The Tulane Green Wave isn’t ready to pack up their dreams of reaching the NCAA Tournament just yet.
The Green Wave (32-24), the No. 5 seed in the American Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, upset the No. 1 seed UTSA Roadrunners (43-12), 10-6 on Thursday, fueled by five home runs.
With the victory, Tulane gets a break in the double-elimination tournament. The Green Wave will play at 9 a.m. eastern on Saturday in the semifinals. A loss would have meant a Friday game. Tulane will face the winner of the FAU-UTSA elimination game on Friday.
Tulane’s five home runs were the second-most in Championship history and the most since UCF had seven against Memphis in 2021. The Green Wave have won eight consecutive games at the American Baseball Championship, including the last two titles.
The winner of the tournament will receive the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Matthias Haas hit a two-run home run for the Green Wave. James Agabedis III and Theo Bryant IV hit solo home runs for Tulane.
The final two home runs for the Green Wave pushed them to a 9-6 lead late in the game — another solo shot from Agabedis and a two-run home run by Jason Wachs, both of which came in the eighth inning.
The Green Wave went with usual Friday starter Luc Fladda, who pitched the first five innings and allowed five runs on six hits. He did not register a strikeout or a walk. Trey Cehajic came on in relief and only recorded one out and allowed a run.
Tayler Montiel (5-2) saved the day in relief. He pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, as he struck out four and surrendered just one hit and one walk.
BayCare Ballpark | Clearwater, Fla.
All times Eastern
Game 1: No. 5 Tulane 6, No. 4 Florida Atlantic 3
Game 2: No. 1 UTSA 4, No. 8 Rice 2
Game 3: No. 2 Charlotte 7, No. 7 Wichita State 1
Game 4: No. 6 East Carolina 9, No. 3 South Florida 4
Game 5: No. 4 Florida Atlantic 8, No. 8 Rice 6 (Rice eliminated)
Game 6: No. 3 South Florida 4, No. 7 Wichita State 3 (Wichita State eliminated)
Game 7: No. 5 Tulane 10, No. 1 UTSA 6
Game 8: No. 6 East Carolina 6, No. 2 Charlotte 5
Game 9: No. 4 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 1 UTSA | 1 p.m.
Game 10: No. 3 South Florida vs. No. 2 Charlotte | 47 minutes after Game 9
Game 11: No. 5 Tulane vs. Game 9 Winner | 9 a.m.
Game 12: Game 10 Winner vs. No. 6 East Carolina | 47 minutes after Game 11
Game 13: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner (if necessary) | TBD
Game 14: Game 10 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (if necessary) | TBD
Game 15: Semifinal Winners | Noon
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