NEW ORLEANS ? University of New Orleans third baseman T.J. Baxter hit a two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Privateers to a 6-5 come-from-behind win over visiting LSU on Wednesday night at Maestri Field.
Baxter's hit off LSU reliever Daniel Bradshaw (1-5) started a three-run rally and helped UNO (23-12) to its third straight win over LSU (23-14) dating back to last season. It is the first time the Privateers have defeated LSU three straight times since 1984.
Joey Butler went 3-for-4 for the second straight night and Baxter had two hits and scored a run. Ryan O'Shea (1-1) tossed the final 2 1/3 innings to get the win.
“He left a fastball up a little bit and I just stayed back and went with it,” Baxter said. “He had been throwing the ball away to left-handers, so I kind of knew it was coming. It feels great to come back and beat a good team like that.”
DJ LeMahieu went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored for LSU, and Leon Landry went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Derek Helenihi also had two hits and scored a pair of runs.
“The focus was there tonight,” said UNO head coach Tom Walter, whose team improved to 4-0 against Southeastern Conference teams this year. “In (Tuesday's) game with Jackson State, we took plays off and got a well-deserved loss. But tonight was totally different. That's the way it has been for this team.
“We can focus for the games against LSU and Tulane, but we've got to take that focus into this weekend against Florida International.”
With LSU leading 4-3 in the eighth, freshman pinch-hitter Jay Morris started the rally with a walk. After a sacrifice bunt moved pinch-runner Tyrone Wethers to second base, Butler singled to center ? putting runners on the corners with one out.
Baxter then laced a line drive into the left-center field gap. Landry made a diving attempt but could not come up with it, and the Privateers grabbed their first lead since a Butler solo home run in the first inning.
UNO got a much-needed insurance run on a Nick Schwaner RBI groundout that made it 6-4. The Tigers got an RBI single from Taylor Davis (2-for-4) to cut the lead in half in the ninth, but O'Shea got Landry and Schimpf to fly out to left field to end it.
“I can't say enough about Jay Morris' at-bat,” Walter said. “That was a big-time at-bat for a freshman. He was down 0-2 and came back to force that walk, and obviously T.J. got a big hit for us. Nick Schwaner also did a great job fighting back to get a big run across the plate.”
UNO will host Florida International in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at Maestri Field.
