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NEW ORLEANS — The Green Wave baseball team continues its lengthy homestand with a three-game series against Grand Canyon University at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.

TULANE HOSTS GRAND CANYON AT GFATS

  • The Green Wave baseball team continues its lengthy homestand with a three-game series against Grand Canyon University at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. 
  • The first pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m. Game two will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The game three finale on Sunday will begin at 12:30 p.m. All three games will be aired live on ESPN+ and can be heard on WRBH 88.3 FM. 
  • The Green Wave looks to bounce back after being swept at home by Louisiana Tech in three games last weekend. The last time they were swept at home in a non-conference series was March 8-10, 2019 against UCSB.
  • The Green Wave had their mid-week home game against LSU rained out on Tuesday, March 23.

SERIES HISTORY

  • Tulane’s matchups with Grand Canyon will be the first all-time meetings between the programs.
  • GCU officially completed its transition to NCAA Division I status in August 2017.
  • Of all the schools on the Green Wave’s 2021 schedule, GCU is the only one they have never played against in program history.

AROUND THE HORN WITH THE WAVE 

  • Tulane enters its weekend matchup with Louisiana Tech with a .256 team batting average and an overall team earned run average of 4.17. 
  • Tulane’s crop of first and second-year freshmen have combined for six of the club’s 12 home runs and 37 of the team’s 99 RBI this season.
  • The Green Wave rank first in the American Athletic Conference in doubles (39), second in triples (8), team ERA (4.17) and WHIP (1.34) and third in walks (79), stolen bases (24) and fielding percentage (.972).
  • Two Green Wave players own batting averages of .300-or-better including Collin Burns (.370) and Frankie Niemann (.321).
  • Freshman catcher Bennett Lee has recorded multiple hits three times and has two games with multiple extra-base hits in just eight games played this season.
  • Redshirt junior pitcher Braden Olthoff tallied a season-high 11 strikeouts in his most recent start against Louisiana Tech on March 19. It was the fourth time he racked up double-digit strikeouts in just nine starts for the Green Wave dating back to last season.

SCOUTING THE LOPES

  • Grand Canyon enters its weekend matchup with Tulane following a pair of home losses to Pepperdine on Tuesday (14-5) and Wednesday (4-3) in Phoenix.
  • This weekend will mark GCU’s second road trip of the season after playing 18 of its first 21 games at home. The Lopes went 0-2-1 in their three road games March 5-7 at Oklahoma State.
  • Leading the way for the Lopes is freshman infielder Elijah Buries who is batting .409 with a team-leading 16 RBI in just 15 games. He has at least one RBI in all 12 games he’s started this season.
  • Sunday starter and right-handed pitcher Carter Young leads all GCU pitchers with a 2.35 ERA. He has 24 strikeouts in 23 innings, but has walked 10 batters.
  • The Lopes have drawn 106 walks for an average of more than five per game this season. Their opponents have walked 81 times for an average of 3.86 per contest.

RECAPPING THE TEXAS SOUTHERN GAME

  • The Tulane University baseball team claimed a 12-6 home victory over Texas Southern University on Tuesday, March 16.
  • Tulane scored double-digit runs for the second consecutive game and scored in six of their eight plate appearances to start the 13-game homestand on a high note. 
  • Junior right-hander Tyler Hoffman (2-1) started for the Green Wave and went five scoreless innings allowing one hit. For the second straight start, Hoffman recorded eight strikeouts.
  • Senior Frankie Niemann stayed hot at the plate as he reached base for the 13th consecutive game and recorded two RBIs to give him eight in his last two games. 

TULANE BASEBALL MOVES TO 18 PERCENT CAPACITY 

  • Tulane University Athletics announced this week an increase in capacity for Green Wave baseball games inside Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. 
  • In accordance with state, local and American Athletic Conference guidelines while maintaining six feet between seating pods, capacity for remaining games will increase to 18 percent.
  • With this announced increase, Tulane Athletics has a limited number of tickets available to the general public for purchase. 

BURNS NOTICE

  • Redshirt sophomore Collin Burns currently leads the team in batting (.370), slugging percentage (.593), hits (30), doubles (9) and triples (3).  
  • He leads The American in doubles and triples. His three triples rank in the top 10 nationally.
  • Burns opened the season by hitting safely in nine straight games. 
  • He matched his career high with three hits while leading off against La. Tech on March 21.
  • Six of his 11 RBI have come with two outs. 

STARTING STRONG

  • Tulane freshman second baseman Chase Engelhard made his presence felt in the first 15 games of his collegiate career. 
  • Eight of Engelhard’s 15 hits went for extra bases. 
  • Engelhard currently leads the team in home runs with three.

OLTHOFF PICKS UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF

  • Tulane right-handed pitcher Braden Olthoff was masterful on Feb. 26 at then No. 5-ranked Mississippi State, as he guided the Green Wave to a win over a Top 5 opponent for the first time since 2014. 
  • Olthoff struck out a season-high 11 La. Tech batters on March 19.
  • Olthoff struck out six batters in 8.0 innings of work while only allowing one run on just two hits en route to his first win of the season.
  • Against Troy, Olthoff struck out a season-high nine batters and allowed just two runs to lead the Green Wave to a 9-4 victory over the Trojans. 
  • In five outings this year, Olthoff owns a 2.53 earned run average and is holding opponents to a .223 batting average. He also leads the staff with 32.0 innings pitched and 38 strikeouts.

SO CLOSE

  • In the first five weekends of the collegiate baseball season, Tulane has suffered five losses by two runs or less. 
  • In its matchup with then No. 5-ranked Mississippi State, Tulane was four outs away from completing a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs on the road. 
  • Tulane also held the lead in all three games at Mississippi State, heading into the bottom of the ninth. 
  • In the Green Wave’s lone loss against Western Kentucky on March 7, Tulane held a two-run lead heading into the seventh inning.
  • Tulane dropped game one of its three-game series against Louisiana Tech, 2-0, on March 19.

THE HIT PARTY

  • In the series finale against Louisiana-Lafayette on Feb. 21, Tulane posted a season-high 20 hits.
  • This season, Tulane has totaled 10-or-more hits in six games, including an 18-hit performance this past weekend at Troy. 

MR. RELIABLE 

  • Redshirt junior Justin Campbell has established himself as a reliable pitcher out of the bullpen for the Green Wave
  • Campbell has appeared in 11 of Tulane’s 19 games this season. His 11 appearances lead The American and rank seventh nationally.

WORKING OVERTIME

  • The Tulane baseball team got its money’s worth at the diamond during opening weekend, as it began its 114th baseball season.
  • In all three games with in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette, nine innings weren’t enough to decide the outcome. 
  • Games one and two both went 10 innings with the series finale going 12 frames. 
  • During the first weekend of Division I collegiate baseball, 20 games went into extra frames. 
  • Tulane and Louisiana-Lafayette were the ONLY teams in Division I to see all three of its opening weekend games go into extra frames. 

A THREE-HEADED MONSTER

  • The Tulane baseball team returns all three players from its 2020 rotation for this season in the form of Braden Olthoff, Jack Aldrich and Donovan Benoit. 
  • The Green Wave trio combined for an 8-0 win-loss record, posted a 1.89 earned run average, logged 66.2 innings, struck out 83 and held opponents to a .181 batting average.

JOIN THE PLEDGE PER WIN CAMPAIGN
Tulane fans can ensure that every Green Wave win makes a lasting impact this season by joining the Pledge Per Win campaign. Fans can participate in the Pledge Per Win campaign by pledging to give $5, $10, or $25 to the Green Wave Club for each game the Tulane Baseball team wins this season. Additionally, supporters are encouraged to pledge $1 for every strikeout by Tulane pitchers this season. Fans interested in enrolling in the Pledge Per Win and Pledge Per Strikeout campaigns are encouraged to visit www.GreenWaveClub.com/ppw. 
 
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Download the official mobile app of Tulane Athletics. Now, you can stay in touch with the Green Wave anytime and anywhere on your Android or iOS mobile device.

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For behind-the-scenes coverage, follow Tulane baseball (@GreenWaveBSB) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 
 
WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.

{Courtesy: Press Release from Tulane Athletics}