Pirates Lose Second Straight Game at Tulane
March 19, 2005 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C.--East Carolina dropped its second straight game to Tulane Saturday at Turchin Stadium, falling 13-6 to the Green Wave. Tulane used three home runs and 15 total hits to knock off the Pirates in Conference USA action.
ECU (12-6, 0-2 C-USA) finished with 13 hits including four batters who collected two hits on the day. Freshmen Dale Mollenhauer and Harrison Eldridge each finished 2-for-4 with Mollenhauer scoring twice and collecting one RBI while Eldridge drove in one. Brian Cavanaugh also finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and Adam Witter went 2-for-5 with his second home run of the season.
Mike Flye (4-2) took the loss, allowing seven runs on 10 hits in four innings of work. The sophomore right-hander struck out three and walked three in a losing effort. Jason Neitz relieved Flye, tossing 2 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on three hits while walking three Tulane batters. Brett Braxton came on to finish the game for ECU, allowing one run on two hits in the final 1 1/3 innings.
Brandon Gomes (3-0) earned the win for Tulane (18-3, 2-0 C-USA) with eight innings on the mound. Gomes allowed four runs on 11 hits but struck out seven Pirates without walking a batter. Ricky Fairchild pitched the ninth for Tulane, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk.
Several Green Wave batters collected multiple hits led by Tommy Manzella who finished 3-for-3 with three RBI, three runs scored and two walks. Matt Barket also collected three hits, going 3-for-5 with three RBI. Nathan Southard, Sean Morgan and Joe Holland all collected two hits on the day. Brad Emaus scored three runs to lead the Green Wave.
Tulane scored first, going up 1-0 after one. Emaus doubled down the leftfield line and scored two batters later on a Scott Madden single through the right side.
The Green Wave added two more runs in the bottom of the third when Barket singled up the middle to score Emaus from third and Manzella from second to give Tulane a 3-0 lead after three.
Mark Hamilton hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth, scoring Morgan and Southard tripled to left-center and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Emaus to leftfield. Barket then singled to left, scoring Manzella to push the Green Wave lead to 7-0 after four.
The Pirates scored a run in the top of the fifth when Cavanaugh scored from third on a Billy Richardson ground out to short.
ECU added two more runs in the seventh to cut the Tulane lead to 7-3. The Pirates led off the inning with consecutive doubles by Cavanaugh and Mollenhauer. Cavanaugh led off the inning pulling a double down the leftfield line and scored when Mollenhauer went to left-center with a double of his own. Two batters later, Eldridge singled through the right side to score Mollenhauer from second.
Holland hit his second home run of the year and second of the series with a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh and Manzella followed later in the inning with the second three-run homer of the inning with a shot to left, increasing the Tulane lead to 13-3.
Witter hit his hit a line shot over the wall in right to lead off the top of the eighth for the Pirates' fourth run of the game. ECU added two more runs in the ninth with Jamie Ray collecting an RBI single in a pinch-hitting role and Drew Costanzo collected an RBI on a sacrifice fly to right.
ECU and Tulane will play the final game of the weekend series Sunday at 2 p.m. EST at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans. The Pirates will then return home to face UNC Wilmington at Clark-LeClair Stadium on Wednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m.
