Baseball Starts Road Conference Series With 4-2 Victory Over Wichita State

Thursday, April 2

Wichita, KS

6:05 p.m.

Tulane University

16-15, 3-4

Wichita State

20-11, 4-3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Tulane	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	9	1
Wichita State	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	9	1

Baseball Starts Road Conference Series With 4-2 Victory Over Wichita State

Apr 2, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score

WICHITA, KS – Strong pitching and timely hitting aided the Tulane baseball team (16-15, 3-4 American) in snapping a three-game conference losing streak with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Wichita State (20-11, 4-3 American) in the series opener on Thursday, April 2, at Eck Stadium.

Jake Toporek (1-2) started for Tulane and went the first 5.1 innings with just three hits and no runs allowed while totaling four strikeouts. Jude Abbadessa was the first man out of the bullpen. He allowed a run and struck out a man in 1.2 innings. Beau Sampson allowed a run on three hits in 1.2 innings to take the team to within an out of the victory. Sam Larson recorded the last out of the game with the tying run on base on his second pitch for his second save of the season.

Matthew Cuccias (3-1) was tagged with his first loss of the season after allowing six hits, three runs and four walks in 4.2 innings.

Tye Wood led the offensive attack for the Green Wave with four hits including his third home run of the season. He also drove in three runs. Trent Liolios totaled a pair of hits plus drove in a run and scored a tally. Jason Wachs had a hit, a walk and an RBI. Nate Johnson scored a run. Hugh Pinkney picked up a hit and a walk. Matthias Haas tallied a base hit off the bench. Tanner Chun earned a walk.

Tulane scored first with a run in the opening inning on a Liolios single with Nate Johnson racing in from second.

The Green Wave added a pair of runs to the advantage, 3-0, on a two-run double from Wood.

WSU got a run back in the seventh inning, 3-1, on a one-out RBI single to right field by Kaleb Duncan.

The Green Wave answered that run on the first pitch of the eighth as Wood picked up his fourth hit of the game and his third home run of the season.

The Shockers fought back with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, 4-2, on an RBI single from Owen Rush before Larson was able to shut the door and help propel Tulane to the victory.

Next, Tulane plays the second game of the series against the Shockers on Friday, April 3, at Eck Stadium starting at 6:05 p.m.

Notables
Jason Wachs extended his on-base streak to 57 games from the end of last season and the first 31 games this year with a hit and walk against Wichita State…The 57 games is a career high…Matthias Haas recorded the team's fourth successful pinch hit of the season…Jake Toporek's 5.1 inning performance was only the sixth time a Tulane starter has pitched five innings or more and only the fourth time a starter has gotten past the fifth inning…He is the first Tulane starter to record an out in the sixth inning since Trey Cehajic went six full innings against No. 17 TCU (3/6)…The win in the first game of the three-game series was the first for the program in the last five opportunities and the first time since the team defeated Eastern Kentucky by a 5-4 margin (2/27)…Tulane improved to 11-5 this year when scoring first…Tye Wood's four hits were a season best for him and for the team…The Green Wave are now 12-7 in games that Hugh Pinkney starts behind the plate…The program is 2-0 when Nate Johnson's bats in the second spot in the lineup…The victory improved Tulane to 5-9 in true road games this season.

TICKETS
Tickets for the baseball season and the upcoming football and volleyball campaigns can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging on to TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.

GREEN WAVE CLUB
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