Sophomore right-hander Billy Mohl will take the mound for the Green Wave Friday night in game one of a three-game Conference USA series at UAB.

April 15, 2004

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University baseball team will look to improve on a 9-3 Conference USA record over the weekend when the Green Wave travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take on league foe UAB in a three-game series beginning Friday, April 16 at 7 p.m. at Jerry D. Young Memorial Field.

Tulane enters the weekend 25-10 overall, and looking to shake off a 6-4 loss to cross-town foe UNO Tuesday night in game three of the Popeyes Cup at Zephyr Field. The Green Wave have won each of their four league series in 2004, and will be gunning for its fifth this weekend against UAB.

As a team, the Green Wave are hitting .315 with a 478 slugging percentage courtesy of 80 doubles, four triples and 38 home runs. Junior outfielder Matt Barket paces the team with a .412 batting average while junior infielder/outfielder Wes Swackhamer and sophomore centerfielder Nathan Southard are close behind with clips of .355 and .337, respectively.

Junior catcher/infielder Greg Dini paces the club in home runs with eight, and sophomore right fielder Brian Bogusevic leads the way in RBI with 38. Tulane has done a solid job on the base paths in 2004 with 46 steals in 60 attempts, and junior shortstop Tommy Manzella leads the squad with a 10-for-12 performance.

From the mound, Tulane has a 3.67 ERA and has done a good job of keeping the ball over the plate with 267 strikeouts and just 87 walks in 314.0 innings of work. Three Green Wave hurlers have combined for eight saves, and senior Joey Charron leads the way with four.

UAB, meanwhile, enters the weekend hitting .273 with a .392 slugging percentage on the strength of 62 doubles, seven triples and 19 home runs. Senior outfielder Sam Clark leads the Blazers' hitters with a .304 batting average, while senior catcher Eugene Rodriguez and junior outfielder Cole Helms are second and third with averages of .294 and .290, respectively. Junior infielder Nathan McCorkle paces UAB with four home runs, while Helms leads the way in RBI with 24.

On the bump, the Blazer pitching staff has done a solid job with a 4.80 ERA and holding opponents to a .267 batting average. UAB hurlers have 237 strikeouts and 143 walks in 290.1 innings of action, and Eric Roberts has two of the team's three saves in 2004.

This weekend's series will mark the 26th, 27th and 28th meetings between the two schools on the diamond, and Tulane holds a 22-3 edge in the all-time series. The Green Wave are 19-3 against the Blazers under head coach Rick Jones, including a three-game sweep of UAB last year at Turchin Stadium.

Following Friday's showdown, the two teams will play again on Saturday at 2 p.m. before closing out the weekend on Sunday with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on the flagship station of Tulane baseball, WRBH 88.3 fm. The broadcast, as well as live scoring, will also be simulcast on the internet at www.tulanegreenwave.com.