No. 19 Kansas Stumbles at Tulane, 1-0

March 16, 2010

Box Score in PDF Format

NEW ORLEANS, La. –

Freshman Tanner Poppe scattered seven hits over six innings, and allowed one unearned run, while junior Brian Heere extended his hitting streak to eight games with a 2-for-4 effort, but it was not enough. Tulane pitchers Gunner Wright and Nick Pepitone combined to shut the Jayhawks out on two hits in a 1-0 triumph over Kansas Tuesday evening at Turchin Stadium.

After taking two of three from LSU over the weekend, the Jayhawks fall to 11-5 overall, while Tulane improves to 11-6.

The Green Wave scored a run in the first inning on a ground out to short off the bat of Jeremy Schaffer and made it stand up.

Wright did not allow a Kansas base hit until the seventh inning, when Heere led off with a single to right field. The Jayhawks did however, put the tying run on third base three times in the game, but could not advance him home.

In the ninth, Heere again led the inning off with a single and moved up to third on ground outs by Jimmy Waters and Brett Lisher. However, Pepitone induced a game-ending fly out off the bat of Brandon Macias.

It marked the first time KU has been shut out since falling 3-0 at Texas A&M on March 27 of last year.

Poppe, however, was brilliant for six innings. After allowing a lead-off single in the first, he retired the first man he faced in his final five frames. The 6-foot-5 righty walked none and struck out a pair, including an inning-ended strikeout of Schaffer with men on second and third in the fourth inning.

Relief pitcher Colton Murray also pitched two scoreless innings for KU.

The Jayhawks will look to split the two-game series at Tulane Wednesday with a 1 p.m. first pitch. The contest can be heard via internet broadcast at www.kuathletics.com.