The Arkansas Razorbacks will be attempting to stop a three game skid against the Tulane Green Wave this afternoon in California. It looks to be quite a large task as Tulane brings in a squad that is knocking the cover off of the ball, scoring runs seemingly at will. Despite having to replace 5 every-day position players and all three pitchers from a strong 2013 starting rotation the Green Wave have posted a 9-3 record, including 4-1 on the road. Expect Tulane to get on base early and often and use very effective pitching to try and keep the Hogs hitters at bay.
Leading the way for the Green Wave offensively this year are a couple of newcomers in freshman Hunter Hope and junior college transfer Garrett Deschamp. Hope (.333 avg.) is tops on the team with 17 hits and trails only Deschamp in RBI with 12. Deschamp (.349 avg) has tallied 19 RBI and is tied with Hope for the team lead in doubles with 5. A 2013 Conference USA All-Freshman team member a year ago Richard Carthon is hitting a team best .372 and has scored 14 runs this year. Also returning from last season’s squad is senior outfielder/designated hitter Andrew Garner who is hitting .359 with 2 homeruns, both good enough for second best on the team this season. Tulane counts on a number of other key contributors at the plate to come up with timely hitting and push runs across the plate in droves.
The Tulane pitching rotation has gone through a complete overhaul with all three guys from last season’s rotation getting drafted in 2013. The Hogs are most likely to face starter Randy LeBlanc today on the mound. The junior righty has started three games in 2014 posting a 2-0 record with a 2.00 ERA over 18 innings of work. Opponents are hitting .246 against him, averaging nearly 1 hit per inning. However, LeBlanc has shown a propensity to work through trouble and get the big strike out when necessary. The Green Wave bullpen has proven to be a top-heavy group early in the season. They have three relievers with 3 or more appearances and five relievers with just 1 appearance each. Fifth-year senior Kyle McKenzie leads Tulane out of the bullpen with a 0.52 ERA in 4 appearances. He has struck out 24 batters over 17.1 innings this season. The Green Wave could also count on Emerson Gibbs to contribute in a long relief appearance this weekend. The sophomore has proven that he can chew up innings and keep his team close.
Tulane didn’t bat an eye yesterday taking down host team Cal in their opening game of the tournament. Down 5-0 with two outs in the fifth inning, the Green Wave exploded for seven runs in the inning and 10 unanswered for the game to win 10-5. As they have all year Tulane showed that they can come alive offensively at any moment. Their relief pitching was also strong yesterday, holding Cal to just 1 run and striking out seven over 5.1 innings. The Hogs hope to jumpstart their offense early in today’s contest. Their biggest challenge, however, will be finding a way to shut down an extremely potent Green Wave hitting attack.
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