NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University baseball team (10-12) was shut out by Grand Canyon University (11-12-1) as they fell 6-0 on Sunday at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.
Tulane pitching had 12 strikeouts and zero walks, but the offense couldn’t get anything going as it was blanked by GCU’s arms.
“All the little things are nagging us right now, the things that are totally controllable,” head coach Travis Jewett said. “This is a game of routine and we just need to do the things the game requires. Obviously disappointing and from the first inning it was pretty much downhill from there.”
The Green Wave bullpen’s performance capped a stellar series in which it gave up only two earned runs over 16 innings of work to complete the weekend with a 1.13 ERA. The pen recorded 19 strikeouts in that span.
“Our bullpen did a good job and we are going to have to continue to get that kind of effort from them and if we continue to do that, they will keep us in a lot of games as the year goes on,” Jewett said.
Senior right-hander Trent Johnson got the ball for the Green Wave and allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits in four innings of work. Johnson recorded a season-high seven strikeouts.
GCU went with freshman righty Carter Young as their Sunday starter. Young threw six innings of scoreless ball and only allowed four hits while striking out six.
After a 40-minute rain delay before first pitch, GCU struck first for the third straight day with by scoring one run in the top of the first.
Sophomore shortstop Collin Burns extended his hitting streak to five games with an infield single to lead off the bottom of the first.
Johnson bounced back after his hiccup in the first by striking out the side in the second.
GCU added a run in the third to extend the lead to 2-0.
Tulane fell behind 4-0 for the third consecutive day as GCU added a pair of runs in the fourth inning.
A combination of relievers pitched innings five through nine for Tulane and allowed only two unearned runs, one in the seventh and one in the ninth.
Sophomore Lane Thomas pitched the fifth and sixth and struck out two batters while holding GCU scoreless. Freshman Camryn Szynski, freshman Brian Valigosky, junior David Bates, and senior Robert Price combined to pitch innings seven through nine. The group recorded three strikeouts and allowed only three hits.
Up Next
Tulane takes on Jackson State University on Tuesday at 6 p.m. inside GFATS.
{Press release courtesy of Tulane Athletics}
