CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Tulane University baseball team was defeated by USF 7-1 in the American Athletic Conference Championship Semifinal Saturday night at BayCare Ballpark.
With the loss, Tulane dropped to 31-24 on the year and was eliminated from tournament play. The Green Wave’s appearance in the tournament semifinal was its first since 2016.
Playing in its fourth game in three days, Tulane utilized eight pitchers to try and cool off a Bulls team that entered Saturday night’s elimination game, having won four of their last five games.
Despite its efforts, Tulane was unable to keep the Bulls offense in check as they scored runs in each of the first four innings of the game to open up a 7-0 advantage.
The Green Wave eventually put a stop to the Bulls offensive charge, as it turned to senior Keagan Gillies in the fourth inning.
The New Orleans native came out of the bullpen and worked 4.1 innings, allowed just two hits and tied a career high with 11 strikeouts.
Gillies’ masterful performance on Saturday was nothing new for the Green Wave closer. In last 15 appearances, Gillies has limited opponents to just one earned run.
Offensively for the Green Wave, sophomores Collin Burns and Jared Hart led the way, as they both collected a pair of hits.
Junior Trevor Minder scored the Green Wave’s lone run of the game in the eighth. The Illinois native led off the frame with a triple then came into score following Burns double to left centerfield.
{Press release courtesy of Tulane Athletics}
