The Tulane baseball team (24-17, 8-7 AAC) will play the second game of its two-game non-conference series against No. 22 Southern Miss (27-13) on Tuesday, April 22. The game will take place at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at 6 p.m.
Pitching Matchup
Tulane is expected to start right-handed pitcher Michel Lombardi on Tuesday. Lombardi, who is 3-0 this season with a 1.59 ERA in 17 appearances and two starts, leads the American Athletic Conference with nine saves. He has also struck out 45 batters in 22.2 innings.
Southern Miss will counter with right-handed pitcher Ty Long. Long, who is 1-0 this season with three strikeouts in five innings, will make his fifth appearance and second start of the year.
Southern Miss Overview
Southern Miss is currently ranked No. 22 in D1 Baseball, No. 24 in the Coaches Poll, and No. 24 in the NCBWA. The Golden Eagles have won three of their last four games, including a series victory over Georgia State last weekend.
Jake Cook leads the offense with a .354 batting average, 51 hits, nine doubles, and a .444 slugging percentage. Nick Moniestere boasts a .335 average, with 53 hits, 14 home runs, 49 RBIs, and a .665 slugging percentage. Carson Paetow, who has 14 home runs and 42 RBIs, is tied with Moniestere for the team lead in homers. On the mound, JB Middleton is Southern Miss’s top pitcher, with a 7-1 record and 74 strikeouts in 61.1 innings. Landen Payne has been a strong reliever, posting 28 strikeouts in 16.1 innings with a 3.31 ERA.
Head coach Christian Ostrander is in his second season at the helm of Southern Miss and has a 70-33 record.
Series History
Tulane leads the all-time series against Southern Miss 100-68-1, dating back to their first meeting in 1949. However, Southern Miss has won the last seven matchups, including a 13-6 victory on April 1 in Hattiesburg, where they scored eight runs in the first inning.
Against the Sun Belt Conference
This will be Tulane’s second game against a Sun Belt opponent this season, with both games coming against Southern Miss. Last season, Tulane lost a road series to Louisiana and suffered an 11-6 home defeat to Southern Miss. Historically, Tulane has a 203-159 record against current Sun Belt teams. The 100 wins against Southern Miss is the most Tulane has against any school in the conference.
Looking Ahead
After the game against Southern Miss, Tulane will return to conference play, traveling to Greenville, North Carolina, to face ECU (24-17, 9-6 AAC) from April 25-27. The game times are set for 5 p.m. CT on Friday, April 25, 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 26, and 12 p.m. CT on Sunday, April 27.
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