LAS CRUCES, N.M.? As it turned out during the University of New Orleans baseball team's series finale at New Mexico State on Sunday, the sixth time was the charm.
UNO junior right-hander David Burch, the Privateers' sixth pitcher on the day, shut down New Mexico State during a three-inning stretch to help UNO come back and take a 19-17 win to salvage the final game of the three-game series on Sunday at Presley Askew Field.
Burch (1-0) struck out seven and did not allow a hit to help UNO rally and end a wild weekend in the desert.
Josh Vander Hey hit a two-run home run in the top of the eighth to give UNO a 17-16 lead and helped UNO get two huge insurance runs in the ninth as the Privateers (1-2) avoided a three-game sweep.
Vander Hey went 3-for-5 with five RBIs and three runs scored, and UNO's 4 through 7 hitters combined to go 10-for-18 with 14 RBIs and 10 runs scored. Nick Schwaner went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Johnny Giavotella and Joey Butler each had two hits and three RBIs.
Giavotella and Vander Hey had two home runs each, part of a six-homer day for the Privateers.
The late-inning comeback did not seem necessary early on. The Privateers jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning, as NMSU starter Jason Connor recorded just one out.
But NMSU exploded for five runs in the third and seven in the fourth to take a 13-11 lead as UNO pitching struggled with control.
The Privateers fought back with three runs in the sixth to take a 14-13 lead before the Aggies came back with a three-spot of their own in the bottom of the frame to regain a 16-14 advantage.
UNO, though, got a run in the seventh before Vander Hey ripped a home run over the left-center field wall off NMSU reliever Tyler Sturdevant (1-1) in the eighth to make it 17-16.
Schwaner added an RBI single in the ninth, and Vander Hey got a sacrifice fly to make it 19-16. The Aggies finally got a run on a sacrifice fly off closer Ryan O'Shea in the ninth, but O'Shea finished it off by getting Marcus Quade to ground out to second to end it.
UNO had five stolen bases on the day and finished with 16 for the series.
The Privateers will return to action at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Nicholls State.
