Shortstop Donnie Murphy sprinted out of the batter’s box and rounded the first base bag, his eyes focused on the right field wall. As the baseball left the Zephyrs Field, he raised his right hand to the raucous home crowd.

Murphy’s walk-off home run gave the New Orleans Zephyrs a 3-2 win against the Oklahoma City RedHawks in 10 innings Friday night. The win also kept the team’s winning streak alive – now at five games.

Murphy, who is known for having sneaky power in his bat, hit a fastball off Oklahoma City reliever Elizardo Ramirez.

“I hadn’t seen a fastball in a while,” Murphy said. “He gave it to me, and I put a good swing on it.”

The win was even more impressive given that this was the third game the team has played in less than 30 hours. The Zephyrs won both games of a doubleheader Thursday in Portland and had to take a long flight back to town immediately afterwards. The team didn’t arrive at Zephyrs Field until 4 p.m., far later than usual.

“They are professionals,” manager Edwin Rodriguez said. “We were all tired, but these guys showed character. They know they have to perform in front of our fans. The last week to 10 days, the guys are playing hard and it means a lot.”

But before the eighth inning, the Zephyrs looked uninterested. And it was easy to tell with them trailing by two runs. They swung the bats slowly. They walked off the field with their heads down. For most of the game, the team didn’t have much to offer the 8,498 fans at Zephyrs Field.

RedHawks starter Omar Beltre, who throws in the mid-90s, was more than capable of handling the Zephyrs bats. For the first seven innings, the Zephyrs didn’t advance a runner past second base.

“Oklahoma City is a very good team,” Rodriguez said. “We were facing a very good pitching team, and we came out with clutch hitting.”

But when Beltre was replaced by reliever Alexi Ogando in the eighth inning, things started to turn around as Ogando could not find the strike zone.

Center fielder Kevin Mattison and second baseman Javier Guzman started the rally. Mattison singled to start the eighth inning before Guzman walked. That was followed by a walk to first baseman Logan Morrison, which set up designated hitter Hector Luna.

Luna tied the game with a two-run single to right field, plating Mattison and Guzman.

“It seems like we were having a hard time getting those runs in the beginning,” Murphy said. “When he got that base hit, I think it felt like it lifted a lot off our shoulders and got us going.”

What kept the Zephyrs (22-24) in the game was pitcher Brian Lawrence, who was shaky early on. After giving up two solo homers in the first two innings, Lawrence found the strike zone in order to keep the bullpen away through the sixth inning.

“He was outstanding,” Rodriguez said of Lawrence. “He made quality pitches, and I would say that was the game.”

Murphy said he knows wins like this go a long way toward the team’s confidence.

“We had a long day,” he said. “We thought we had a chance. I’m just glad we got a win.”

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A group of men from the neighborhood gather at Lawrence Square Park for a game of pickup basketball. (April Buffington/NYT Institute)

Dirty money on the court, ranging from dollar bills to twenties. Basketball nets hanging halfway off the rim. Pigeons scavenging for food surround the yard and dead squirrels on the court’s sideline.

This is not your average professional basketball court or anything you’ve seen on television.

Then there are the players. A number of them are in basketball shorts and others wear jeans. There are baby faces and heads full of grey hair. Some of the hoopers play old style, others are flashier.

For some people, pickup basketball, a style of streetball that originated on the courts of New York City, is a way to drop a few pounds and for some it is a casual and enjoyable hobby. But for many, it’s a way of life. On courts throughout New Orleans, devoted players put their bodies on the line night after night, week after week and year after year. But it’s also a mental game.

“It’s so special to us,” said Jerrod Delmore, a 25-year-old ball player with tattoos covering his upper arms. “It shows we can get together as one. All the guys come out and ball together. Pickup is just special around here because it brings out the best in every single one of us.”

Opened in 1894, the court at Lawrence Square on Napoleon Avenue and Magazine Street in New Orleans has been where a spirited game can be seen every day. Over on LaSalle Street and Washington Avenue at Shakespeare Park the games are just as gritty.

“We all getting together to have a peaceful good old time and bonding with each other,” said another player, Dewan Williams, 43.“It looks like we are about to fight each other but we hugging after the game.”

A regular street ball player, Corey Williams, 34, said he has been playing pickup basketball since he was 7. Growing up in a single-parent home, Williams said he knew the consequences if he didn’t go down the right path, a trail that could have led to prison or death. So he went to basketball courts and was educated by the older and much wiser ball players who taught him how to become a leader. Pickup basketball became a brotherhood for him.

A group of men from the neighborhood met at Lawrence Square Park for a game of pickup basketball on May 23, 2010. (April Buffington/NYT Institute)

Since then Williams has tried to spend as much time as he can on the court, and now he leads by example as often as he can.

He said he gets an adrenaline rush there. During a recent game, Williams, who wore a white headband, was the most vocal on the court. “You’re not going to score!” he shouted.

“It’s my passion,” Williams said. “We came up under the older cats and now we all trying to follow everything they taught us. It’s our culture.”

A former high school basketball state champion in 1998, Richard Johnson, 31, has been on the street courts since playing organized basketball. But he no longer worries about accolades; instead, he cares about staying in shape. On the court, Johnson has the purest jump shot and can score with ease.

“It’s life and a luxury,” said Johnson, wearing red Jordan shorts. “One time you shine and the other time it keeps you out of trouble. Plus you have fun and stay exercised.”

Johnson loves the grittiness and toughness of pickup basketball. He believes if there is no blood then there is no foul.

“When you play with referees, there really isn’t no toughness,” Johnson said. “When you in the park, you got to have some heart.”

Pickup basketball has been able to keep people off the streets in New Orleans for decades because it offers them a positive environment to go to.

For 26-year-old Michael Major, the court is more of a second home. For the past two years, every Sunday he and a group of friends get together for street ball. Major, groomed with a thick beard and sporting sharp light blue and lime green Nike basketball shoes, also considers street basketball a brotherhood where the players can bond and relax with each other.

But it’s still competitive. The winners stay on the court and the losers have to wait to get picked up again.

“Nobody wants to lose,” Major said. “Nobody wants to sit on the sideline. If you lose you might have to go home for the day. You may not get another shot on the court.”
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Usually players start off with a game of 21 or hustle to get loose and wait for other players to arrive. True hoopers don’t rebound at full strength or run at full speed until the competition starts. Once the numbers of players increase, ballers are able to get a full game going. The intensity is high and no one is looking to head back to the sideline. Most of the players are actively using their voice. On the court people get use to the players saying phrases like, “Gimme that” or “Get that out of here.”

For many, their love for the game will never go away.

“This is the best kind of ball,” Christian Stevens, 28, said. “Everybody comes out and it doesn’t matter what neighborhood you’re from, you come out. That’s the beauty of New Orleans pickup basketball.”

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Dana Stumpf, 34, looks out on a soccer field at the Pan-American Stadium at City Park in New Orleans, La. Stumpf, owner of the New Orleans Jesters, hopes to develop the team into a Major League Soccer club. (Taylar Barrington/ NYT Institute)

Dana Stumpf waits her turn. She checks her iPhone and looks at the people ahead of her. She wonders how many have showed up. The single-file line inches forward – body by body, one step at a time and into Pan American Stadium in City Park.

Inside, the New Orleans Jesters, the city’s minor league soccer team from the USL Premier Development League, are 20 minutes away from playing their second home match of the season, and Stumpf – the owner of the team – is here to watch. As she reaches the front, she sticks her hand inside her large purse to find her ticket. She hands it to a ticket-taker, who seems slightly surprised.

Unlike many sports owners, Stumpf doesn’t enter an event with much pomp or slip through a back door. She stands in line with fans. But once inside, Stumpf has two strides – one with elegance when she meets fans and the other with power when she’s inside the black VIP tent alongside business partners and family.

“Hello!” she says with a big smile.

For the next 2½ hours, she will talk to guests and friends, and watch the Jesters develop her dream. Stumpf, 35, believes her hometown can become passionate enough about soccer to build the Jesters into a Major League Soccer club – even if the Saints and LSU are the teams that fans in Louisiana care most about now. Stumpf hopes to model the Jesters after the Seattle Sounders, a team that was in the minor leagues for more than 10 years before becoming a MLS club in 2009.

She knows it won’t be easy. Then again, Stumpf might have the background and personality to build the Jesters a larger fan base. She’s one of the city’s most successful businesswomen and a world champion equestrian. She has a background in construction working at Durr Heavy Construction with her father, Stephen Stumpf Sr., and has also managed Gentilly Landfill, the city’s only one, since Hurricane Katrina. She can be southern nice, and southern demanding.

Stumpf also knows what makes her rare, too: She is one of the few women who own a sports franchise.

Just four years ago, Stumpf knew nothing about soccer. Yet in April 2008, she decided to buy the franchise, which was on life support.

“I bought the team because I didn’t want to see it fizzle,” said Stumpf, who is friends with previous owners Gary Ostroske and Kenneth Farrell. “I didn’t want to see it end up in the wrong hands.”

The first time Stumpf was exposed to soccer came in 2007, when she was invited by Farrell to the MLS All-Star Game in Colorado. There, she was impressed by the buzz around the sport. She talked with some of the top business people in the league and met coaches and players, including David Beckham, arguably the world’s most recognized player at the time.

“I just saw that the sport isn’t going away in the U.S.,” Stumpf said. “We’re starting to catch up with the rest of the world, and that was fascinating to me.”

From that experience, Stumpf grew an appreciation for soccer by studying the positions of the players and the rules of the game.

One of her best friends, Ron St. Pierre, who owns a marketing and advertising consulting company, introduced her to the New Orleans team, then named the Shell Shockers. After Hurricane Katrina, the team struggled for survival. Shell Oil Co., the corporate sponsor, withdrew before the 2008 season and took with it much of the team’s financial stability.

So Stumpf, her appreciation for the sport growing, had a decision to make: Buy the team or not.

Her decision came at a Metairie Road intersection, she recalled. Stopped at a red light in her silver SUV, she closed her eyes and asked God for guidance.

Bang.

From the park by the road, a soccer ball hit Stumpf’s car, she said. Stumpf looked at the kids playing on the field. Her answer had come.

“I always knew God has some crazy plans for me,” Stumpf said. “I wanted to get the focus back on the family.”

Stumpf has refocused the franchise to provide affordable family entertainment. Tickets for adults are $10 and $5 for kids – a far distance from buying a sold-out Saints ticket online, if you can even get one at the $100 minimum.

Stumpf also changed the team’s name to the Jesters, a Mardi Gras connection that fans could relate to. She hired a public relations firm and her friend St. Pierre’s consulting company to brand the team’s identity, from merchandise to ad spots.

“She is an extremely intelligent businesswoman,” said St. Pierre, who lived next door to Stumpf when they were kids in Destrehan, a rural community west of New Orleans. “She works every spare moment, and every weekend she’s doing something. This is why her business will be successful.”

The second half at Pan American Stadium has just started. The Jesters have evenly played the Houston Regals FC in a scoreless first half. Stumpf, who is just outside the VIP tent and behind the net Houston is defending, watches every movement of the soccer ball. Just as any avid fan does, she gets upset when her team misses an opportunity to score – like at this moment, when midfielder Andy Drummond’s kick on goal in the 70th minute is saved by Houston goalkeeper Marcos Sanchez.

“Dang that goalkeeper!” Stumpf yells. “He can let one go behind him. That’s OK. Good job, Andy!”

A few minutes later, Stumpf whips out her iPhone. She’s received a text from her friend Rita Benson LeBlanc – the granddaughter of Tom Benson, who bought the Saints in 1985 – about horseback riding. The text reads: “just saw your billboard!!! do you want to ride in the am???”

LeBlanc’s text was prompted by one of the Jesters’ seven billboards in the city. And the riding part, well, the two became friends five years ago and are part of a business peer group in the city. LeBlanc, who is part owner and executive vice president of the Saints, understands what Stumpf is going through with the Jesters.

LeBlanc is one of the few female owners in the NFL.

“I deeply value her opinion and insight,” LeBlanc said in an e-mail interview. “We share ideas and discuss ways of making our teams fresh and relevant. We are very independent people who are making our own marks within our prospective leagues.”

LeBlanc has helped Stumpf understand the sports landscape in New Orleans. After Katrina, LeBlanc was instrumental in having the Saints reach out to the community, an effort that has grown since the team won the Super Bowl in February. Stumpf has done similar work with the Jesters.

“She is very hands-on, which is very important in our city,” LeBlanc said of Stumpf. “I know that her team is one of the most soundly run, and New Orleans is an exciting market to grow soccer.”

Still, Stumpf has faced challenges. She’s had to deal with criticism from fans who felt jilted by the former team’s failures. And as a woman who owns a team, she’s had to earn respect.

Her success has outweighed the struggles.

Last year, the Jesters advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2003. Attendance has increased to about 2,500 per match, according to the team, which has made the team profitable. Even if the progress hasn’t come overnight, Stumpf says she knows soccer is growing each year. The fact that ESPN has bought the rights to this year’s World Cup is a sign of the sport’s growth, she said.

“Her vision is incredible,” said Farrell, who is the coach of the Jesters. “I’m positive to think where the franchise will be in 5 to 10 years if she stays running it the way she is.”

The clock is ticking down. There are just 5 minutes left in the match.

The Jesters need a win – not just for the young season, but also, Stumpf says, because she knows the Jesters have to win for New Orleans to support the team. The Jesters have already missed two more chances to score when the ball bounced off the right post and the crossbar. Stumpf is anxious, now standing as close to the field as she can.

Then, the play happens. In the 86th minute, midfielder Ederson Lopez kicks the match-winning goal into the back of the net.

Stumpf screams. The crowd screams.

“Yes!” Stumpf shouts. “I knew we would get one before the 90 minutes.”

During the celebration, Stumpf points to Drummond, who she said has that New Orleans flavor. The only player wearing bright, yellow cleats, Drummond is rejoicing with the fans, waving his hands up and down. It’s exactly what Stumpf wants from her players.

“We try to let the community know we care about them,” said Drummond, whose family moved from Honduras to New Orleans.

Once the final whistle blows and the Jesters are 1-0 winners on this Saturday night in May, Stumpf focuses her eyes on the stands. She can see all the families – all the kids, too. They are cheering.

In a small moment like this, Stumpf doesn’t have to worry about building the Jesters into a MLS club, or focusing on the next promotion to draw fans to see the team. She can just be silent for 10 seconds, listen to the applause over jazz music, look at the fans and smile.

“This is my community,” she says. “I just want to see it work.”

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When the New Orleans Saints took the field this week for the first time since winning the Super Bowl, coach Sean Payton had a message: There’s no guarantee of getting back.

Never before has the team faced the expectations that come with being defending champions, and Payton knows it.

“I think it’s important that we can’t get misguided to think that everyone returns and you just continue where you’re at,” he said after the team’s third offseason practice on Thursday.

Payton brought a chart showing the past five title winners in the NFL and what they did the following season. None returned to the Super Bowl. He showed charts from other sports indicating the same trend, all in an effort to motivate his team for the upcoming season.

It’s a different mindset from the franchise’s past history. At this point last year, the Saints were hoping to just make a trip to the playoffs. Now, as the team finished its organized activities, players and coaches made a point to say that defending their title in 2010 will not come easy

“Yes, we accomplished the pinnacle of success in our business, but it’s just one year,” said quarterback Drew Brees.

Sure, there are positive signs to suggest the Saints will be contenders to win back-to-back Super Bowls. After the first wave of free agency, the Saints lost just three of the 22 players who started in last year’s Super Bowl. And Payton also said he is thankful to have the core of his coaching staff back.

But Brees knows things aren’t going to be the same after the Super Bowl win against the Indianapolis Colts in February.

That’s because the Saints were celebrated not just in Louisiana, but also across the country. Just days after being named Super Bowl MVP, Brees appeared on “The Late Show With David Letterman,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and at Walt Disney World. He even took a few lessons from golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

Brees also said he knows his teammates received similar treatment.

“I think just about every player on our team had his high school jersey retired and a street named after them in their hometown,” Brees said. “All those things are great things, but certainly there’s a time when you have to come back to work.”

One problem the Saints should not have to worry about is their chemistry. With much of last year’s roster back, players such as running back Reggie Bush are hoping the team will continue to build on its success, even if the odds of a return to the Super Bowl are slim.

“What we did last year was special, and everybody understands that,” Bush said. “It doesn’t feel any different to me. This feels like what we’re supposed to do. I think everybody is done partying.”

The Saints have also picked up a few players in the free agency, mostly to strengthen the defense. Both defensive end Alex Brown and linebacker Clint Ingram are expected to compete for starting spots.

Brees thinks this year’s team could even be better than last year’s.

“I think the philosophy still is, we have not arrived by any means,” he said.

The only two players absent from the 80-man roster this week were tackle Jammal Brown and running back Pierre Thomas, who are in contract negotiations.

The team had a brief scare as tight end Jeremy Shockey, who participated in Thursday’s practice, was sent to a hospital after practice for seizure-like symptoms from lifting in the weight room. The Saints confirmed that Shockey was in the hospital and in stable condition. Shockey even twitted, “I am ok” early Thursday night. No other information was immediately available.

The Saints will hold minicamp next Friday through Sunday, and will have their final two offseason practices later in June.

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Tulane coach Rick Jones opened the door and quietly walked out of the clubhouse. He saw the media, but looked down at the ground. Jones already knew what questions would be asked.

Minutes earlier, Tulane fell to Central Florida in the season finale Saturday – a loss that eliminated the Green Wave from playing in the 2010 Conference USA Tournament. This is the first baseball postseason that won’t include the Green Wave in Jones’ 17 years of coaching the squad.

“It’s unacceptable for the expectation level for our program, and that starts with me,” Jones said. “We’re going to work as hard as we can to make sure this never happens again.”

But the woes of Tulane baseball this season are deeper than just Jones putting the blame on himself.

Even before Tulane became a Conference USA member in 1995, the Green Wave had played in the postseason every year since 1989 and in 11 of the 12 years prior to that. But getting past the conference tournament has proved difficult in recent years. At one point, the Green Wave reached the College World Series nine years in a row under Jones, but the team has failed to even make the NCAA Tournament three of the last four years.

While the conference tournament was recently changed to include only six rather than eight of the league’s nine teams, that didn’t affect Tulane this year as the team finished last in the standings and would have missed the tournament under the older format, too. The tournament starts next week in Houston with Rice as the top seed.

“Never in a million years did I think coming to Tulane I would be sitting right here with the season over a couple of days before the conference tournament starts,” catcher Jeremy Schaffer said after the season-ending loss. “It’s a shock.”

Jones said he has fielded good teams in the past few years. Yet Tulane has struggled to stay as one of college baseball’s elite teams since Hurricane Katrina. The aftermath of the storm made recruiting more difficult as the entire city has struggled to rebuild. Tulane combated the problem by building Turchin Stadium in 2008, a 5,000-seat ballpark that has been called the crown jewel of the school’s athletic facilities.

The Green Wave has also struggled to execute on the field. Unlike some of the World Series teams, this season was unusual because Tulane played inconsistently in every facet of the game. The biggest problem area may have been pitching – Jones actually thought the pitching staff was going to be the strength of the team, but Tulane gave up 48 homers this year, the second-highest total in the conference.

“Our pitching staff has to get better,” Jones said. “We have to have starters go deep in the game. We’re going to continue to recruit pitching.”

On the bright side, next year the Green Wave is projected to return with seven seniors and a pitching staff that can build off the experience of this season.

But for the current players, next season feels a long way away. For a school where baseball is the most popular sport, ending the season before June is hard to comprehend.

“We didn’t see this coming,” shortstop Garrett Cannizaro said. “We have to get back into it next year.” That pain was evident at Turchin Stadium following the difficult last game, a 17-6 loss made worse because it was shortened by the 10-run mercy rule.

Senior pitcher Matt Petiton left the clubhouse and hurried into an equipment room. Even if his teammates couldn’t see him, his tears were still heard in the hallway.

In the stands, one fan lingered more than 30 minutes after the last pitch. An older man who was wearing Tulane shorts, T-shirt and cap was sitting in the third row behind home plate. In 85-degree heat, his head was down.

The season was over, a tough fact for all Green Wave fans.

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Jesters midfielder Caleb Turner headed the ball during a game against Regals FC of Houston on Saturday. (Taylar Barrington/NYT Institute)

The Jesters didn’t just hit the crossbar searching for the match-winning goal, they bounced the ball off the right post, too. Fortunately for the Jesters, they had one more opportunity in their Premier Development League soccer contest Saturday night.

In the 86th minute, midfielder Ederson Lopez kicked the ball past Houston goalkeeper Marcos Sanchez to give the Jesters a 1-0 win.

“My worry was that we hit the post twice and that their goalkeeper was playing great,” Farrell said. “I didn’t know if we would break the net, but Edison is such a good player in how he finished.”

Even if the Jesters struggled to score all night, Lopez made the most of his opportunity created by a Houston turnover. Once Lopez stole the ball, he found teammate Tony Judice, who gave the ball right back to an open Lopez.

“We knew the goal was going to come because we were working so hard,” Lopez said. “We were all over them. Sooner or later, we knew the goal was coming.”

Lopez was right. After an evenly played first half, the Jesters (2-1) grabbed momentum by controlling the ball and keeping it deep in Houston’s territory. At halftime, Farrell decided to change his strategy. Instead of letting Houston control the tempo of play, he told his team to attack.

“We wore them down,” Farrell said. “They knew we were a better team than them, but they stepped up their defense. At halftime we changed our formation.”

The match was different from the one played earlier this year in May between the two teams. During the preseason, the Jesters defeated Regals FC 7-0. In that match, the Jesters scored on multiple opportunities against a different goalkeeper, Gerardo Romero.

New Orleans forward Andy Drummond acknowledged that the Jesters didn’t perform well in the first half. Once the team entered the locker room after not scoring a goal, Drummond, along with the other Jesters, made an effort to make sure the match didn’t end in a tie.

“I think we took a different mentality in the second half,” Drummond said. “When we play, we have to put shots in the box. Edison did a great job of scoring, and that’s all we needed.”

The Jesters’ next match – and the start of a five-game road trip – will be May 28 in Baton Rouge against the Capitals. The team won’t be back at City Park until June 18.

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Tulane’s season turned from optimistic to bleak within the first 35 minutes of Saturday’s season finale. The University of Central Florida scored six runs in the first inning, a lead that expanded into a 17-6 season-ending loss for the Green Wave at Turchin Stadium.

The loss breaks a streak of 21 consecutive postseason appearances for Tulane. Even before 1996, when the Conference USA tournament was created, the Green Wave had played in postseason baseball since 1989. Not this year.

“I’ve never thought of it before,” said coach Rick Jones of missing the tournament. “This is a first. I don’t know what to say right now other than it’s unacceptable.”

What made the season-ending loss even worse was that Tulane received the help it needed to reach the tournament. Both East Carolina and Rice won their final games of the season, which was more than the Green Wave needed. A win by either team could have sent Tulane to the conference tournament in Houston next week. But Tulane didn’t keep up its end of the deal.

Starter Matt Petiton struggled from the first pitch.

He gave up two hits before center fielder Ronnie Richardson came to the plate. Richardson hit a three-run homer to left center. It was only the beginning, as the next four batters reached base before Petiton recorded his only two outs of the game.

“I felt like no matter how good of a pitch I threw, they got a barrel on it,” Petiton said. “I envision something completely different, but this is a tough day.”

Tulane (32-24, 10-14 in Conference USA) did score two runs in the bottom of the first to give temporary hope to the 2,727 fans who came expecting the Green Wave to beat a UCF team (33-22, 10-14 in Conference USA) that already knew its season was over.

But the pitching woes continued throughout the game.

Here’s what the band of relievers did for six innings: Gunner Wright gave up four runs. Drew Zizinia allowed two runs. Preston Claiborne offered up three runs. And Nate Fury let two Knights cross the plate.

For Jones, it wasn’t just that the Green Wave lost two games out of the three-game series to end its season. He knows that his team isn’t going to win every series, but it was how his team lost that surprised him. Of the 25 innings played in the three games, UCF scored in 20 innings.

“I know the players are disappointed, but we have to play better,” Jones said. “The numbers don’t lie, and it starts on the mound.”

The fans were disappointed, too. They started to leave in the top of the seventh inning after UCF left fielder Chris Duffy hit a grand slam to give the Knights an 11-run lead, which allowed the game to end after seven innings based on the 10-run mercy rule.

“We have to learn from it,” catcher Jeremy Schaffer said of the disappointment. “The next season starts today, and we have to start working toward that goal.”

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Shortstop Garrett Caunizaro (2) celebrates with teammates after Tulane player Gunner Wright (31) made a grand slam during their game against University of Central Florida on Friday May 21, 2010 in New Orleans at Turchin Stadium. (Imani Cheers/NYT Institute)

Tulane’s season looked all but over when designated hitter Gunner Wright stepped to the plate in the seventh inning, his team down three runs to the University of Central Florida. A loss would have eliminated the Green Wave from postseason play.

Game over, right? Season finished, right? Not exactly.

You have to understand this about Tulane: Fortunes can turn quickly.

Wright stepped out of the batter’s box and took a deep breath and started his on-deck routine: singing “Forgot about Dre,” by Eminem to himself.

“After I saw the slider on the first pitch,” Wright said of UCF reliever Matt Manning, “I knew he was coming with another one.”

And indeed he did. Wright turned the hanging slider into a grand slam, and the one-run deficit into a three-run lead. UCF scored two runs in the eighth, but the Green Wave was able to hold on for a 14-10 win in front of 2,571 fans at Turchin Stadium on Friday night.

The Green Wave (32-23, 10-13 in Conference USA) can still advance to the Conference USA Tournament next week with a win in Saturday’s season finale and a win by either East Carolina or Rice.

The team is just excited to have an opportunity at postseason baseball, given how things looked when UCF scored four runs in the sixth inning to take an 8-5 lead.

Instead of pressing with just three innings left to mount a comeback, the Green Wave showed a level of calm that impressed coach Rick Jones. When UCF reliever Joe Rogers entered the game in the seventh, Tulane hitters didn’t swing at the first pitch.

He watched ball one pass. Then ball two. Ball Three. And eventually, ball four.

“We had to have patient at-bats,” Jones said. “They were having some command issues.”

Still, Jones had a decision to make when Wright stepped to the plate. In recent games, Wright struggled against lefthanders like Rogers. But instead of playing the numbers, Jones left Wright in, who had already hit a home run in the game.

“The wind was blowing out, so we felt like maybe if he could get a hanger, and sure enough he got one,” Jones said. “He put a good swing on a mistake.”

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Tulane

The sound was sharp. Loud. Aggravating. Describe it any way you want, but Tulane reliever Drew Zizinia knew the baseball was never coming back. And neither was Wednesday’s game.

Down four runs in the sixth inning, Zizinia bowed his head in frustration as Chris Duffy, University of Central Florida’s best hitter, began his home run trot.

It wasn’t the first time the Green Wave watched a Knight take his time rounding the bases. Tulane never led in the 12-6 loss, as the Knights hit five solo home runs. Tulane must now win its final two games to have a chance of advancing to the Conference USA Tournament, which begins in Houston next week.

Tulane

A loss tomorrow or Saturday will eliminate the Green Wave from the tournament for the first time since it began in 1996.

“There was nothing I could say that was a bright spot,” coach Rick Jones said.

Tulane starter Conrad Flynn began the night of bad pitching by giving up a home run to Darnell Sweeney in the first inning. He then gave home runs to center fielder Ronnie Richardson in the second and another in the third to right fielder Shane Brown.

The Knights (31-21) scored in every inning but the ninth.

But given all of that, with UCF leading 5-3, the Green Wave did have an opportunity to tie the game in the fifth inning. With one out, Tulane (31-23) loaded the bases on three walks. UCF starter Bryan Brown was struggling with his command, and his first two pitches to second baseman Brennan Middleton were balls.

But the third pitch ended the Green Wave’s momentum when Middleton grounded into a double play.

“Conrad got us out of some big innings there to give us a chance,” Jones said. “We just didn’t capitalize. When we got a chance to get something going, the double play just took our energy.”

From there, Zizinia entered the game, and Duffy’s homer gave the Knights a comfortable lead.

“Anytime you play a team that scores every inning, it’s tough to beat them even if you answer back a few times,” Tulane shortstop Garrett Cannizaro said. “Playing from behind puts pressure on everybody.”

What made the performance such a surprise to Jones was how well his team played Tuesday when the Green Wave defeated defending national champion Louisiana State University in such a convincing fashion, 9-1.

“I just didn’t see this coming,” Jones said. “I wish I could explain it.”

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Designated hitter Neil Wilson slides safely at home Tuesday afternoon under Sacramento River Cats pitcher Clay Mortensen. (Thaisi H. Da Silva/NYT Institute)

Give the New Orleans Zephyrs credit for this in Tuesday’s afternoon game: They took advantage of the Sacramento River Cats miscues. In a game where the River Cats had two errors and three wild pitches, the Zephyrs turned those mistakes into a 12-2 win at Zephyrs Field.

It was the type of performance manager Edwin Rodriguez wanted from his team with a fourth of the season already gone. Unlike their performance in recent games, the Zephyrs played solid defense and scored when the opportunities presented themselves. The win gave the Zephyrs (17-20) a split in the four-game series with the River Cats (17-22).

Now the Zephyrs will try to keep their momentum when their eight-game road trip starts Thursday against the Tacoma Rangers (16-21), who have lost their last four games. If Rodriguez wants to see his team improve, the Zephyrs need to win the four-game series against a Rangers team that has had as slow a start as the River Cats.

That means doing what third baseman Hector Luna and designated hitter Neil Wilson did Tuesday when the Zephyrs needed a spark.

With the score tied at 2-2, the Zephyrs opened the fifth inning by loading the bases. But two consective outs left it up to Luna to deliver the key hit with Wilson on third base.

But Luna didn’t even have to swing the bat.

A wild pitch by Clay Mortensen allowed Wilson to slide home on a close play.

And when Luna struck out later in the at-bat, he was still able to advance to first base on another wild pitch from Mortensen, forcing center fielder Lorenzo Scott home, to give the Zephyrs a 3-1 lead.

“I think that was the turning point,” manager Edwin Rodriguez said of the two runs, and particularly Wilson’s base running. “That was a very good play by him because there was two outs, two strikes and the ball wasn’t that far away.”

From there, Luna and Wilson carried the offense: Wilson hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, while Luna’s three-run homer came in the eighth.

The big lead was more than enough cushion for starter Brian Lawrence, as he pitched six innings, giving up one earned run. Lawrence continued the Zephyrs success by using his newest pitch – a palmball – to get of out jams in the fifth and sixth inning.

“He’s a pleasure to catch because it’s a really good pitch,” Wilson said. “That palmball sometimes looks like a split-finger because it has some serious action on it.”

What Rodriguez said he was most impressed with in the win was how Luna, one of the Zephyrs best hitters, has stopped putting pressure on himself. The adjustment has help Luna bat .423 in the past eight games. It also proved important in the field, as he made a difficult play to record an out in the sixth inning.

“He played good defense, too, by making a play in the hole that saved a run,” Lawrence said of Luna. “When you can play good defense and have good at-bats, it’s going to carry over to the next guy.”

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