The Tulane baseball team (1-0) started the 2026 season with a thrilling 12-3 road victory over Loyola Marymount (0-1) on Friday night, Feb. 13.
The Green Wave offense totaled 12 runs on nine hits, eight walks and five hit by pitches. The Tulane pitching staff recorded 14 strikeouts while limiting the Lions to three runs on four hits. The Green Wave also played error free baseball on defense.
Senior J.D. Rodriguez (1-0) earned the relief victory for the Green Wave. He threw 4.2 innings with just two hits and two walks allowed while striking out a career-high nine batters. Trey Cehajic started for Tulane on the mound and went the first 3.1 with three runs allowed and five strikeouts. Jude Abaddessa threw a scoreless inning in relief to preserve the victory.
AJ Groeneveld and Tanner Chun helped lead the offensive attack with three RBIs each. Matthias Haas and Jason Wachs each had two RBIs. Haas also walked twice. Kaikea Harrison had three hits, two runs scored and an RBI. He was the lone Green Wave player to accumulate multiple hits. Tye Wood scored three runs and walked twice. Trent Liolios had a run scored, an RBI, a hit plus two walks. James Agabedis III scored a run and drew a walk.
Tulane scored four in the opening inning as Haas drew a bases loaded walk and Groeneveld cleared the bases with a three-run triple.
LMU scored their first run on a bases loaded run to DJ Ghiorso in the opening frame.
The Green Wave added three runs in the second on an RBI fielder’s choice from Wachs, a bases load walk by Liolios and a Haas’ hit by a pitch.
The Lions quickly got two runs back in the bottom of the second on Alex Gamboa two-run home run.
The game stayed 7-3 until the ninth when Tulane added five insurance runs on a single from Harrison, a hit by pitch by Wachs with the bases loaded followed by a three-run double from Chun.
LMU threatened in the ninth. The Lions loaded the bases, but a nicely turned double play back to Abbadessa on the mound and followed by a ground out ended the game.
Next, Tulane plays the second game of the series against the Lions starting at 5 p.m. CT.
Notables
Jason Wachs extended his on-base streak to 27 games from the end of last season with a hit by pitch against LMU…The 27 games is a career high…J.D. Rodriguez improved his record to 2-0 in the state of California as a Division I pitcher as he also defeated Long Beach State last season…In those two games, he has thrown a combined 9.2 innings with three hits allowed and 13 strikeouts…Nine players made their Tulane debuts in the game in Tye Wood, Evan Berg, Trent Liolios, AJ Groeneveld, Jack Johnson, Bryson Ayala, and Jude Abbadessa….The 12 runs scored was the most for the team since last season against Florida Atlantic (5/2) when the program scored 12 runs in a loss…The 12 runs scored marked the second consecutive opening day that the program has scored 12.
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