Feb. 22, 2002

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS, La. - On George Washington's birthday, the Tulane baseball team handed his university name-sake a present as the Green Wave dropped a 9-7 game to the Colonials Friday night at Turchin Stadium.

With the game tied at seven and one out in the top of the ninth, sophomore shortstop Anthony Giarratano could not handle a hard shot off the bat of GW catcher Jeff Fertitta. With an extra out, the Colonials made Tulane pay with a pair of unearned runs as third baseman Matt Krimel hit a two-out RBI triple and second baseman Nick Iovacchini laced a double down the left field line one batter later to provide the final margin.

The Green Wave had a chance to make up the difference with a two-out rally of their own in the home half of the frame as designated hitter James Jurries and first baseman Michael Aubrey drew back-to-back walks and advanced a base on a double steal, but George Washington reliever Matt O'Connor struck out left fielder Aaron Feldman to end the threat.

The loss snapped the Green Wave's five-game winning streak and halted their home winning streak at 15 contests as Tulane fell to 5-3 on the season. George Washington, meanwhile, improved to 3-3.

The Green Wave played from behind for much of the game as the Colonials took the lead in the first on a solo home run by centerfielder Tony Dokoupil in the second at-bat of the contest. George Washington added a pair of runs in the second, but Tulane came right back in the bottom of the frame when second baseman Turner Brumby laced a two-RBI single up the middle to score Feldman and right fielder Gerald Clark to make it 3-2.

After George Washington scored a single run in the fourth, Tulane took its first lead of the contest in the bottom of the fifth as Brumby reached on an error before third baseman Brooks Shankle and centerfielder Jon Kaplan hit back-to-back singles to load the bases with nobody out.

Giarratano's attempted grand slam one batter later was knocked down by a stiff breeze that blew in from centerfield all night, but he did get it deep enough to score Brumby and cut the lead in half. Then, Jurries hit a two-RBI single and Aubrey and Feldman hit consecutive RBI doubles to give the Green Wave a 7-4 lead.

The lead would be short lived, however, as the Colonials came right back with three runs in the top of the sixth to tie things up and set up the ninth inning heroics.

The Green Wave had its chances to take the lead in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings, but Tulane could not take advantage of the three opportunities.

In the sixth, Tulane had two men on and one out only to see a double play wipe out the rally. Then, in the eighth, catcher Scott Madden hit a one-out single, was replaced by pinch runner Roybell Williams who promptly stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball, but the go ahead-run was left on base as Brumby and Shankle struck out swinging to end the frame.

George Washington's Justin Orenduff, the third Colonial pitcher used in the game, got the win after giving up just one hit and walking one in 2.2 shutout innings with three strikeouts. O'Connor got the save, his second of the year, and Tulane's Kelly Comarda was saddled with the hard-luck loss despite not giving up an earned run in 3.1 solid innings on the hill where he struck out three and walked none.

The Green Wave returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 23, when Tulane plays host to George Washington for the second contest of a three-game series. The two squads will conclude the weekend on Sunday with an 11 a.m. showdown at Turchin Stadium.