Tulane Beats UNO As Louisiana College Baseball Thrives
By Dean Mullen
While most people in the state of Louisiana are counting the days to NFL kickoff, there is a loyal growing number of college baseball fans within the state as well.
Tulane played their cross rival UNO last night at Turchin Stadium, and retained the First NBC Cup with a win 5-2 in front of a nice crowd of onlookers.
Tulane (32-14) got off to a hot start in the bottom of the second, when Hunter Hope hit an inside-the-park home run into center field for the game’s first run.
Grant Brown followed that up with an RBI-single that scored Williams for a quick 2-0 lead. UNO (28-19) made things interesting, scoring in the fourth and fifth, but the Green Wave matched in the bottom half of each of those frames to keep the Privateers from jumping ahead.
J.P. France picked up his fifth win of the season while Jordan Priddle took the loss for UNO. The Privateers tried seven different pitchers, but it wasn’t enough.
But — here’s the biggest “takeaway”, if you will:
More importantly though than the game itself, was the evidence that the interest in the sport of college baseball in the state of Louisiana appears to be thriving once again, after a prolonged absence.
There will most likely be four different teams from the state of Louisiana (Tulane, LSU, UNO, ULL, and Southeastern La.) going into the postseason this year. Attendance from last year had three teams in the top 40; with LSU topping all universities with over 10,000 fans a game.
The talent level that is playing in the state this year seems to be the best it’s ever been. With LSU, Tulane, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Southeastern likely playing in the tournament in 2016, things could really explode.
More from Big Easy Believer
- New Orleans Saints: Three biggest questions heading into the offseason
- New Orleans Saints: Three positives to take from playoff loss
- New Orleans Pelicans: Betting guide vs. Sacramento Kings
- New Orleans Saints: Bold predictions for Wild Card Round vs. Vikings
- New Orleans Pelicans: Betting guide in Los Angeles Lakers rematch
If you are looking for a new sport or wanting to explore college baseball I can personally recommend it. Tickets to a Tulane game start at only $2.00 for a bleacher seat. If you want to upgrade, shell out an Alexander Hamilton to get close to the plate. The cost of entertainment for nearly three hours is a steal.
Furthermore, the college game seems to run a lot faster. Last night’s game started right on time at 6:30 and ended at 9 pm.
There’s clearly plenty of room for baseball to grow down in the bayou. Tulane baseball is right there in uptown New Orleans. Take a ride on the streetcar and visit Turchin Stadium.
I can promise you that for your entertainment dollar, it will be a home run…..