The NCAA Baseball Tournament is finally here, and LSU’s anticipated, deep tournament run will start on Friday at Alex Box Stadium against Tulane.
The Tigers will face off with the Green Wave in an in-state battle for the regional opener on Friday at 2 p.m. C.T. The game will be aired live on ESPNU from Skip Bertman Field at Alex Box Stadium.
The Green Wave are as hot as any team in college baseball as of late.
Tulane enters the Baton Rouge Regional opener with an overall record of 19-40. However, it won four of its five games in the American Athletic Conference Tournament, including an 8-6 win over the No. 1 seed, East Carolina.
To put that win in perspective, East Carolina is ranked as the No. 15 team in the country, according to d1Baseball.com, and could have hosted a regional had it won in the conference championship.
The Green Wave’s offense has been the primary factor for this sudden burst of momentum. In the American Athletic Conference Tournament, Tulane had double-digit hits in every game and scored double-digit runs in three of its five games. The whole lineup has produced at the plate in these last five games.
Teo Banks has led the charge for Tulane. With a .303 batting average on the season, Banks went 11 for 21 in the Green Wave’s five games in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Against Houston in the conference tournament semifinals, Banks went three for five with two home runs and six RBIs.
But to win a conference championship, of course, Banks can’t be the only one to produce.
Gavin Schulz caught fire in the conference tournament, going 10 for 15. Coming into the conference tournament, he had three home runs on the season with a .235 batting average. He hit two home runs in the five tournament games.
Not only Schulz is catching fire at the right time, but Brennan Lambert went eight for 16 in the conference tournament while coming in with a .290 batting average on the season, and Brady Marget went seven for 21 with a .302 batting average on the season.
On the mound is where Tulane continues to somewhat struggle, but the offense has been able to bail them out recently.
Ricky Castro and Dylan Carmouche have been the leaders on the mound for the Green Wave this season, and either of these two pitchers is likely to take the mound against LSU.
Castro got the start in the conference tournament opener against Houston, in which he gave up seven earned runs on 10 hits in just two innings pitched. But he came back two games later, also against Houston, and gave up just two earned runs on seven hits in four innings pitched.
Carmouche pitched a gem in Tulane’s second tournament game against Memphis, where they won 12-2 in eight innings. He pitched all eight innings, struck out nine, and gave up two earned runs on three hits. Carmouche came back in the conference championship for three innings, struck out three, and gave up one earned run on one hit.
On the season, Carmouche has a 5.44 ERA in 86 innings pitched, and Castro has a 5.14 ERA in 82.1 innings pitched.
With all this being said, however, LSU has had a taste of Tulane this season. On Tuesday, April 11, LSU traveled to New Orleans and defeated the Green Wave 11-5. In that game, neither Castro nor Carmouche pitched, giving Tulane a bigger reason to throw them in the regional opener.
In that game for LSU, Christian Little got the start, pitched one inning, gave up one earned run on one hit, walked two, and struck out three. Blake Money came in relief for Little, and he went for 2.1 innings, gave up two earned runs on three hits, and struck out two. Bryce Collins came second in relief and earned the win in 2.2 innings pitched.
Thatcher Hurd, who is a likely starter for Friday’s matchup, closed the game on April 11. He pitched one inning and struck out two.
But LSU shined brightest at the plate that night, scoring 11 runs on 19 hits. Cade Beloso and Jared Jones each went three for three, and Tre’ Morgan went three for four. Jones hit three doubles. Tommy White, Dylan Crews, Gavin Dugas and Brayden Jobert all had multiple hits.
If Tulane is able to continue its momentum, Friday’s regional opener will be an offensive slugfest. But what separates LSU from Tulane will be on the mound.
With the potential for stellar pitching for the Tigers accompanied by explosive hitting, LSU could see themselves sitting in a good position on Friday.
