Takeaways as Tulane Green Wave Baseball Season Comes to Close

The Tulane Green Wave came into this season as the back to back AAC tournament champions. Unfortunately, Tulane could not extend that impressive streak to three, ending their season with a 33-25 overall record.

Tulane's season ended with an 8-2 loss to the East Carolina Pirates in the AAC title game. The Green Wave knew they needed to win the title to reach the NCAA Tournament. As expected, Tulane was not selected as an at-large team when it was announced on Monday.

However, the Green Wave still managed to find themselves back in the AAC tournament final for the third year in a row. Tulane had a losing record in conference play of 13-14, but they managed to win three consecutive games in the conference tournament before the loss to ECU.

Two of those games were against top-seeded UTSA, which took the regular season series against the Green Wave 2-1.

Why Tulane Was Successful This Season

The success Tulane found in the tournament and in their 33 wins was largely attributed to a lineup loaded with hitting talent.

The Green Wave had five hitters who played more than 40 games that hit over .300 this season. Freshman outfielder Jason Wachs and junior second baseman Connor Rasmussen were particularly effective, batting .335 and .333 respectively.

Where Tulane struggled the most was on the mound. The Green Wave only had four pitchers with an ERA under 5.00. To win a conference championship, Tulane needed more depth on the mound, and that unfortunately was not the reality for the Green Wave this season.

The Green Wave did have two stellar pitchers this year. Junior Michael Lombardi had an ERA of 2.14 in 42 innings pitched and has significant MLB attention. While Lombardi primarily served as a closer, recording 11 saves, he also managed to record six starts, including an AAC tournament master class where he allowed just one run in seven innings while striking out 11 batters.

Junior Tayler Montiel also had an impressive season on the mound for the Wave, recording a 3.53 ERA in 43.1 innings.

While a 33-25 overall record was a bit of a letdown after the last two seasons, the Green Wave proved they are capable of playing impressive baseball when it matters most.

With two players, Jason Wachs and Tanner Chun, on the AAC's All-Freshman team, Tulane is certainly capable of returning to the big dance in the near future.