NEW ORLEANS ? Tulane hit three home runs and scored in each of its first three at-bats en route to an 8-3 win at New Orleans on Tuesday night at Maestri Field.
Jeremy Schaffer went 3-for-4, including a three-run blast, to help the Green Wave (23-17) win at UNO (15-24) for the fifth time in the last six meetings.
Sam Honeck hit a two-run home run in the opening inning, and Josh Prince hit a solo shot as the Green Wave won for the sixth time in their last seven outings.
Tulane starter Matt Petiton (5-2) tossed six innings and struck out seven, and Preston Claiborne worked the final three innings to pick up his second save.
Justin Edwards and Rodarrick Jones each went 2-for-4 for UNO, and Jay Morris hit a two-run home run and had three RBIs.
Matt Brown (0-2) gave up five runs and four hits in 2 1/3 innings to get the loss. The senior was making his first start since Feb. 21.
The Privateers managed just seven hits and made three errors.
“Coming off two weeks of travel, I was really worried about our energy level,” said UNO head coach Tom Walter. “And even though it was Tulane, we just came out flat tonight.”
The Green Wave jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first three innings keyed by Honeck's home run, an RBI single from Jamie Bruno and Prince's second round-tripper of the year.
Morris' sacrifice fly in the fourth cut the deficit to 5-1, but Tulane put it away in the fifth thanks to Schaffer's three-run homer to left field.
Morris capped the scoring with his first home run of the year in the eighth.
“In a midweek game, eight runs is not a terrible night pitching-wise,” Walter said. “We just didn't do enough offensively. We got guys on base, but we didn't get good at-bats in big situations. We just need to do a better job and come out with more energy (Wednesday) night.”
The two teams will meet again at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Turchin Stadium.
