NEW ORLEANS ? Louisiana-Monroe pounded out 18 hits and scored in all but one inning as the Warhawks defeated the University of New Orleans 19-13 on Saturday at Maestri Field.
ULM second baseman Kyle Suire hit two home runs and had six RBIs as the Warhawks (11-4, 4-1 Sun Belt Conference) won their fifth straight.
Nick Wade went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, including a solo home run. Seven different Warhawks recorded at least two hits and every ULM starter tallied at least one hit and a run scored.
Jeff Lanning and Nick Schwaner each went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for the Privateers (8-6, 1-3), and Michael Knipper went 2-for-5 with four RBIs.
The two teams combined for 33 hits for the second straight night. ULM defeated the Privateers 11-9 on Friday.
“We're just pressing right now,” said UNO head coach Tom Walter. “Like I told our team, we have lost four in a row. That's not the end of the world, but we have got to trust each other and become a cohesive unit.”
Stephen Whalen (1-2) got the loss after struggling in his second straight start. The senior right-hander surrendered seven hits and seven runs before leaving in the second inning.
After UNO scored four runs to take a 4-2 lead after an inning, the Warhawks exploded for eight runs in the second frame to take control.
Wade led off with a solo home run, and the Warhawks got seven hits while UNO committed two errors during the ugly inning.
The Privateers tried to stay in it with three runs in the third, and UNO cut it to 14-11 in the fifth thanks to an RBI double by Schwaner and a two-run home run by Knipper.
But ULM reliever D.J. Fortenberry (2-0) managed to hold UNO scoreless during the next two innings to stop the threat.
ULM, which improved to 6-0 on the road this year, has won 15 of the last 19 meetings between the schools dating back to the 2000 NCAA South II Regional.
The two teams will wrap up the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday. UNO will start ace right-hander Bryan Cryer (3-0), while ULM will counter with left-hander Josh Lett (2-1).
“We are putting up some runs, but we are still throwing away at-bats,” Walter said. “A lot of that is because our hitters think they have to score 20 runs, and that's a bad mentality to take to the plate. We have talented pitchers on this staff, so we know our pitching is going to come around.”
