Tigers overpowered by Tulane offense, swept in doubleheader

Friday, April 2

New Orleans, La.

2:00 PM

University of Memphis

11-13, 1-1

Tulane

12-13, 1-1

Memphis

Tulane

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Tigers overpowered by Tulane offense, swept in doubleheader

Apr 02, 2021 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Tulane Green Wave offense went wild in Friday's doubleheader, as the Memphis Tigers dropped both halves of the twin bill. The Tigers hung close until the final frame in a 7-1 loss to begin the day, while the Green Wave scored in each of the first five innings in a 11-2 game two final.

In Friday's opener, Memphis starter Dalton Kendrick (L, 0-2) didn't make it out of the second inning. After the Tigers staked Kendrick to a 1-0 first inning lead, the first five Tulane hitters reached against the Memphis starter in the home half of the frame. A bases loaded walk tied the game, while Luis Aviles followed with an RBI double that made it 2-1 Tulane, which proved to be enough. The Green Wave (13-13, 2-1) got a pair of RBI singles in the second inning, as they led 5-1 after two innings. Kendrick was charged with five runs on four hits over 1.1 frames.

Opposite Kendrick, Jack Aldrich (W, 2-1) cruised through much of his seven-inning outing. Aldrich allowed just three hits over his final six innings of work, as he struck out nine in the win. In relief of the Tulane starter, David Bates worked two perfect innings and secured the 7-1 Tulane victory. James Muse spun six innings out of the Memphis bullpen. Muse allowed just two runs on five hits in an attempt to save the Tigers' bullpen for the remainder of the series. Muse didn't allow a run until his final inning of work, as the Green Wave plated a pair of insurance runs in the eighth.

Tulane's offense started hot and maintained that pace for five innings in game two, as the Green Wave not only scored in each of the first five innings but plated multiple runs in four of them. Like the opener, the Green Wave scored in the first inning on a bases loaded walk, this time issued by Jackson Cothren (L, 1-3). Chase Engelhard followed with a sacrifice fly, as Tulane led 2-0 after one inning.

Both sides scored in both the second and third frames. In the second, the Tigers successfully stole home on a bluffed steal of second for the second time in the series, while the Green Wave answered with a solo home run from Ethan Groff. In the third, Memphis got a sacrifice fly from Braden Webb, which made it a one run game, but Tulane responded with two runs in the home half of the inning on a leadoff home run from Aviles and Groff's second RBI hit in as many frames. The Green Wave led 5-2 after three innings.

Memphis (11-14, 1-2) got nothing else against Donovan Benoit (W, 1-1), as the Tulane starter allowed just two runs, one earned, over seven innings. The home offense meanwhile continued to click on all cylinders despite Memphis going to the bullpen. Landon Kelly relieved Cothren in the third and pitched through the fifth. Tulane tagged Kelly for a pair in the fourth with RBIs from Simon Baumgardt and Engelhard, and then three more in the fifth on a sac fly, an RBI double, and a run-scoring error. The three-run frame made it 10-2 Tulane after five innings.

In his first appearance of the season, JT Durham spun a 1-2-3 sixth frame for the Tigers. Durham allowed just one run over the final three innings, as Tulane closed out the back half of the doubleheader with an 11-2 victory.

In search of a series split, the Tigers will conclude their four-game series with Tulane at 3 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Memphis will have nearly a week off until the team's next series gets underway, as the Tigers head to Greenville N.C. four a four-game series with No. 8 East Carolina. The Tigers and Pirates will get underway with a doubleheader Friday and single games scheduled Saturday and Sunday.