NEW ORLEANS, La. – Wichita State scored six runs with two outs in the ninth inning, roaring back to tie the game, before plating the winning run in the 11th inning to defeat the Tulane Green Wave, 12-11, in the opening game of a three-game American Athletic Conference series Friday night, April 5, at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.
 
Wichita State (18-12, 3-1 American), which has won seven straight games, and Tulane (19-11, 2-2 American) are slated to close out the series with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 6.
 
Senior Luke Ritter led the Shockers at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored, while Paxton Wallace added three RBIs on his fifth homer of the season. Jacob Katzfey (double and triple) and Jordan Boyer (double) also posted extra-base hits in the contest.
 
Junior closer Mitchell Walters (1-1) earned the win on the mound after tossing three scoreless innings in relief and allowing just one hit with three strikeouts and one walk.
 
WSU burst out to a 4-0 lead with four runs in the top of the first. Boyer smoked a double to left-center on the first pitch of the game, before scoring on Ritter's single to left field for the opening run of the game. After Ross Cadena worked a walk, Wallace smashed the first pitch he saw over the left-centerfield fence for a three-run shot.
 
Tulane answered, however, and scored a run each in the second and third innings, before plating four in the sixth to gain a 6-4 advantage.
 
The Shockers cut the deficit to one with a run in the top of the eighth after Katzfey tripled to right-center, before crossing home plate on Boyer's single to left.
 
The Green Wave caught fire after that though, and plated five runs on a three-run home run from Sal Gozzo and two-run round-tripper from Koday Hoese to balloon their advantage to 11-5.
 
After Wallace worked a lead-off walk in the top of the ninth, Brady Slavens and David VanVooren were both retired via strikeouts, bringing Katzfey to the plate. The junior from Lee's Summit, Mo., kept Wichita State alive, smacking a double to right-center to get Wallace to third and bring Boyer to the plate.
 
Boyer, Hunter Gibson and Ritter coaxed back-to-back-to-back walks to bring in two runs, trimming the deficit to 11-7, prior to Cadena hitting an infield single that barely stayed fair down the first base line, allowing Boyer to cross home plate for another Wichita State run.
 
Garrett Kocis kept the game going, belting a pinch-hit single through the right side, scoring Ritter and Gibson to trim the contest to 11-10. Cadena raced home on a Green Wave wild pitch, knotting the contest, 11-all.
 
Walters tossed a scoreless bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.
 
Neither team scored in the 10th, sending the contest to the 11th.
 
Ritter laced a lead-off double into right-center to start the frame, before moving to third on a failed pick-off attempt error by Tulane. Wallace allowed Ritter to score what proved to be the winning run after he reached base on a Green Wave fielding error.
 
Hoese paced Tulane offensively, going 2-for-5 with a homer, two runs and two RBIs.
 
Green Wave reliever Justin Campbell (1-1) suffered the loss after giving up on earned run on one hit with five strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.
 
The six-run rally in the ninth marked the first time since 2016 the Shockers overcame a deficit of at least six runs in a victory. WSU completed the feat at Illinois State on May 14 that season.