CLEARWATER, Fla. — Getting a college baseball team motivated to play in a conference tournament after finishing the regular season 15-39 isn't the easiest task in coaching. That was the job for Tulane's staff heading into last week's AAC tournament.
The Green Wave proceeded to pull off one of the most improbable runs in recent NCAA history - in any sport - to win the conference crown and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Former Rays draft pick and Green Wave assistant coach Justin Bridgman said it was all about pushing the players to get better each day.
"Every guy was engaged in each pitch," Bridgman said via video chat. "And that’s the cliche in baseball, especially as a coach. As the tournament went on, you just kept realizing that every inning we were playing, we were just playing. When we looked up at the end, we had beaten everybody."
Bridgman, 27, was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2017. He won championships at the minor league level, but the Reno, Nevada native said his team's AAC title was even more special.
"It was just more than what you could’ve expected. I had won a couple of championships in the minor leagues with the Tampa Bay Rays- in Hudson Valley and Bowling Green. The way it is in professional baseball, it’s so different in terms of what it means," Bridgman explained. "And yes, we were always trying to win, but there are so many different players on the team throughout the year. You’re maybe only on the team for maybe half a season. You’re on a different level if you play well."
He went on to say it was almost a feeling of disbelief when the Green Wave won their fourth game in six days to claim the conference trophy.
"It was almost a shock," Bridgman recalled. "When you’re running out on the field, and it was like, we did it!"
Regardless of whether Tulane stole a bid from a potential at-large team with a better record, the beauty of college sports is that everyone gets a chance to win their way into the postseason.
"It’s baseball. Anybody can win, and that’s why you have those Cinderella stories, and you have the mid-majors winning the national championship in baseball," Bridgman continued. "That little bit of hope is what makes college athletics so special, and sport in general."
Tulane's reward for punching a ticket to the NCAA regional is a match-up with #5 overall seed LSU. The Green Wave will be massive underdogs to win their four-team regional, which includes Oregon St. and Sam Houston. But Tulane's account is full of house money.
"We don’t have to play with the pressure on our backs. We don’t have to have these expectations of anything," Bridgman added. "It’s something where we can play free and kinda let the run go. If it’s meant to be, then it’s meant to be. And think we’re just gonna allow ourselves to play in that freedom state."
LSU will host the double-elimination regional, with the winner advancing to the round-of-16 super regional. First pitch between Tulane and LSU is set for Friday at 2 P.M.
