In an attempt to beat Rice on Sunday, Tulane used far too many third downs to get the job done.
The Green Wave, which earned its first-ever regular-season victory against the Owls on Saturday, trailed 3-0 after three innings and was unable to muster enough offense to complete the comeback that has been its specialty this 12 months, losing 4-2 .place in the finals of the American Athletic Conference series opener at Reckling Park in Houston.
Wave hitters have had the bat on their shoulders while taking the third strike seven times in the last six innings, and the ninth matched that pattern.
Leadoff catcher Colin Tuft watched the pitch pass to the outfield after third strike was called, and angrily said just a few words to home plate umpire Jeff Minton. Connor Rasmussen calmly returned to the dugout after giving up his third strikeout count to the second out. Teo Banks fouled off 4 consecutive two-strike pitches before waving his hand to one of the holes out of the zone for the final out.
Rice (9-15, 1-2) is removed from the behemoth who won 23 of 27 games with Tulane (15-9, 2-1) in Conference USA from 2006-14 after six consecutive sub-.500 seasons before his AAC debut, but the Owls played well enough to save the finals. The Wave won the opener 14-7 in 11 innings and won the second match 10:1 before you fall silent at the plate on Sunday.
Rice starter Tucker Alch has thrown three scoreless innings on the 12 months. The 4 relievers were almost as effective, regardless that they did not have pretty stats at the start of the day.
“We didn’t walk and we got hit with the ball once,” Tulane coach Jay Uhlman said. “Honestly, it’s going to be hard to win games with this sort of production. It’s a shame we weren’t able to run higher against the weapons they ran on the market.
Rice, who made mistakes in five consecutive rounds on Saturday, corrected those mistakes, while Tulane was not nearly as good because it was the rest of the weekend. The Owls scored in the first when third baseman Gavin Schulz elected not to throw to the plate on a thud at the plate after fielding the quarterback with runners on first and third. They scored two runs in the third quarter on Tuft’s throw to clear a dribbler who sailed past Schulz to left field.
“He (Schulz) stretched too early,” Uhlman said.
Will Clements (1-2) took the loss, giving up five hits on two walks and hitting a batsman that led to three runs (two earned) in 4⅓ innings. Henry Shuffler allowed an RBI single immediately after replacing Clements, then connected with Billy Price to shut out the Owls the rest of the way.
After getting back from losses 4 times this season – including Friday’s opener – the Wave was unable to accomplish that for a fifth time. It was the second weekend in a row through which the series of victories couldn’t be ended.
“We have to hang up our hats to learn from this,” Uhlman said. “We were in this position three times and won it once. We will continue to emphasize the importance of Sundays.”
Friday and Saturday went well. After the Wave hit a season-high five home runs in the first game, the eighth saw a five-run home run, giving Game 2 a win for Chandler Welch (3-0), who lowered his ERA in a career-high eight innings . to 2.23. Schulz went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Tuft had two hits and three RBIs from the leadoff spot, and AAC preseason player of the 12 months Teo Banks added an opposite-field double and a bunt single.
Banks recorded five hits in the series, including two doubles and a house run, after batting .159 in the first 21 games.
“We’re pretty much happy with where Banks is,” Uhlman said. “It’s almost like there’s an exhale. When I watch him go about his business, I feel like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.”
Tulane, ranked No. 1 in the AAC after one weekend, plays at Southern Miss on Tuesday after which hosts Texas-San Antonio Thursday through Saturday. The Roadrunners (12-12) have won two of three at home against prohibitive league favorite East Carolina.
