Feb. 17, 2002

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Sophomore reliever Joey Charron tallied a career-high 11 strikeouts, scattered three hits and walked none in 5.1 innings of work the lead the Tulane University baseball team over Villanova, 5-4, in 10 innings to give the Green Wave the series sweep of the Wildcats Sunday afternoon at Turchin Stadium.

Charron (2-1) replaced starter Ray Liota with two outs in the fifth, and with the exception of a two-run eighth, kept the Wildcat hitters guessing as 10 of Charron's fans were swinging. With the win, Tulane's fourth consecutive victory, the Green Wave improves to 4-2. Villanova, meanwhile, falls to 0-3.

"I thought we played well defensively, and Joey was really good for us," head coach Rick Jones said. "He had a great change (up) going today. He's gotten his curve going from last year, and he's gotten a little faster."

While Charron was in command on the mound, the Green Wave offense made things happen in the extra frame as sophomore first baseman Michael Aubrey belted a one-out double, advanced to third when right fielder Alan Day bobbled the ball, and redshirt-freshman outfielder Gerald Clark drew a two-out intentional walk to set up the winning run.

With sophomore catcher Scott Madden at the plate, Clark broke for second. Villanova catcher Gregory Fater took the toss from Villanova relief pitcher James Russell, and it appeared the Wildcats were attempting a pick play and concede the stolen base. Instead, Fater's throw sailed wide of Russell, Clark collided with Villanova shortstop Dustin Downs and the ball sailed into centerfield which allowed Aubrey to score easily from third.

"I don't know what happened," Jones said. "Maybe it was a communications breakdown or whatever. But that's one thing that happens to teams that come right out of the gym. You can't work on those kind of things when you're inside."

Aubrey and senior third baseman James Jurries each went 2-for-4 on the day, with Aubrey scoring two runs and Jurries notching a pair of RBI. Junior centerfielder Jon Kaplan also had a two-hit day, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

For the third straight-game, the Green Wave got things going early offensively as Kaplan hit a leadoff single in the first, advanced to second on a wild pitch, went to third on a groundout by sophomore shortstop Anthony Giarratano and scored on a Jurries sacrifice fly. Aubrey then came to the plate, singled, stole second and came around to score on an RBI single by Clark to give the Green Wave a 2-0 lead.

Villanova tied things up in the fifth with a two-run inning, but Tulane came right back in the bottom of the frame as Kaplan singled, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Jurries. The Green Wave added another run in the sixth when junior left fielder Aaron Feldman struck out, but reached base on a wild pitch by starter and team ace Brian Slocum, stole second and third and scored on another wild toss by Slocum.

But the Wildcats would not go away and made Charron pay for hanging a change-up as first baseman Rob Cafiero hammered a two-run homer to left in the eighth inning to tie the game at four. From there, though, Charron was in total control as he struck out the next six batters he faced and retired the side in order in the top of the 10th.

Slocum, who is considered as one of the top pitchers in the country, got the loss after giving up six hits and four earned runs while striking out four and walking three. The Wildcat bullpen kept the Tulane bats at bay for the most part as Russell and Brian Hearne only gave up one hit each while combining for four strikeouts.

"The guy they started was everything he was billed to be," Jones said. "Then the left-hander and big right hander were good, too. It's hard to score when you face that kind of pitching."

The Green Wave returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 19, when they travel to Thibodaux, La., to take on the Colonels of Nicholls State at 6:30 p.m. at Ray E. Didier Field. The game will be broadcast live on the radio on WRBH 88.3 FM, and simulcast on the internet at www.tulanegreenwave.com.