Pitching three innings, junior pitcher Ian Gibaut pulled out the win in his first ever career start for the Tulane Green Wave (21-12, 2-4) against the Nicholls Colonels (18-13-1, 8-7) Tuesday at Turchin Stadium.

Gibaut, coming off a roaring 16.20 ERA from pitching against ECU and ULL, brought his season ERA down to 3.28. With only one run scored by Nicholls, Gibaut gave a good showing, picking up two strikeouts and a low 3.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.

“It was a nice change of pace,” sophomore designated hitter Hunter Williams said, who scored three RBIs during the game. “I like seeing him on the mound. He’s going to go out there and he’s going to compete.”

Though things looked off to a bad start for the Wave early in the game, with the first baserunner for Nicholls scoring on a right field triple, Tulane turned it around and return the runs.

Sophomore shortstop Stephen Alemais clocked a one pitch lead-off base hit, managed to steal second base, and was quickly batted in by a triple from sophomore right-fielder Lex Kaplan. To cap off the runs in the first inning, Senior centerfielder John Gandolfo acquired another base hit, scoring Kaplan.

With the Tulane 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning, the Wave continued to increase the gap, finishing the game at 7-1. This year, Nicholls has only managed one run against the Green Wave in all 18 innings played.

Both teams managed to strikeout six batters each, however, and worked on emptying its bullpens. The quick changes later in the game caused slower play, resulting in the last few innings being 3-4 batters each.

A strong performance by Tulane pitchers after the first inning ensured the runs were not returned.

Specifically, junior pitcher Patrick Duester in his new closing position earned three strikeouts in a row, effectively striking out the side after coming in for junior Jordan Gross in the top of the eighth inning.

The Green Wave pick up conference play this upcoming weekend against the Houston Cougars (21-12, 2-4) in Houston.