Tulane University’s baseball team, currently holding an 8-4 record, will begin a stretch of five consecutive games away from home with a matchup against Nicholls State University on Tuesday. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Ray E. Didier Field.
The contest will be available for viewing on ESPN+, and fans can also listen to the broadcast called by Corey Gloor via the Tulane Sports Network from Learfield on the Varsity Network. Coverage starts 15 minutes before the first pitch.
Graduate student Jake Toporek will start as pitcher for Tulane. Toporek has appeared in four games out of the bullpen this season, striking out eight batters over 7.1 innings with a 1.23 ERA and holding opponents to a .250 batting average. Last year, while at Wagner University, he posted an 8-1 record with a 3.49 ERA.
Nicholls plans to start left-handed pitcher Shaydon Benson, who has an 0-1 record this season across three appearances (one start). Benson has struck out six and walked six in 5.2 innings pitched.
Nicholls enters the game having won five of its last seven contests but lost two of three games in its recent conference series against McNeese State. Caston Thompson leads their offense with a .373 batting average, nine runs scored, and three home runs so far this season.
Tulane holds a historical advantage over Nicholls in their series history, leading 69-27 overall and winning all three meetings last year by scores of 13-3, 9-5, and 9-4.
This game marks Tulane’s second matchup this season against an opponent from the Southland Conference (SLC). Last week they fell to UNO by an 11-3 margin; historically, Tulane is 308-167 against current SLC schools.
Among individual performances for Tulane entering Tuesday’s game: Jason Wachs has reached base safely in his last 38 games dating back to last season; Nate Johnson is hitting .750 over his past five games; Matthias Haas holds a .333 average during that span; Trey Cehajic recently earned American Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after recording career highs in strikeouts (11) and innings pitched (seven) during Friday’s win over Eastern Kentucky.
“Trey Cehajic was named the American Conference’s Weekly Pitcher of the Week following the third week of the season (3/2/26).
Cehajic, a graduate student from Shreveport, Louisiana, had a career day in earning the 5-4 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Friday, Feb. 27. He threw 7.0 innings with one hit and no runs allowed while striking out 11. Both his innings pitched and his strikeout totals are career highs. Cehajic’s seven innings are also tied for the longest outing by a Tulane starting pitcher this season along with Jack Frankel. Additionally, the seven innings thrown are also tied for the longest outing by a pitcher in the American Conference this season. Of the 11 strikeouts, nine came looking. His 11 strikeouts were the most for any pitcher in the American Conference this season. Cehajic’s 11 strikeouts are also the most for a Tulane pitcher since Michael Lombardi also struck out 11 against Florida Atlantic in the first round of the 2025 American Conference Baseball Championships.
He is the first Tulane pitcher to take home the weekly honor since Michael Lombardi (4/7/25)”
Tulane returns fourteen players from last year’s squad that reached its third straight appearance in an American Championship Game and finished with a record of 33 wins.
The team added twenty-three new players to its roster this year including graduate students and freshmen.
Last year saw several Green Wave players earn conference honors or selections to all-tournament teams.
Three former members were selected in different rounds during last summer’s MLB Draft.
After facing Nicholls State on Tuesday night,
Tulane continues its road trip later this week when it plays No. 21 TCU from March 6–8 at Fort Worth,
with game times set for Thursday through Saturday afternoons.
For more information about tickets or upcoming schedules,
fans can visit TulaneTix.com or contact
the ticket office at James W. Wilson Jr. Center.
