Metairie, La. (March 4, 2006)-Junior reliever Daniel Latham tossed 2.1 scoreless innings and the Green Wave plated four runs over its final three innings as the Tulane University baseball team rallied to defeat Manhattan College, 5-3, Saturday afternoon at Zephyr Field.
Trailing 3-1 after five and a half innings, the Green Wave got single runs in the sixth and seventh to tie the game before sophomore middle infielders Cat Everett and Brad Emaus ripped back-to-back RBI singles in the eighth to complete the comeback. Latham (1-1), meanwhile, faced just one more than the minimum during his time toeing the rubber, striking out three and allowing just one single to earn the win.
Manhattan issued 10 walks, including leadoff walks in five of the eight innings the Green Wave drew an at-bat. Tulane also had a hit batsman, and of the 11 free passes, four came around to score.
Tulane drew first blood on Saturday as senior centerfielder Nathan Southard - who went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored - drew a leadoff walk in the first, stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch by Manhattan starter Joe Culen to take a 1-0 lead.
The advantage did not last long, however, as centerfielder Eric Nieto and left fielder Mike Garcia opened the third with back-to-back singles, and following a wild pitch by Tulane starter Billy Mohl, the pair scored on a two-out RBI single by catcher Nick Derba to give the Jaspers a 2-1 advantage.
Manhattan padded its lead two innings later when first baseman Matt Rizzotti ripped a one-out triple to left center, and scored on a two-out base hit by Derba to make it 3-1.
Tulane cut the lead to one on a two-out pinch-hit RBI single by rookie Anthony Scelfo in the sixth, and tied the ballgame in the seventh without the benefit of a base hit as Emaus walked to lead off the frame, advanced the bases on a steal and passed ball, and scored on a fielder's choice ball off the bat of senior left fielder Matt Riser.
After Latham retired the side in order in the top of the eighth, reserve catcher Ty Wallace sparked a two-run frame by getting hit by a Nevins offering with one out, and Southard followed with a single to shallow center. Wallace was lifted at second in favor of freshman pinch runner Seth Henry, and the speedy rookie was able to score from 180 feet away when Everett laced an RBI single through the right side of the infield in the ensuing at bat.
One hitter later, Emaus provided the Green Wave with a little breathing room with a base hit through the left side of the infield to score Southard from third to account for the final score.
The Jaspers had a chance in the ninth as Nieto laced a one-out single to left central, but Latham got Garcia to foul out to first base and Rizzotti to fly out to center to seal the Tulane win.
"We fell behind in the count a lot, and when you do that, you've got to give them something to hit later in the at-bat," Manhattan head coach Kevin Leighton said. "And when you give this team something they can handle, they're going to handle it."
With the win, Tulane improves to 9-4 on the year. Manhattan, meanwhile, falls to 1-1. The two teams will play the rubber match of the series on Sunday with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.