Tulane BaseballTulane BaseballNCAA Regional
Tulane, the No. 3 seed, defeated Soutwestern Louisiana, 11-5, in the first
round of the NCAA South II Regional. The Wave lost to Cal State Fullerton,
10-6, in the second round andto Harvard, 14-11, in the third round. Jason
Sparks was named to the all-tournament team.
NCAA Regional History
The appearance was Tulane's 10th in an NCAA Regional since 1979. The Wave
made its first post-season appearance in 1979 as the Metro Conference Champions.
In 10 NCAA appearances, Tulane has posted a 10-20 record. The NCAA has extended
six at-large bids to Tulane since 1983. Since 1979, every Tulane class has
participated in an NCAA regional. In the last five NCCA appearances, Tulane
chalked up a victory in the first round, including this season.
1998 Conference USA Champions
Tulane defeated UNC Charlotte, 5-3, in the championship game of the Conference
USA Tournament on May 17 at Zephyr Field in Metairie, La. Jason Sparks hit
a home run to left field in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Tulane
a 4-3 lead. Mike Pursell followed with a homer to right field to provide
an insurance run.
Craig Brown struck out nine batters in 7 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on 10 hits. He left the game with the score tied at three in the top of the eighth inning. Todd Ardoin picked up his fifth win of the season as he came in to relieve Brown.
· Tulane won both conference titles this year, winning the regular season championship with a 22-5 league record and defeating UNC Charlotte for the tournament championship. This is the third straight year Tulane has won a C-USA title. In 1996 Tulane won the inaugural tournament championship and last season it won the regular season title.
· Order your "Back-to-Back Conference USA Champions" T-shirt or a 1998 Conference USA Tournament T-shirt. Call (504) 861-WAVE to order. Each shirt is$16.98.
Among the Ranked
Tulane is in the polls for the eight consecutive week this season. Baseball
America and The Sporting News have Tulane listed as the No. 20 team. Collegiate
Baseball has the Wave ranked at No. 25. The final USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN
Coaches Top 25 poll will be released after the College World Series. Tulane
was ranked as high as No. 34 in the preseason polls.
Winning Seasons
Tulane posted its 28th winning season in the last 30 years. The Green Wave
has won at least 30 games 15 of the last 18 years and 40 games nine in of
the last 17 years, including this season. This is the ninth time Tulane
has won 40 games in a season, the fourth time under coach Rick Jones. Forty-eight
wins is the second highest total in a season for the Wave and the most by
Jones at Tulane. The most wins in a season was 49 in 1986 when Tulane won
three games in the NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge. The 15 losses this season
is the fewest since 1986 when Tulane finished the season 49-15.
Tulane All-Americans
Josh Bobbitt and Jason Sparks have been selected to two All-American teams
this season. They were named third team All-Americans by the National Collegiate
Baseball Writers Association and Collegiate Baseball.
In the Majors
Mike Pursell and Craig Brown were drafted by the Cleveland Indians in May.
Four other seniors signed free agent contracts with four other teams, Josh
Bobbitt with the Texas Rangers, Scott Bell with the LA Dodgers, Keith Graffagnini
with the Seattle Mariners and Brian Hughes with the Baltimore Orioles.
All-Louisiana College Baseball Team
The Louisiana Sports Writers Association announced its All-Louisiana College
Baseball Team in June, with Tulane leading the way as eight Green Wave players
received honors. Jason Sparks was named the Newcomer of the Year and Andy
Cannizaro was named one of two Freshmen of the Year.
· Sparks (OF), Josh Bobbitt (P) and Brian Hughes (OF) were selected the first team All-Louisiana. Selected to the second team were Chad Sutter (C), Jake Burnham (DH) and Craig Brown (Utility). Raul Echeverz (P) was an honorable mention.
The All-Louisiana team was selected for the LWSA by a panel of sports information personnel and media representatives from the state. Players were nominated for the team based on regular season performances only.
C-USA Top Honors
· Josh Bobbitt was selected as the Conference USA Pitcher of the
Year. Tulane had nine players selected to the regular season all-conference
teams. On the first team were; Bobbitt, Brian Hughes, Jason Sparks, and
Todd Ardoin. On the second team were; Chad Sutter, Raul Echeverz, Keith
Graffagnini and Mike Pursell. Andy Cannizaro was named to the all-freshman
team.
· Brian Hughes was named the Conference USA Tournament MVP. Hughes played in the outfield in two games and was the catcher in two games. Hughes, Graffagnini (1B) and Craig Brown (LF/P) were named to the all-tournament team. Brown was named to the team as a pitcher, with a win over Saint Louis and a no-decision against UNCC in the championship game.
Coach Jones
Rick Jones finished his fifth year as the head coach of the Green Wave.
In that span, he has led the Green Wave to three NCAA appearances, two Conference
USA regular season titles and two Conference USA tournament championships.
· Jones won his 200th game at Tulane in the first round of the 1998 C-USA tourney as the Wave defeated Saint Louis, 7-3. He has a 204-106 (.658) record with the Wave, making him the second winningest coach in school history. He has four of the nine 40-wins season at Tulane. Jones, the 1997 C-USA Coach of the Year, has a 13-year career record of 480-201. He is assisted by Jim Schlossnagle, Rob Cooper and Buddy Gouldsmith.
Oustanding Offense
The Wave won 33 of its last 39 games, taking an 11-game winning streak into
the NCAA Regional. This season's team was by far the best hitting club in
school history. Tulane had a school-record .340 batting average as team.
The Wave also set season highs in runs, hits, doubles, home runs and RBI.
Tulane had four players batting above the .350 mark, and 10 above .300.
The Wave scored 593 runs (9.41/game) and had 766 hits (12.15/game). Tulane
out-hit its opponent in 45 games this season. The team had 45 games with
10 or more hits and won 39 of those games. The Wave won 26 of 28 games in
which it scored 10 or more runs.
Powerful Pitching
Tulane led Conference USA with an ERA of 4.06 this season. The Wave had
an ERA of 3.89 after the regular season. Tulane struck out 497 batters and
only allowed 5.01 runs and 3.09 walks per game. Opponents had a .267 batting
average against the Green Wave pitching staff. Tulane shut out three opponents
this season. Josh Bobbitt (3.09 ERA) led Tulane and C-USA with 13 victories,
tied for third in the school single-season records. Tulane did not score
in his only loss this season. Raul Echeverz led Tulane and C-USA with a
2.78 ERA. Bobbitt and Echeverz were both undefeated in C-USA games, each
winning six games in the regular season.
In the Nation
· NCAA as of May 27th, Tulane is ranked fourth in win/loss percentage
(.762), 16th in batting (.340) 15th in scoring (9.41) and 13th in pitching
(4.06).
· Josh Bobbitt is ranked third with 13 wins and Raul Echeverz is ranked 26th with an ERA of 2.78. Jason Sparks is ranked seventh with .48 home runs per game and 17th with 1.45 RBI per game. He is tied for second in total home runs (30). Brian Hughes is 20th with .46 doubles per game. Final and complete NCAA stats and rankings are released after the College World Series.
| Josh Bobbitt | C-USA Pitcher of the Year, All-America (3rd Team, Collegiate Baseball & NCBWA) First Team All-Conference USA, Louisville Slugger National & C-USA Player of the Week (Mar. 9). |
| Jason Sparks | All-America (3rd Team, Collegiate Baseball & NCBWA), First Team All-Conference USA, Player of the Week, Louisiana Sports Writers Association (Apr. 6), C-USA & LSWA Player of the Week (Apr. 13), NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team. |
| Brian Hughes | Conference USA Tournament MVP, First Team All-Conference USA. |
| Keith Graffagnini | Conference USA All-Tournament, Second Team All-Conference USA. |
| Craig Brown | Conference USA All-Tournament |
| Todd Ardoin | First Team All-Conference USA |
| Chad Sutter | Second Team All-Conference USA |
| Mike Pursell | Second Team All-Conference USA |
| Raul Echeverz | Second Team All-Conference USA |
| Andy Cannizaro | Conference USA All-Freshman Team |
Wave vs. C-USA
The Green Wave finished the regular season with a 22-5 C-USA record. The
Wave had a .353 batting average and a .576 slugging percentage against league
opponents this season. The team hit 46 homers and 68 doubles in the 27 games.
The Wave averaged 10.5 runs and 12.6 hits per game. The team also stole
twice as many bases, 51 to 24, as the opposition. The pitching staff had
a 4.42 ERA with 190 strikeouts in 230 innings of work. Opponents had a batting
average of .270, with only 19 home runs, 127 RBI and 78 walks.
Winning Streaks
Tulane had two major winning streaks during the season. The first 11-game
streak this season was March 25 to April 8 with six conference wins and
wins over LSU, UNO and Southwestern Louisiana. Tulane had a 12-game streaks
from April 30 to May 21, which included two Conference USA series, the C-USA
tournament and the first round of the NCAA Regional.
· Twelve games is the longest winning streak in the '90s for a Tulane team, which is also Coach Jones' longest winning streak at Tulane. The Green Wave now has 15 winning streaks of 10 or more games in its history.
· The winning-streak list follows:
| 15 games, 1966 | 12 games, 1984 | 11 games, 1976 | 10 games, 1981 |
| 15 games, 1982 | 12 games, 1998 | 11 games, 1987 | 10 games, 1982 |
| 14 games, 1983 | 11 games, 1998 | 10 games, 1977 | 10 games, 1996 |
| 12 games, 1945 | 11 games, 1975 | 10 games, 1978 |
Gone Yard
Tulane broke the single-season home run record against Louisville in the
1998 C-USA Tournament. Chad Sutter tied the record with a homer in the third
inning. Jason Sparks broke the record with a long ball in the sixth inning.
Tulane finished the year with 104 home runs, including eight grand slams.
The Wave was led by Jason Sparks' 30 home runs, a school and C-USA single-season
record. Tulane has five players with at least 10 home runs, including Keith
Graffagnini with 14, Chad Sutter with 13 and Mike Pursell and Jake Burnham
each with 10. The Wave more than doubled the number of homers as its opponents
(104-43). The previous Tulane record was set by last year's team as it hit
94 home runs.
Home Run Record
Jason Sparks set the school and conference single-season home run record
as he hit 30 homers. Sparks broke the existing record on April 29. The junior
from Tampa, Fla., hit his 23rd home run of the season in game one of a doubleheader
with Nicholls State in the third inning. That tied both records set last
season by Tulane's Chad Sutter. Sparks then hit a home run in the second
inning of game two to break the record at 24. He is currently third in the
country with 30 long balls.
Double Records
Brian Hughes set the individual career doubles record and single-season
record this season. He finishes his career with 79 doubles, 29 this season.
Tulane set the single-season team doubles record with 168 two-baggers. The
previous record was 134. Hughes set a Tulane and C-USA record as he hit
four doubles against Centenary. Tulane is averaged 2.67 doubles per game
this season. Andy Cannizaro set the school's freshman record with 22 doubles
this season. Jason Sparks and Mike Pursell each had 18 doubles on the year.
Relief In Sight
Tulane's bullpen captian Todd Ardoin made his 100th career pitching appearance
in relief against UNO on April 14. He finished his career with 109 appearances,
all in relief, which ties him for 11th place in the NCAA history for relief
appearances. He is also tied for 15th in overall NCAA appearances. Ardoin
became Tulane's career leader in appearances on opening day this season.
He had 32 appearances this season with a 5-1 record and six saves.
All-time vs. C-USA
Tulane has an all-time record of 186-97-1 against Conference USA opponents.
The Wave has a winning record against nine of the conference members. Tulane
is undefeated against UAB and has only lost one game to Saint Louis. In
regular season C-USA action, the Wave has a 59-18 (.766) record and a total
record of 72-20, including games in the conference tournament. Since joining
C-USA, Tulane has won more games than any other member, 130.
Tulane in the C-USA Tournament
Tulane has a 11-2 overall record in three Conference USA tournaments. The
Green Wave won the inagural tournament in Hattiesburg, Miss., on May 19,
1996, as Jack Cressend pitched a complete game shutout against South Florida.
Last year, Tulane played UNC Charlotte three times in the tournament, losing 8-6 in the second round. Facing elimination, the Wave came back and defeated the 49ers 13-4, as Josh Bobbitt pitched a complete game, to force the deciding game. UNCC won the game, 9-2, and went on to the championship game. This season Tulane defeated UNCC, 5-3, in the championship game. Jason Sparks hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to give the Wave a one-run lead and the eventual win.
In the 1998 C-USA Tourney
Tulane went undefeated on its way to the Conference USA Championship. The
Green Wave only gave up six earned runs in the four games the team played.
Four pitchers did not give up an earned run in 20 innings, while two pitchers
gave up three, Craig Brown in 11 2/3 innings and Jared Berkowitz in 5 1/3
innings. Opponents batted .266 and only scored 11 runs on 38 hits. Tulane
batted .317 and scored 31 runs on 45 hits. Tulane had 25 RBI to the opponents
eight. Brian Hughes, the tournament MVP, batted .526 while hitting three
doubles and scored eight runs. Keith Graffagnini batted .357 and had a tournament
high nine RBI. Brown pitched four shutout innings in relief for the win
over Saint Louis then pitched 7 2/3 innings against UNCC in the championship
game. He only allowed three runs and he struck out 13 batters in his 11
2/3 innings.
| 1998 Conference USA Tournament | ||||||||
| Opponent | Result | R- H- E | R- H- E | Inn. | Pitcher | Att. | Time | |
| May 13 | Saint Louis | W 7-3 | 7- 11- 2 | 3 -11- 6 | 9 | Craig Brown | 2185 | 2:49 |
| May 14 | Louisville | W 13-2 | 13- 15- 2 | 2- 7- 2 | 9 | Josh Bobbitt | 1776 | 3:04 |
| May 16 | Louiville | W 6-3 | 6 -11- 1 | 3- 10- 2 | 9 | Scott Bell | 2006 | 2:28 |
| May 17 | UNCC | W 5-3 | 5- 8 -1 | 3- 10- 0 | 9 | Todd Ardoin | 2602 | 2:44 |
| 1998 NCAA South II Regional | ||||||||
| Opponent | Result | R- H- E | R- H- E | Inn. | Pitcher | Att. | Time | |
| May 21 | Southwestern La. | W 11-5 | 11- 14- 3 | 5 -13 -2 | 9 | Josh Bobbitt | 3221 | 3:02 |
| May 22 | Cal State Fullerton | L 6-10 | 6 -10 -4 | 10- 11- 0 | 9 | Raul Echeverz | 4473 | 3:04 |
| May 23 | Harvard | L 11-14 | 11- 13- 3 | 14 -16- 2 | 9 | Craig Brown | 1717 | 3:18 |
| 1998 Final C-USA Standings | ||||
| C-USA | Pct. | Overall | Pct. | |
| Tulane | 22-5 | .815 | 48-15 | .761 |
| Houston | 21-6 | .778 | 34-25 | .576 |
| UNC Charlotte | 19-8 | .704 | 43-19 | .694 |
| UAB | 15-12 | .556 | 29-24 | .547 |
| Louisville | 14-13 | .519 | 31-24 | .564 |
| Southern Miss | 12-15 | .444 | 30-28 | .517 |
| Memphis | 12-15 | .444 | 24-31 | .436 |
| South Florida | 9-18 | .333 | 21-36 | .368 |
| Saint Louis | 4-20 | .167 | 10-38 | .208 |
| Cincinnati | 4-20 | .167 | 15-38 | .283 |