April 30, 2007

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University baseball team will look to shake off the recent doldrums of a 1-6 swoon on Tuesday, May 1, when the Green Wave take on cross-town foe UNO in game three of the WOW Café & Wingery Cup at 7 p.m. at Zephyr Field.

The two teams enter the series finale with one win each as Tulane defeated UNO, 2-0, on March 13 at "The Shrine on Airline" before the Privateers handed the Green Wave a 14-2 defeat on March 20 at Maestri Field. Tulane has defeated UNO in seven of its last eight meetings, including three-game sweeps in 2005 and 2006.

Game three of the WOW Cup will be broadcast live on the flagship station of Tulane baseball, WRHB 88.3 FM, and the contest can also be heard live on the website at www.TulaneGreenWave.com to paid members of the All-Access Pass. In addition, live stats are available on-line for free via GameTracker.

Tulane will send senior right-hander Matt Goebel (8-1) to the mound on Tuesday where he will be matched up with Privateers' righty Bryan Cryer. Goebel enters the series finale vs. UNO with a 4.61 ERA, 39 strikeouts and 12 walks, and a .289 opponent batting average in 52.2 innings of work. His lone loss of the year, however, came in the two teams' last meeting when the Privateers roughed him up for eight runs on six hits in a three-plus inning start.

Cryer, meanwhile, has been the Privateers' Friday-night starter for most of the season and enters Tuesday night's ballgame 6-2 on the year with a 5.04 ERA and a .301 opponent batting average. He leads the team with 61 strikeouts and 80.1 innings pitched.

Tulane enters game three of the WOW Cafe & Wingery Cup 29-17 on the year, 8-10 in Conference USA play and looking to shake off a two-week stretch that has seen the Green Wave lose six consecutive C-USA contests.

As a team, the Green Wave are hitting .293 with a .399 slugging percentage courtesy of 61 doubles, nine triples and 28 home runs. Junior second baseman Brad Emaus leads the team with a .345 batting average while senior first baseman Tim Guidry and junior shortstop Cat Everett follow with identical marks of .322. Emaus, Guidry, along with sophomore outfielders Aja Barto and Nate Simon lead the team with four home runs each, Guidry paces the club with 33 RBI, and Everett heads the squad with nine stolen bases in 13 attempts.

From the mound, Tulane sports a 3.77 ERA and has held opponents to a .268 batting average. Green Wave hurlers have combined for 378 strikeouts and just 114 walks in 408.0 innings. Junior Sean Morgan leads the team with 96 strikeouts, and 77.1 innings pitched, sophomore Shooter Hunt paces the staff with a 2.00 ERA and a .234 opponent batting average, and Goebel paces the club with eight wins. Senior closer Daniel Latham leads the bullpen with 24 appearances, and has 10 of the Green Wave's 12 saves.

UNO, meanwhile, enters the WOW Cup series finale 28-16 on the year, 12-9 in Sun Belt Conference action and, like Tulane, looking to bounce back from a rough weekend as the Privateers were swept by Florida International in Miami, Fla.

As a team, the Privateers are hitting a collective .300 with a .501 slugging percentage on the strength of 85 doubles, 19 triples and 65 home runs. Johnny Giavotella leads the team with a .384 batting average and is followed by T.J. Baxter and Joey Butler with marks of .379 and .333, respectively. Drew Anderson paces UNO with 12 home runs, Giavotella leads the club with 51 RBI, and Brandon Bowser has stolen 18 bases in 22 tries.

The Privateers' pitching staff has a cumulative 4.73 ERA and has held opponents to a .286 batting average. UNO hurlers have combined for 300 strikeouts and 119 walks in 388.0 innings of work. Justin Garcia leads UNO with a 4.83 ERA and a .294 opponent batting average, and Cryer paces the staff with wins, innings pitched and strikeouts. Adam Campbell has a team-best 19 appearances out of the bullpen and has four of the Privateers' seven saves in 2007.

Tuesday's WOW Café & Wingery Cup matchup between Tulane and UNO marks the 117th meeting between the two schools, making it the fifth longest series in school history in terms of games played. While the Green Wave hold a sizeable lead the all-time series, Tulane has been even better under 14th-year head coach Rick Jones with a 32-17 record against the Privateers since 1994.

Following game three of the WOW Café & Wingery Cup, the Green Wave return to action on Friday, May 4, when they open a three-game series against Conference USA foe UAB at noon. Tulane and UAB will do battle again on Saturday and Sunday, with both contest also slated to begin at 12 p.m.

For ticket information to the week's ballgames, as well as future Tulane Athletics events, contact the Tulane Athletics ticket office at (504) 861-WAVE. Tickets can also be purchased on the day of the game at the Zephyr Field Ticket Office, which is located on the third-base side of the stadium and opens approximately two hours before first pitch.

PITCHING MATCHUP
Tuesday, May 1     B/T   ERA   W-L   G/GS   IP   H   R   ER  BB  K
TU - Matt Goebel   R/R   4.61  8-1  11/9   52.2  59  30  27  12  39
UNO - Bryan Cryer  R/R   5.04  6-2  13/13  80.1  99  50  45  16  61