Tulane defeats Northwestern State 3-2

3/1/11

The bats came alive early for Tulane tonight, a surprising change of pace from the usual doldrums that plague them at the beginning of games. This came in the form of a two-run second inning, seemingly signaling support for Alex Byo on the mound. But despite all of their early promise, Tulane failed to mount any significant charges on offense until the ninth.

Two runs seemed like all Tulane would need for most of the night. Alex Byo, the Tulane starter, threw a gem, allowing only three base runners through his seven innings of work. It was Byo's first start of the year, coming off of back surgery last season, and it could hardly have been better. He said "Coming back from back surgery last year, and this summer, I was pushing it tonight going that far, but, I was able to push through it a little bit, and it definitely felt great to be out there throwing a lot of pitches again." He pushed effectively tonight, allowing no runs.

While Byo was pitching, Garrett Cannizaro and Brennan Middleton were hitting and driving in runs. These two were the offense tonight, combining for all three of Tulane's tallies. Cannizaro actually doubled his season total for hits, with three. Middleton drove in two, both of the runs in the second to mark his first RBI's of the year. However, it was Cannizaro that came through in the clutch for the Green Wave, driving in Nick DiMaggio for the game winning run in the ninth.

Getting there was harder than it should have been. After Byo's seven innings, Coach Jones handed the ball to Nick Pepitone, who hadn't surrendered a run all season. The anchor of the bullpen cruised through the 8th and entered the ninth with the same two run lead he had in the eighth. But something wasn't working. Pepitone was bouncing pitches, his usually solid control replaced by wildness usually unassociated with him. The first run that scored was a result of a hit batsmen and a double. The tying run for Northwestern state was delivered by a bouncing ball to short that was ruled an infield single.

Tulane had to score. Like four of their other wins this year, the Green Wave needed to come from behind to win. And come from behind they did.

Schaffer walked to lead off the inning, and was pinch run for by DiMaggio. After an error from the Demons, and some walks, Tulane had the bases loaded for Cannizaro. He delivered with a single to left that drove in the winning run for the Greenies. Of it he said:

"It's a situation that everybody wants to be in, and I was glad I was in the situation. Luckily enough I saw a breaking ball, I saw three of them actually and I took the first two for strikes and the third one, I figured he would come back again, and he did. I was able to put a good swing on it and drive it into the outfield."

The win marks Tulane's sixth of the year, bringing them to six and two. The Green Wave still aren't hitting consistently, something they'll have to do down the stretch. The pitching has been solid, and Cannizaro's emergence are good signs for Tulane. Fans have a reason to be hopeful.

Photo Credit: Parker Waters