."

On staying in New Orleans:

"It’s a great opportunity because my mom and dad always stressed they wanted to come to my games once I get to college. They want to be able to experience it, and Tulane is becoming a powerhouse. They have been succeeding tremendously the last couple of years, so having that caliber of school come recruit me and to be able to commit and stay home, it’s a big help to my parents on top of me."

On if his recruiting is over:

"Honestly I love where I am right now, so the chances are very slim that I do take another visit.”

Guerry, A quick review of this site and NOLA.com shows you have written ten stories on Tulane baseball for Advocate since your last meaningful post here (May 21st,).

This doesn’t even include fresh real time brief reporting on Twitter.

I welcome correction if I’m mistaken on the relative barrenness of your writing here but it sure is easy to miss

Bluntly what’s the point of subscribing here when the vast majority of your meaningful reporting and insights are consistently published elsewhere?

I admire your work ethic as an independent contractor but this site to at least this reader and perhaps others appears now to be at best an afterthought. We haven’t even had a reader post in three days in what is a active time for Tulane athletics including football starting summer conditioning yesterday.

Simply why are you ignoring your paying customers here?

I am headed to Mexico today for a vacation. It was a tight turnaround from the unexpected trip to Corvallis that would have been even tighter if Tulane had advanced to Monday (still wish it would have happened). I will be back next Tuesday and will not be going anywhere until the start of July.

The most lopsided loss in Tulane's postseason history was not the way they wanted the season to end, but Tulane just did not have good enough pitching to compete with the likes of Oregon State and UC Irvine, which is the Wave's kryptonite: Jay Uhlman was not allowed to talk after the game today as per NCAA rules when a coach gets ejected, so Anthony Izzio subbed for him along with Teo Banks and Brady Marget.

IZZIO on what makes UC Irvine lineup so difficult:

'Credit to Ben Orloff and what those guys have done with that offense. They are old and they have played together for a long time and they feed off of each other and do things at the plate. They don’t chase and they have a good idea of what their approach should be at the plate. They made us work all day today. Our guys were trying to be competitive as well and going for it. That’s seven games we’ve played them, and their approach has been one of the best I’ve ever called pitches against for sure.”

IZZIO on huge increase in wins from last year to this:

“At the end of the day it’s about these players. It’s about what they bring to the table every day and how hard they work. I’ve got two perfect examples up here next to me that I’m thankful just to be sitting next to them. I have two boys at home, and the fact of the matter is all they talk about is Brady Marget and Teo Banks and their walk-out songs and they’re 5 and 2 (years old). For the program to have an example of these two young men next to me but also the other 38 guys we have in the dugout, we’ve got the right people from the right families and I think the future of the program is bright. We just have to continue to keep chipping away at it and get to the ultimate goal, which is to try to get to Omaha.”

BANKS on being down 6-3 with bases loaded in sixth inning:

“Our word this late in the season has been belief, and that’s kind of just what we have. Just keep believing.”

MARGET on his struggles at the plate before today:

“I wasn’t hitting the greatest in the earliest games, but I tried not to bring that into today. All that was in the past. I was just trying to take it pitch by pitch and game by game. Today I felt a little better. I got some good barrels.”

MARGET on season:

“I’m really proud of this team and this coaching staff. We’ve become a really tight-knit group, and it’s been an honor and a privilege to be able to compete with these guys day in and day out. It was just a really fun year and I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish this year.”

BANKS on season:

“The same what Brady said. One thing I loved about this team and this coaching staff was that we just kept going when it was really rough. That’s almost better than winning at times, just keep going.”

MARGET on Uhlman being ejected:

“Yeah, there was a little frustration. It kind of lit a little fire in us, trying to get us hyped up. Stuff like that happens, and it’s important not to think too much about all those external factors like the umpires or all that other stuff and just stay within our approach and within our mentality and just keep going from there.”

MARGET on his future and draft:

"If all that happens, it happens. I’m still thinking. Except right now I’m just thinking about this team and thinking about this season we’ve had and celebrating that. If that happens, it happens. If not, (voice trails off).”

BANKS on his future and draft

“Kind of the same what he said. I’m just taking it day by day. I’m not really thinking too much about it.”

MARGET on direction of program:

“I feel really good about it. We have a lot of confidence in these coaches and just overall our teammates as a whole. We’ve made a jump forward to getting back-to-back regionals, and next year we have bigger goals and hopefully look to do some more damage in the postseason.”

IZZIO on Billy Price being taken out early:

“What Billy’s been able to accomplish since he’s put on the Olive and Blue is special. His family, all those type things. In the game like today, where it’s an elimination game and you’ve got guys that you haven’t used, you trust them just as much. Nothing in particular just as much as I liked the matchup to go to Carter right there. That’s pretty much it, but I get emotional up here talking about Billy and just kind of what he means to me and what he’s overcome throughout his life is just a lot bigger than the game of baseball. I wouldn’t have started anybody else in an elimination game against a really good opponent other than him if I had a chance today with him being available.”

IZZIO on Michael Lombardi making clutch pitches to keep Wave in game:

“Mike competed really well. He gave us a chance, some momentum swings right there in those middle innings of the game. That’s what you’re going to get out of him. He’s going to compete on the offensive side and on the mound. I couldn’t have asked for any more out of him and what he was giving us in the middle part of the game just to keep us in it and having an opportunity in the later innings.”

MARGET on rainy conditions:

“We’re not really thinking about it too much. We’re still playing baseball. The weather is the weather. There’s nothing you can do about it, so I don’t think it really changed much of how we went about this game.”

BANKS on rainy conditions:

“It was just sprinkling. It was all right.”

UC IRVINE COACH BEN ORLOFF on offense:

“Once you get in the loser’s bracket, you’ve got to be able to win a game on offense when it’s required. Tulane’s had a really good year. Coach Uhlman and what they’ve done there, maybe the second largest win difference between last year and this year, those guys had a heck of a year, so for us to win on offense and be able to save some pitchers for tonight was huge.”

Can someone who has access to D1 Baseball tell us who the current Tulane players that are in the transfer portal.

I am headed to Corvallis tomorrow evening, where I will cover both Tulane and Nicholls for The Advocate. It was touch and go whether I would get approval to be out there, but I got the positive word yesterday evening after booking a flight a couple of days earlier that was not refundable but could have been applied to future flights.

Oregon State is the clear favorite to win the regional based on its talent, which is rated among the the top 10 in the country, but the Beavers played a soft schedule and had some lapses during the year, so they do not appear to be invincible. They played fewer games against NCAA tournament teams, going 5-4, than Tulane, which went 7-7.

Tulane's bats were terrific against AAC pitching this year and even against ECU's Trey Yesavage, who is projected as a top 15 pick in the draft, so it will be interesting to see what the Wave can do with ace Aiden May, who was a nondescript pitcher (Juco, then 6.35 ERA last year at Arizona) before transferring to Oregon State His nunbers in his last four regular-season starts were off the charts. He allowed 16 hits and one earned run with five walks and 37 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings while dominating NCAA regional team Oregon, Washington State, UCLA and Pac-12 champion Arizona, which had to be fun after the year he had with the Wildcats. He had two bad outings this year--on the road at Cal and at home against Arizona--but he did not allow a run in his other four Pac-12 starts at home. Obvioulsy, Chandler Welch needs to be on his game again, and the Wave cannot afford a defensive lapse like Marcus Cline's botched double-play opportunity.

Oregon State is tough at home. The Beavers went 24-2 there this year and have won seven of the nine regionals they have hosted, going 24-5. That said, four of their opening-round wins against 4 seeds were by 1 run, and they lost to Cincinnati in 2019. I don't really have a feel for what will happen Friday because Tulane appears to be a lot better than it was earlier in the year when it got smoked by UC Irvine and even UTSA at home. I also don't know how the Wave will handle the atmosphere of a big, loud crowd after not experiencing anything like that all year. Road games at ULL and USM came the closest.

I did not think Tulane had any shot to beat Yesavage in the opener against ECU and was proven wrong. I can't wait to see what the Wave does against May.

I give Nicholls an outside shot to beat UC Irvine. Mike Silva in an incredible coach who gets the best out of his players, but the Colonels' pitching is suspect. Their ace, Jacob Mayers, throws really hard and is tough to hit, but he walked more batters than he pitched innings, which is unheard of for an ace. He also has not faced a lineup as good as UC Irvine with the possible exception of Nebraska, which scored 4 runs in 4.2 innings off him. Nicholls is peaking right now, but I just don't know if that team has enough talent to beat a big boy. UC Irvine retuned every player who had an at-bat last year, and it showed in a potent lineup.

Tulane should be able to handle Nicholls if they meet in the loser's bracket, but let's see if the Wave can pull the big upset and get a chance to avenge six mostly lopsided losses to UC Irvine in a row. This is not the same team UC Irvine faced at the beginning of the year. Although Luc Fladda has been merely OK as a second-day starter, maybe he gained confidence from getting the last five outs against Wichita State in the AAC title game.

Look for Tulane to issue a lot of free passes to Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana, he of the .400-plus average and 26 home runs. I got the feeling Jay Uhlman was a lot more confident about his team's ability to hit May than get Bazzana out.

This regional should be fun. I can't wait to get out there.

For some time I’ve thought that one of Coach Uhlman’s worst moves was to bat first Banks and then Linn 9th even after they came out of slumps. I notice the controversy over batting order has now spilled over to other web sites.

I understand that some people argue that the 9th place hitter can be a “2nd leadoff” hitter, essentially making batter #9 and the “true’ leadoff hitter two consecutive “leadoff hitters.” Heck, if that’s a good idea, why not have your 9th place guy bat second, then you have two leadoff hitters at the beginning of, and thoughout, the game.

But to our specific issue. Does Linn qualify as a “leadoff” type hitter? He has the highest slugging percentage and the lowest on-base percentage of any of our nine starters. He also strikes out at a higher rate than any of our starters. That sounds like a mid-lineup guy to me, not someone expected to “set the table” for others. Yeah, he hit a walk off homer from the 9th spot. Glad that happened. But the difference in batting 9th vs 5th for example probably costs a hitter 25-30 at bats over a college baseball season. On Sunday, batting earlier in the lineup his homer might have scored 2, 3, or 4 runs; we certainly had the opportunity, But no-one knows. I personally would bat Linn 5th and put Lombardi 9th. Lombardi is middle of the pack (5th) in on-base percentage and last is slugging percentage. Moreover, he gets the bat on the ball, striking out at a lower rate than anyone but Rasmussen and Marget. Perfect 9-hole hitter in my view.

Anyway, let's beat Oregon State with whoever pitches and whatever lineup Coah Uhlman chooses.

Roll Wave!!!

I talked to Jackson Linn, Carter Benbrook and Uhlman today.

Linn, who I never thought should have been pulled from the lineup even though he was struggling for a stretch, has rebounded with a vengeance now that he is playing regularly again. Not only is he hitting home runs--five in the last five games--but he also has drawn five walks in the last six games, one fewer than he had for the entire season until that point. He is one lethal nine-hole hitter.

Since the start of April, Benbrook has an ERA of 1.59 with 22 strikeouts and two walks in 17 innings. He has become the bridge from the starters to late-game relievers Henry Shuffler and Jacob Moore Tulane really needed. If you take out four dreadful performance in a row near the beginning of the year, his ERA is below 2.00 for the season.

JACKSON LINN

On his sudden propensity to draw walks (he faced 10 two-strike pitches on those five walks)

"I'm seeing the ball well right now. It helps when you are able to kind of react to the ball and see it deeper. When I'm aggressive and looking to try to hit the ball, my mind and eyes are going to work more in synch and I'm going to realize that's not one (a pitch) I can get to versus balls that I do want to get to, I'll be able to react quickly to."

On drawing walk to lead off 10th inning against ECU on Sunday after hitting home runs in two previous at-bats:

"The idea is just not to do too much in those moments. When the moment gets too big, in that moment I would try to hit a homer and end the game rather than just take what was given to me. I went in there with the understanding they didn't want me to beat them. They were going to try to not work around me necessarily, but I wasn't going to get a good heater for a strike. With that in mind, it helped draw the walk."

On if this is the best team he's been on:

"Yeah. This team certainly has more talent than any team I've been on. More talent and more drive I'd say and with the momentum going in our favor, it feels loose and confident out there right now. I think the whole team is feeling that way. That's a good spot to be in."

On tricky series against Charlotte when what really matters is AAC tourney next week:

"We're not going to take this week off. No shot. We're going to want to win, and we want to get the best seed we can for the tournament for sure. Also belief and momentum are big things in baseball, so if we can keep the winning history going and we sweep these guys, everyone is going to be scared of us when we go into this tournament."

On back-to-back tremendous catches in outfield in 10th inning Sunday:

"I've spent so many innings in left field now that I should be more comfortable. Playing left field, I'm not going to be getting all the attention for being a stellar outfielder, but when the ball finds me, I've got to do my job. That's what my goal is out there."

On the first catch, when he got good jump and caught it near the line on the warning track:

"I was confident all the way. We were in no doubles defense, so I was playing a little further back and that certainly helped me get a better angle on it. When the ball's in the air and you think you've got a bead on it, you maybe kick it into that one extra gear. I went for it."

On importance of newcomers on this roster:

"It's huge. The shortstop's a transfer. Second base, catcher, our right fielder Brock (Slaton) played a lot of the year. They've taken up a huge portion of our innings, and that's a lot of the reason we've had success this year."

CARTER BENBROOK

On what's clicking:

"I'm really enjoying playing with these guys and having Izz (Anthony Izzio) call pitches and CT (Colin Tuft) behind the dish. It's still the same. When I come in with runners on, I try to limit the damage and go as long as I can and give the ball to Moore in the ninth. We've got one of the best closers in the country. He makes our jobs a lot easier coming out of the pen knowing that he's behind us."

On locking down Friday after giving up two-run single to first batter:

"It was good. Obviously wish (on the first batter), I was trying to throw a strike there, but wish he got that on the ground for a double play maybe, not a single, but I was trying to come in there and throw strikes and see what happened,"

On biggest adjustment he made during the year after giving up 11 runs over four relief appearances in late February and early March:

"I really tried not to change a whole lot of things. Just kind of how those shook out. I tried to stay the course and focus on the process rather than the immediate results."

On bullpen:

"For a staff in general. (Luc) Fladda's been really good. Chandler (Welch) has been great. Blaise (Wilcenski) has given us what we needed. We've asked him to step into other roles. Everybody knows their role, does the best they can and all that matters is we get the win at the end of the day."

On dangerous team:

"When we play to our capability and how we are supposed to, we can beat anybody in the country. We know that and I think now everybody else knows that."

On Charlotte series:

"It's still the same. We're going into this series expecting to win, expecting to sweep. Just being into Clearwater, knowing that we're going there no matter what is always nice, but we're focused on Thursday night and getting off to a good start and keeping the momentum rolling."

On validation against ECU:

"Absolutely. We expected to win going in, and it's obviously a good feeling to get what we want out of it. Sometimes you don't get what you want, but it's nice that stuff went our way. We played the best we could have could. Actually I take that back. We didn't play the best we could have. We still have room to grow. There wasn't anything easy about it, but we went out there and we did it."

JAY UHLMAN

On Benbrook rebounding from slow start this year:

"The hiccup came against a team (UC Irvine, when he gave up six runs in 1.2 innings over two appearances) he's faced for four years (he played for UC Irvine's Big West foe UC Santa Barbara). Irvine's seen him many times, so familiarity was on their side for that, but his league stats have been outstanding. That's what we got him hoping and believing he would be. Fifth-sixth, sixth-seventh (inning bridge to the back of the bullpen)."

On Linn walking five times in last six games:

"He matched his season total in two weeks. Walking is a component of hitting. Good hitters walk. The mindset to go up and hit is good, but when you're hitting to avoid something like two strikes, that's when chase shows up. A lot of his walks have been with two strikes (four of the five)."

On Linn as weapon:

"That's a heck of a nine hitter. I don't think there are probably a lot of nine hitters with 12 homers. A fully functioning Jackson Linn is a dangerous weapon for us."

On approach to Charlotte series:

"We know we're mathematically in (the AAC tournament). We want to win the series, but we also want to set ourselves up for the tournament. If we win the series but don't win the tournament, it doesn't matter. It matters because we want to get 20 wins. We want to win the series. Those are always goals all the time, but we're going to make sure we put ourselves in the most advantageous position to be ready for Tuesday in Clearwater."

It looked like East Carolina was going to lose its opener for the second consecutive year until Rice imploded defensively in the bottom of the eighth inning today, blowing a 4-0 lead when its right fielder lost a ball in the sun that should have been an easy catch on the warning track and had it bounce off his glove (it was absurdly ruled a triple). Then, after ECU cut the deficit to 4-2, the shortstop could not pick up a tailor-made, inning-ending double play ball with the bases loaded, opening up the floodgates. By the time the inning was over, ECU had 12 runs, with the right fielder dropping another ball he lost in the sun along the way. I'm being dead serious when I say I'm not sure any program in any sport has fallen this far from perennial national championship contender to total garbage like Rice has in the past 10 years.

As for Tulane, I feel like it is one of three teams with a legit shot to win the tournament along with ECU and Wichita State from the other half of the bracket. I believe the Wave ended up in the easier half, but that comes with a huge caveat--tonight's game will be tough. Not only is Tulane facing a pitcher (C.J. Williams) who threw a complete-game, five-hit shutout against it last month, but FAU also has a reliever who had better stuff than any pitcher the Wave faced this season in my opinion. Danny Trehey ended the regular season with a 1.91 ERA and was well on his way to clinching the series against Tulane when he was lifted after a walk to Brady Marget with two outs in the eighth inning (he had pitched 3 innings, allowing one hit with five Ks to that point). He was one pitch away from matching his season high, but Uhlman and I agreed at the time it was a gift for the Wave, which scored 7 in the ninth to rally to win.

Good teams tend t find a way to overcome tough matchups, so we will find out what Tulane has in it tonight. Williams has struggled in his last two outings, but he had a solid year and is FAU's only member of the All-Conference team (second team). I agree with the decision to throw Chandler Welch--before knowing what team the Wave would face, Uhlman said his initial inclination was to throw Luc Fladda), but Welch needs to be on. He's had a pretty good year and will get drafted, so he needs to bring it in what might be his final college start.

If Tulane wins tonight, it would face either UTSA or Charlotte on Thursday. Although UTSA hammered the Wave at Turchin Stadium, the Roadrunners' bats have cooled down considerable since then. They had only four hits in a win against FAU on Friday and four runs in a loss on Saturday and ended the year 10-8 in their last 18 conference games compared to Tulane's 12-6. I would expect the Wave to throw Fladda in that Thursday game (he struck out 8 in 4.1 innings while giving up 6 hits and three runs in the first meeting, which was better than the other starters fared).

The key for Tulane tonight is avoiding another slow start at the plate (Williams faced one over the minimum in the first three innings of the first meeting, which has been a recurring them even in some of the games Tulane has won). The lineup is far deeper than FAU's, and if the Wave can get to Williams early, this one could be easy. That's a big if, though.

Winning tournaments is hard. Even in the glory days of the Rick Jones era, Tulane won the conference tourney twice in a row only once (1998 and 1999), and the '98 tournament was a Turchin Stadium. Tulane also rarely bows out in two straight, doing it in 2000, 2004 (getting outscored 26-8 before going to Oxford and winning a regional) and 2017 since the beginning of Jones' tenure. Although the pitching depth is considerably better this year than last, the Wave cannot afford to lose tonight and expect to win four in a row to reach the championship game like ECU did. It is essential to win the first two games, something Tulane did last year for the first time since the year of the second CWS appearance in 2005.

Will Teo Banks, who has been unconscious in the last two AAC tournaments (19 of 39 with five home runs and 20 RBIs in nine career games), pick up where he left off a year ago? Will Connor Rasmussen continue to be the rock star he has been all year, and from his relatively new leadoff spot? Will enough of the guys in the rest of the order (there are no holes in it) get hot? We shall see.

I'm not predicting Tulane to win it, but it's certainly a realistic possibility. I have the Wave losing to either Wichita State or East Carolina (whoever wins their winners' bracket game on Thursday) in the championship game. I'm a little concerned about the way Henry Shuffler and Jacob Moore have pitched in the last two weeks, and Tulane's starters rarely go deep into a game. One or both could end costing the Wave, which, if it wins tonight, will need big performances from Billy Price and Michael Lombardi to go all the way.

A massive win for Tulane, which trailed 2-0 and 5-2 but responded quickly both times to tie the score and got a go-ahead, monster home run from Colin Tuft with two outs in the eighth to take the lead for the first time.

One quick word about Jay Uhlman and his staff, who have done a terrific job this year despite the criticism they have gotten for coaching decisions. I'll tell you this- Uhlman has a much better feel for the game than Rick Jones did in the last seven years of his coaching career, which I covered. Jones probably would have gone to recently shaky closer Jacob Moore in the ninth tonight because, and I'm quoting from past experience, "that's my guy." Uhlman stuck with Carter Benbrook, who had been brilliant in the eighth, and the result was a six-pitch ninth as Tulane preserved its win. The players on this team really like each other and the coaches, and they have made tremendous individual strides as a result of the coaching. If this Tulane team win the tournament, which is a huge if because Wichita State is playing extremely well right now and the pitching depth remains suspect, it can do damage in a regional. The lineup from top to bottom is clearly the best since I returned to New Orleans in 2008, and there are more winners on this team than any I've covered. They care. They are invested. And they are tough.

UHLMAN

"Some things aren't equal always. Sometimes things are ugly. Sometimes you stub your toe and you get bloodied, and then you have to be able to have the courage to continue on and fight even when it feels yucky. I said this and I truly believed it, we were going to be in a dogfight. That's a team I have respect for. I have no past history with them, but those guys fight, too. My hat's off to them. Someone had to win nd someone had to lose. There were a lot of big moments. It was just a really good ugly win."

On not having a lot of outs in lineup helping team in tourney:

"It certainly does. The quality of the at-bats are showing up that make you feel good as a coach. We got a guy on and nobody out and I had the confidence to roll in there a hit-and-run (with Marcus Cline) and it backfires (he missed the pitch and Colin Tuft stopped before being caught in a run-down) and they score three the next half-inning, but we turn around and score three. The resolve of our players, I've seen it all year. We've seen it all year. That's a trademark of a championship team, a tough team, an engaged group of guys that believe in each other and love each other as teammates. If you asked me that question in a loss, I'd honestly be telling you the same thing because that's just a matter of fact. But yeah, it gives you great confidence that you can win in a variety of ways. You can win with the long ball, with the inside game and the running game, so that part gives you a lot of confidence."

On if it's weird that it's feeling like last year all over again (not my question because this team went 12-6 in its last 18 conference games and last year's team had one winning streak all regular season in a horrific display):

"No. I love it. I understand your question, but it's how they feel. Our guys believe, and that's the really cool thing. I've said this to people who ask me. I don't necessarily believe in speeches. I think they're important. The communication piece to the team is important. It regulates emotions and allows them to understand how you feel and what the message is, but we get to this part of the year and we've had 55 games under our belt and I feel like we operate in a way that we're going to tell them the truth when it's good and it's bad. I always say that's real. When you get to a point like this and everything's on the table, they are competitive dudes. They want to win. They want to show out. They want to rise to the occasion, and when I'm able to give them the coach speak, they really take that and they raise their game to a different level. Their focus has been unbelievable, similar to last year at this time. Their intent is phenomenal, and it's just a gritty, gutty group. My intention is as long as I'm the coach here, that those kinds of efforts and that kind of mentality will be pervasive. I don't know any other way. I appreciate that our guys take that baton and really run with it good because they are a resilient group."

On Benbrook's six outs:

"He's one of the most competitive dudes we have. When he first got here, I don't think our players really understood him, but I had a suspicion that as the season went along and it became all of us in the dugout and he went out there and did his job that they would understand like, oh, OK, this is why this guy rubbed me a little bit wrong in the fall because this is what it looks like in the spring when we're all on the same team. Him coming into the game at the time that he did and the way the lineup was turning over to left, right, left, it put us in a really good position to maximize Carter's outing and keep J Bob (Jacob Moore) in the holster. Carter just went out there and did what he does--living at the bottom of the zone with all his pitches. Total faith in his competitive spirit. He's a special kid that way."

On Connor Rasmussen taking eight-pitch walk to start three-run sixth after Charlotte scored three in the top of the inning:

"He had two big walks, but that one was huge. The thing that Ras does really well and has proven time and time again and our guys know when he's in there, we're going to get the best quality at-bat from him, and teams in the other dugout, now having seen him do what he does, I think sometimes they feel like they have to pitch extra special and extra fine and perfect and he ends up working counts to a walk. He's just a tremendous competitor with a great eye, a great sense for the strike zone. He jump-started us again that way. He's a special kid."

On Teo Banks in Clearwater:

"He answers the challenge always. I said this when we came here last year and people asked me what's going to be different and how are things going to be, and they asked about Teo because he made the All-Tournament team (in 2022) and I just said look, when you go to a place that you've had success in multiple occasions. We've played 14 or 15 games here, and he's had tremendous success here in games, there's just something about that, whether it manifests itself in a lot of hits and all that kind of stuff, just the feeling you have going to the park. It's like you see a pitcher you know you can hit and you know you can own this guy, there's a mental edge there that's maybe not overt but it's definitely there. When you have that kind of success, people know it and our team knows it and he knows it. The thing I appreciate about him this year was it was a different kind of way. His sophomore year, the rough start wasn't super productive, and then he got unconscious and played at a level we all know he can play at, and then this year in his slow start, there were a lot of things. You are the preseason MVP. We hadn't played a game. He was selected as a team captain. It's his junior year, it's the draft year. There's all these things that are going on with young people, and he's not immune to that either. He's a human being, so you naturally have these thoughts, and of course when you start slow, some of that's the pressure he puts on himself to be great and help his teammates and win, but you also go back to here we go again. But the thing I thought was totally different this year was the batting average was the batting average, but his production was really good. The whole year, if you add his runs and RBIs together, he's been either first or second for us all year long even with a bad batting average. Over the course of 162 games, you've got a chance to make up for that. In college it's 55, 56 regular-season games, so every game's super important, but the thing I appreciate about him was he was being productive with his outs for the most part and then the other thing that really changed was he was a right fielder for us last year, and he has turned himself with the work with coach (Thomas) Brittle, into an All-Conference, All-American type center fielder. He just dominates out there, so that part I'm really proud of. It's no surprise to me that he does what he does. I wish it wasn't as tough on him, but sometimes we don't have control over those things and that's the journey that it take to get where you need to go, and we have full faith and confidence that every time he steps in the box, something special's going to happen, even if it doesn't."

On who he might throw on Saturday:

"You probably are thinking the likely candidate would be a Billy Price, and he's certainly going to be in the equation for that, but we're going to have a pretty full arsenal of guys to be able to push us through that game. We haven't made definitive decisions, but Billy's definitely a candidate to go out there and do that."

Here is an early list that will be updated as needed. Pretty sure all of these guys were told they were not in the mix for playing time in their interview with Sumrall after spring drills.

RB Iverson Celestine
WR Terez Traynor
WR Jaylon Griffin
OT RJ Whitehead
DT Maxie Baudoin
OL Lajuan Owens
LB Taylor Love
WR Hunter Summers
CB Jai Eugene
CB DK McGruder
OT Noah Gardner
DE AJ Thomas
OT Sully Burns

Traynor and Griffin were transfers after Sumrall arrived, but Griffin was hurt and Traynor did not make many plays. Neither had overwhelming resumes when they transferred in to Tulane, but this is the new world of guys not even staying for a season.

Whitehead was a member of Sumrall's signing class, but those are always cobbled together with new-arriving coaches. Whitehead started at left tackle Saturday, but that was due to the number of guys out. Clearly, the coaches were not impressed with his upside this spring.

Baudoin never got off the scout team under Fritz.

Celestine has some ability and was effective against Kansas State two years ago, but he was running fifth behind Hughes, Barnes, Clayton-Johnson and Cornest and also can be difficult to deal with at times. That combo platter has him headed to the exit door.

Completely dominant performance last night as winwave predicted. An incredible defensive play by Colin Tuft to start the game, a home run by leadoff hitter Connor Rasmussen in the bottom of the first and nine straight strikeouts from Chandler Welch added up to an evisceration of FAU. Jay Uhlman and Rasmussen spoke on zoom afterwarrd, and Welch talked on the phone.

UHLMAN

"What a tremendous effort by our club. Chandler Welch was brilliant. Henry Shuffler was outstanding out of the bullpen but really just offensively we were tenacious and focused. I'm really proud of how they were--their aura, their being, their mentality. Those are really cool things as a coach to watch your team do those kinds of things. It's one down. We'll compartmentalize and evaluate the game, but just really pleased with how we came out tonight and just took the fight to them."

On what learned from first meeting with FAU pitcher C.J. Williams:

"Give that kid credit. That was a career game for him (the five-hit shutout in April). I'd love to tell you we were still trying to find a little bit of an identity, but I don't want to take anything away from his outing. He went complete game and shut us out. He was tremendous that weekend. It's the same thing I always say. Momentum and past performances kind of matter, but they don't. Our guys were just determined to avenge that feeling that they had and just really tried to get to him. When you're short-rested after 100-plus pitches (101 against UTSA last Thursday), it's advantage offense. We were aggressive to him and I thought we frustrated him. Just really pleased with their effort."

On Chandler Welch's performance:

"He had eight strikeouts against Charlotte last weekend in four innings, and I thought he was actually better tonight than he was at Charlotte, and he was really impressive at Charlotte. He was tremendous tonight. Once we got him the lead, when your best boxer's out there in the ring and you get him a lead like that, Chan's the kind of guy that's going to take that and run with it. He's not going to try to over-pitch, but he's going to be really aggressive and feel pretty free with his stuff. He was absolutely tremendous."

On secret to success in Clearwater:

"I'd like to think as we continue this journey and continue to get better, hopefully you'll say we played in the tournament like we played all year. In some cases that's true and in some cases it wasn't, and probably the overall record reflected that. What I do know is our guys are believers. They are tough. They are competitive. When you get to the finality, every game means something in college baseball, but when you get guys to a point where they believe in each other and they believe in the coaches and the coaches believe in them and the way we treat them and coach them consistently I'll use the analogy of a horse race and the Kentucky Derby when you're coming down the stretch and it's neck and neck and the jockey's going to the whip to get that horse to go. I think that's what we have when we get here. I'd like to think that our guys believe in what we do and who we are and believe in themselves. When you have that and there's extra motivation there, you see the focus that shows up. It showed up tonight. Our responsibility will be a day off tomorrow, get refreshed and this game's over. This game's going to do nothing for us moving forward. I'm going to remind them of that, but they're not going to need reminding. They're right there with me, so they are very focused on what their mission is and how they need to do that."

On advantage playing seven innings when next opponent, Charlotte, played 12 innings:

"When you're short rested, you try to take every advantage that you can get. Charlotte played us tough. We had three really good games against them and we just happened to come out on top in two out of the three there. They had the win tonight against a good UTSA and hung on. From where I sat watching it, there were a lot of similarities in our games (against Charlotte) and that game. Charlotte showed tremendous toughness, so I'm not going to expect anything different when we see them on Thursday. They are going to have a day rest and they'll have some of their pitchers back and it's going to be a competitive event again. If it ends up being an advantage, so be it, but I don't think we're going to take anything for granted or likely."

On likely matchup of Luke Fladda versus Adam Stanton (Fladda pitched the opener of last Thursday's doubleheader, throwing 57 pitches, while Stanton pitched the nightcap, throwing 77 pitches):

"I would say you're probably barking up the right tree."

RASMUSSEN

On taking pitch over the middle of the plate on 3-0 count leading off and then clobbering the next pitch in the same spot to set the tone for the night:

"Had a similar approach that I had against him the last time. I was looking for a fastball down and kind of reacting to everything else. The first pitches were off the outer third, and we know that's where he was trying to go. The 3-0 pitch was more middle, and he threw it again 3-1 and I was able to put a good swing on it. We felt like last time even though he went a complete game, we had some good swings off of him. We definitely put a rally off of him tonight. We knew what he was going to look like and we were just able to jump on him early."

On not relaxing with early lead and finishing it in seven innings:

"That's huge, especially in a tournament like this, we know our offense can score in bunches. Our goal once we got up early was to put them away and save some pitching for later in the week."

On Colin Tuft's spinning throw after field leadoff bunt:

"That's huge. He's been tremendous back there for us all year. He's made that play a couple of times, and every time he makes it, I'm still speechless. That's huge to start an inning with one out versus a lead-off single. That was big getting us some momentum, and Chandler just rolled from there."

On Welch:

"He's a workhorse for us. He's been that all year, and we have all the confidence in the world in him every time he takes the hill. He's fun to play defense behind just the way he works. We know he's going to go out and compete for us every day. He shows his emotions and we love that. It fires us up behind him."

On importance of second game:

"It's big. The day off is super important for us. We are going to get a good practice in tomorrow, but we've been a focused group now for the past couple of weeks. Coach has stressed it's playoff time for us, and we've been in that mode for these past couple weeks. We're comfortable, and we love playing when the lights are the brightest."

On no easy outs in lineup:

"Yeah. This offense is relentless 1 through 9, and we know that. We know if we don't get the job done, someone behind us is going to pick us up. This offense is clicking right now and it's really cool to see."

WELCH

On how he felt:

"I felt great. Obviously waiting that long to get started at 10 o'clock was a little bit stressful, but overall it was really good. It was awesome to get the energy going out there for game 1. I had to channel it back a little bit early on in the game, but it was just a great night."

On how quickly he knew he would be in total control:

"I think in the first two hitters, I went right at them and then a two-out walk, but once the second inning hit and we had a couple of strikeouts, that was probably the moment where I knew this was going to be a game where I had a lot of things going right. And fortunately enough, I had the slider going really well, a good fastball and multiple pitches going tonight. That's all it took."

On nine strikeouts in a row:

"I think maybe four was my highest ever. I hadn't done that before."

On playing well in Clearwater:

"I think it's a lot about just the environment. You come here to a great place. It's great energy. It's great vibes and we kind of use that to how we play. Of course we're locked in and we're dialed and focused on the game, but we're also enjoying and having fun with each other. That's why when it comes to tournament time, we turn it up a little bit and it brings out the best in us whenever it matters the most."

On if he will be available later in the week:

"I don't have a specific timeline. We'll probably talk about that more, but if it happens we get to an elimination game, I'm ready to go. And if we go 3-0, I'll be ready for Sunday for sure."

It wasn't pretty, but Tulane got a split with Charlotte today. That seems about right since either game could have gone either way. With the Wave using the seven pitchers it will use in the AAC tournament and Charlotte using scrubs on the mound in the second game after clinching a spot in the tournament, getting swept would have been bad, but Michael Lombardi made sure it did not happen. Other than that, nothing this weekend matters. Momentum means nothing. It's just a matter of pitchers pitching well in Clearwater and hitters having clutch at-bats.

UHLMAN

On Lombardi:

"He was Shohei Ohtani tonight. The pitching part was electric. The homer, him and I both thought he kind of got under it a little bit, but there was no wind. That was an earned homer obviously at a big part of the game. We'd been kind of stuck in neutral a little bit, then we got a guy on, the left fielder dropped a ball and Jackson (Linn) stuck one in the corner, so that was good. Chandler (Welch) went out there and his four innings were really impressive (eight strikeouts, no runs). And that was double-short rest (five days after his last start). Michael was on with all of his stuff-curveball, fastball, he was really good,"

On Friday plans:

"We're going to start Billy (Price) tomorrow. Then it's going to be on everybody else that's left to pitch, so the fact that we split today. Obviously we want to win tomorrow and win the series on the road, but they are going to be short (on pitching) and we're going to be short. It is what it is. The fact that we got to play a doubleheader today, while taxing physically, we are going to get four days off. Nobody else in the conference (other than Charlotte) is going to have that."

On Shuffler and Moore getting roughed up recently:

"You gotta be able to locate and get ahead, and I'm not sure frequently that's happened enough as of late. Coach Izz was upset with that part today, but I totally get it. Knowing what we're doing, we have to try to do more on offense even though we scored 7 (in the opener). For so long those two guys in particular have carried the workload, so it's like you kind of gotta be able to give them some grace. They've been used pretty good here down the stress. The good news is they were used today and they won't be used Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. They'll have four days of rest, which will be a big deal. The adrenaline will be kicking, so I don't anticipate any kind of hangover with them with their recent performances."

On if he is worried about them wearing down:

"No, not at all. If anything, it's maybe just mental fatigue or that kind of stuff. We're good there."

On depth in lineup being a key factor in Tulane's favor:

"Huge. We did some things. We had a hit and run today. That was nice. We had a situational sac fly hitting, so we did some nice things there. I thought Charlotte had some really good arms. Their stuff was really good. If you look at their stats, it''s a lot of strikeouts, but it's also a lot of walks. I didn't think the walks showed up nearly as much as I was anticipating (three in he first game, five in the second game). I was thinking they might strike out 10 but they might walk 10, and they didn't do that. They were throwing strikes and our guys were aggressive. I thought their arms were better than advertised, and for the most part we were competitive. Gavin (Schulz) had a huge home run (in the second game). There were some positive things and we just kept battling and fighting and clawing. It was pretty much back and forth for 18 innings. It was a pretty good fight."

On Marcus Cline not breaking for plate on bouncer to first, costing Tulane a run in second game:

"He was supposed to be going home. That's just the play. I don't know why he stopped. He brain-farted, but that's just one where you run. He stopped, they tagged Raz and then they got in a rundown (with Jackson Linn) between second and third and then threw him (Cline) out at home. I was already angry. I thought they missed a replay call (right before the tying home run Blaise Wilcenski allowed in the second game). They told me they had it clearly he was safe. I told them I just watched the Jumbotron and he was clearly out. I was angry at that and I was frustrated at Blaise because after we didn't get the out call, it was like five hits and a walk. He didn't miss a barrel and it was noncompetitive. But then Michael came to the rescue on both sides of the ball."

On weather forecast for Friday:

"They think it will start raining around 7, so we should be OK."

"

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