CLEARWATER, Fla. (GoShockers.com) – Tulane’s Jackson Linn hit a walk-off, solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to lift Tulane to an 11-10 win over Wichita State in the American Athletic Conference tournament championship game on Sunday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark.
The Shockers end the 2024 season with a record of 32-29, the most wins for the program since the 2018 club went 35-21-1.
Wichita State trailed, led, trailed again, and battled back to tie before Linn’s blast ended the game with two outs in the ninth. A pair of solo home runs in the first and second innings gave Tulane an early 2-0 lead, but Wichita State took advantage of an error by Green Wave shortstop Marcus Cline to put two runs on the board in the third. Lane Haworth plated the first run with an RBI single and Dayvin Johnsontied the game with a double play grounder.
After a Brady Marget RBI ground out in the bottom of the third put Tulane back in front 3-2, the Shockers put five runs on the board in the top of the fifth. Haworth yanked a double into the right field corner to tie the game, followed by another double from Johnson that plated two and gave Wichita State their first lead at 5-3. After a bunt single from Jordan Rogers put runners at the corners, Josh Livingstonblooped an RBI single into shallow left to extend the lead to 6-3. Mauricio Millan bounced into another double play with the bases loaded to score Rogers for the final run of the inning and a 7-3 advantage.
Tulane (35-24) nearly got it all back in the home half of the inning, scoring three runs on a pair of RBI singles and a Michael Lombardi sacrifice fly that trimmed the WSU lead to 7-6. Jack Mount was able to preserve the lead with a strike out and a ground out that left the bases loaded.
The Green Wave launched a pair of homers in the sixth to retake the advantage. Linn led off the inning with a game-tying solo blast and later in the inning Gavin Schulz hooked a two-run shot to left as Tulane claimed a 10-7 lead.
Wichita State responded with two home runs of their own in the seventh to bring the game back to square one. After Rogers led off the inning with a double, Josh Livingston yanked a towering two-run homer to right field that sliced the Tulane lead down to one, 10-9. After a pair of outs, Seth Stroh cranked a long solo shot of his own that tied the score at 10-10, where it would stay until the ninth thanks to scoreless relief from Jeremiah Arnett and Hunter Holmes. Holmes (1-4) ultimately took the loss, retiring the first six hitters he faced before Linn’s walk-off homer.
Luc Fladda (4-3) earned the win for Tulane, logging 1.2 scoreless innings out of the Green Wave bullpen.
The tournament’s accolades are listed below.
Most Outstanding Player
Jackson Linn, Tulane
All-Championship Team
Teo Banks, OF, Tulane
Jackson Linn, OF, Tulane
Brady Marget, IF, Tulane
Billy Price, P, Tulane
Gavin Schulz, IF, Tulane
Colin Tuft, C, Tulane
Kam Durnin, IF, Wichita State
Caden Favors, P, Wichita State
Lane Haworth, OF, Wichita State
Josh Livingston, IF, Wichita State
Seth Stroh, OF, Wichita State
