Tulane University
Nicholls St
Shirley Boosts Tulane Past Nicholls State, 7-6
Apr 25, 2000 | Baseball
April 25, 2000
NEW ORLEANS - With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Tulane's (29-16-1) Steve Shirley hit a two run double into left field to boost the Green Wave past Nicholls State (22-23) 7-6 on Tuesday night.
The Green Wave held a 5-2 lead after six innings until a Doug Gill grand slam in the seventh gave the Colonels a 6-5 advantage. In the bottom of the ninth Tulane's Jon Kaplan reached first on a lead off walk and advanced to second on an Andy Cannizaro bunt. A wild pitch by NSU's Alex Velazquez allowed Kaplan to reach third. With runners on the corners and two outs, designated hitter Shirley doubled allowing both runners to score giving Tulane a 7-6 victory.
Tulane closer Brandon Belanger (3-2) replaced starting pitcher Matt Foster in the seventh and held the Colonels hitless through three innings to pick up his third win of the season. Belanger struck out four of the nine batters he faced. Foster went six plus innings gave up six runs and struck out four.
Velazquez (1-1) had only given up one earned run all season until the two scored by Tulane in this game. He went one plus innings gave up two hits and two earned runs.
On the evening, Shirley was 3-for-5 with three RBI, while catcher Nick Herz was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI.
NSU's Gill recorded a game high four RBI. He was 2-for-4.
Tulane plays cross-town rival UNO on Wednesday evening. The Zephyr Field game begins at 6:30 p.m.
