Center fielder Kaleb Duncan had the most successful night at the plate for Wichita State on Thursday, notching two hits — including a double — against Tulane at Eck Stadium.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Duncan’s RBI single to right field finally put the Shockers on the board and cut Tulane’s lead to 3-1.
“(I) tried to stick to the approach and just kind of crack something open,” Duncan said. “(It) definitely was big.
“I felt the dugout get energized by it and just wish we could’ve kept it going.”
This breakthrough was one of the few offensive highlights of the game for WSU.
The Shockers brought the tying run to the plate, after Duncan doubled and scored in the ninth, but the rally stalled and Wichita State (20-11, 4-3 American) fell to Tulane (16-15, 3-4 American) by a 4-2 score in the series opener.
Starting pitcher Matthew Cuccias (3-1) took his first loss of the season after allowing six hits, four walks and three earned runs, to go along with three strikeouts, in 4.2 innings pitched.
The bullpen’s relievers, however, kept the Shockers in the game and gave the offense a chance to hit its stride. Reese Kortum, a junior left-handed pitcher, struck out three in 2.1 innings of work, allowing one run on a Tulane homer.
“I thought Reese did a really good job,” coach Brian Green said. “He was down (in the strike zone), and he had two, if not three, pitches going for strikes.
“He was aggressive and he was getting ahead of hitters.”
Kortum, who pitched for Fort Scott Community College in Kansas the previous two years, loves to throw strikes. It was apparent in the opener, as he didn’t allow a walk against the patient Green Wave hitters.
“My whole focus is just always attacking the zone,” Kortum said. “That’s kind of my identity as a pitcher, just mixing multiple pitches in the zone.
“I had my sinker, cutter and sweeper for strikes, and it was able to keep them off balance.”
Amar Tsengeg, a right-hander who pitched for Northwestern last year, also had an impressive outing on the mound. Tsengeg, who had five straight scoreless outings entering the game, threw two perfect innings and struck out three hitters to finish the game for WSU.
“I thought our pitching staff did a good job,” Green said. “We pitched well enough to win tonight. Our offense was disappointing.”
Another positive that came out of a lackluster offensive performance was senior third baseman Jayson Jones singling to right field in the bottom of the eight to extend his hitting streak to 22 games. He is just the 18th Shocker in program history to record a hit streak of 20 or more games and slotted into the top 10 all-time.
In the bottom of the ninth, Duncan doubled down the left field line and junior Nolan Ganter, pinch hitting for Owen Rush, drove him in with a single up the middle on the first pitch of the at bat. This cut the Tulane lead to 4-2 and brought the tying run to the plate with one out.
But catcher Ethan Gonzalez flew out to the center fielder and outfielder Jacob Gutierrez grounded out to the pitcher to spoil the Shockers’ comeback hopes.
Wichita State faces Tulane in Game 2 at 6:05 p.m. tonight (Friday), and again for the series finale at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday, both at Eck Stadium.
Despite WSU losing the first game of the series, Green isn’t placing any extra importance on the final two games.
“I just think they’re all really important,” Green said. “I think the league’s going to be really level. Every game’s a war.”
