METAIRIE, La. — A seven-run fourth inning highlighted by a three-run triple from first baseman Micah Owings and a three-run homer by second baseman Joe Holland powered No. 1 Tulane past No. 12 LSU, 11-8, in front of a record 12,069 fans at Zephyr Field on Tuesday night.
The Tigers (26-13) saw their four-game win streak at the popular Triple-A venue come to an end and have now lost four out of the last seven games against their in-state rival. The Green Wave (33-6) pounded four LSU pitchers for 12 hits and benefited from five hit-batsmen and five walks on a night when Tulane head coach Rick Jones won his 500th game at the school.
The Tigers continue a seven-game road swing with a three-game series at No. 11 Arkansas beginning at 7:05 p.m. Friday.
Tuesday’s attendance registered as the highest for a game in Zephyr Field history, eclipsing the previous mark of 11,925 set in a minor league contest between the New Orleans Zephyrs and Nashville Sounds on July 3, 2003. The previous college record of 11,870 was recorded in the 2001 NCAA Super Regional between LSU and Tulane on June 3, 2001.
The game was also televised before a national audience on ESPN2 and ESPNU.
Senior Brandon Nall (3-2) took the loss, allowing five runs on five hits in three innings of work. He walked one and surrendered four hit batsmen.
Left-hander J.R. Crowel (8-0) remained perfect on the season, despite allowing six runs (four earned) on seven hits in five innings. Crowel walked two and struck out three.
“The bottom line was their pitching was better tonight,” said LSU head coach Smoke Laval. “Neither one (starter) was dominant, but they were better on the mound. They are a good ball club. We didn’t have any errors, but you can’t hit four or five guys.”
Second baseman Clay Harris, who was named SEC Player of the Week for his performance last weekend, paced the Tigers going 4-for-5 with a homer, two runs and four RBI.
“It was a tough game,” said Harris. “They have a good team, and you have to give them credit. Tulane can swing the bats, so we knew we had to swing the bats with them. If we could have cut down on the walks and hit batsmen to leadoff an inning, a lot of those guys wouldn’t have scored.”
Holland and Greg Dini, the No. 8 and No. 9 hole hitters, combined for six of the Green Wave’s 12 hits. Holland belted a three-run homer and set a career-high with five RBI.
Crowel’s streak of 26 scoreless innings came to an end immediately in the first. The Tigers tagged the lefty with three hard-hit balls, including a RBI double by Nick Stavinoha off of the centerfield wall. Clay Harris continued his hot-hitting capping the three-run start with a two-run homer deep over the left-center field wall.
Brian Bogusevic’s sacrifice fly in the home half of the first cut the lead to 3-1, but LSU responded with another run in the second on a two-out single up the middle by Blake Gill.
The Tigers’ lead would diminish over the next three frames.
A two-out double in the second by Holland and back-to-back infield singles by Dini and Nathan Southard earned the run back for Tulane.
A bizarre bottom of the third featuring three hit-batsmen by Nall eventually tied the game at 4-4. Holland made the Tigers pay again, dropping a two-out, two-run single into right field with the bases loaded.
Nall came back out on the mound to start the fourth and surrendered another walk before yielding to reliever Edgar Ramirez. Ramirez did not fare any better, allowing a single to Brad Emaus and a walk to Bogusevic.
The pivotal at-bat of the game came with the bases loaded and one out in the frame. Owings, a consensus preseason All-American, fouled off several pitches before lining a three-run triple into the left field corner.
Two of the runs were charged to Ramirez, but the Green Wave was not finished. Matt Barket added a RBI single, while Holland’s three-run homer came two batters later off of reliever Eric English.
When the barrage was finally over, Tulane had sent 12 batters to the plate, scored seven runs and taken a commanding 11-4 lead.
The Tigers would not go without a fight, posting two runs in the fifth and a run in the eighth provided by RBI hits from the Harris brothers.
Ryan Patterson and Stavinoha mounted a two-out rally in the ninth, collecting back-to-back doubles to slice the deficit to 11-8.
Reliever Daniel Latham fanned Clay Harris to end the game and record his sixth save of the season.
Tulane 11, LSU 8 (Apr 19, 2005 at Metairie, La.)
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LSU…………….. 310 020 011 – 8 11 0 (26-13)
Tulane………….. 112 700 00X – 11 12 2 (33-6)
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Pitchers: LSU – Nall; Ramirez(4); English(4); Meier(8). Tulane – Crowel; Mohl(6); Latham(9).
Win-Crowel(8-0) Save-Latham(6) Loss-Nall(3-2) T-3:06 A-12069
HR LSU – Harris, C. (8).
HR TU – Holland (4).
Nall faced 1 batter in the 4th.