The Tulane baseball team (9-3) wrapped up its California road trip with a narrow 3-2 victory over Long Beach State (5-7) on Monday night at Blair Field.
The game came down to the ninth inning when Long Beach State’s Luke Taylor hit a bases-loaded single, cutting Tulane’s lead to one. With two runners on, Michael Lombardi shut down the rally with two strikeouts, securing the win and earning his third save of the season.
Tulane’s pitching staff delivered a strong performance. Starter J.D. Rodriguez (1-0) threw five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four. Blaise Wilcenski followed with three shutout innings in relief, striking out two. Carter Benbrook struggled in the ninth, allowing two runs without recording an out. Taylor Montiel struck out the only batter he faced before Lombardi finished the game. Long Beach State’s Ka’imi Kahalekai (0-2) took the loss after allowing one run in three innings.
Offensively, Gavin Schulz led the Green Wave with two hits, a walk, and a run scored. Tanner Chun, Lombardi, Connor Rasmussen, Matthias Haas, Kaikea Harrison, Nate Johnson, and James Agabedis III each contributed a hit. Harrison, Johnson, and Agabedis drove in Tulane’s three runs.
Tulane took an early lead in the first inning when Harrison doubled to right field, scoring Chun from second. Johnson added another run in the fourth with an RBI single that brought home Schulz. Agabedis delivered a key insurance run in the eighth, hitting a pinch-hit RBI single to score Harrison.
The win improved Tulane’s record against Long Beach State to 4-3, their first meeting since 2018. Tulane also advanced to 20-48 all-time against Big West Conference opponents.
Next, Tulane returns home to host North Dakota State in a three-game series from March 7-9, beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.
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