TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Junior left fielder Scott Powell and sophomore shortstop Josh Prince combined to go 6-for-8, and rookie right-hander Nick Pepitone pitched 2.2 scoreless innings of relief as the third-seeded Tulane University baseball team defeated second-seeded Florida, 7-4, in game one of the 2008 NCAA Tallahassee Regional Friday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium.

Tulane trailed 4-1 after six innings, but the Green Wave offense took advantage of six hits, two wild pitches, a walk and a sacrifice fly to plate six in the seventh to account for the final score.

With the win, Tulane (38-20-1) advances to the winner’s bracket where it will play the winner of tonight’s Florida State/Bucknell contest on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CDT).

Florida (34-23), meanwhile, drops into the loser’s bracket and will take on the loser of this evening’s Seminole/Bison matchup on Saturday at noon.

Florida erased a 1-0 deficit with a four-run sixth which included an RBI-double by Brandon McArthur and two-run homer off the bat of Jon Townsend.

Unfazed, Tulane stormed right back in the top of the seventh with five consecutive singles to take control of the ballgame.

Pepitone (4-1) stranded a runner at second with one out in Florida’s four-run sixth with a strikeout and a fly ball to center. He faced the minimum in the seventh with a walk, a strikeout and a double-play grounder, and pitched his way around a one-out double in the eighth.

Florida put the leadoff runner on in the ninth when reserve catcher Hampton Tignor walked but Pepitone bounced back to get a line-out to shortstop and a 6-4-3 double play to put a stamp on the victory.