May 16, 2001

Box Score

METAIRIE, La. -- The Tulane (45-10) baseball team was upset in the first round of the 2001 FedEx Conference USA baseball tournament by Charlotte (24-29) 8-4 on Wednesday evening.

Charlotte starter and Conference USA Pitcher of the Year John Maine (12-6) stymied the Tulane offense. He allowed nine hits, four runs and struck out three en route to his 12th win of the season. Pat Gambale picked up his first save of the season.

The 49ers jumped on the scoreboard first, as Eric Shanks began the second inning with a triple and scored on an error by James Jurries. Charlotte added a second run in the sixth, on a Brad Erwin single.

Tulane had a golden opportunity to score in the bottom of the sixth, but the Wave couldn't cash in and left the bases loaded.

Charlotte put the final nail in the Wave's coffin in the seventh with a seven-run inning that started with runners on second and third with no outs. The 49ers proceeded to slap six runs on the board, giving them an 8-0 lead.

The Green Wave avoided the shutout in the bottom of the seventh, as Andy Cannizaro singled into centerfield allowing Anthony Giarratano to score.

In the eighth, Tulane added three runs on two walks and a sacrifice fly. Charlotte went on to defeat the Wave 8-4.

This is the second straight season the Green Wave has lost its first game of the C-USA Tournament.

The losing pitcher was Green Wave starter Matt Foster. He gave up just two runs through 6 1/3 innings of work. He struck out six.

Cannizaro was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI and Giarratano was 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Tulane will play Cincinnati in an elimination game at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.