NEW ORLEANS ? It took the University of New Orleans baseball team a while to get going, but the Privateers will have yet another opportunity for a Sun Belt Conference sweep.
UNO scored three runs in the sixth to take its first lead of the game, and the Privateers got three more runs in the eighth to take an 8-5 win over Florida International on Saturday at Maestri Field.
Joey Butler went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored, and Josh Vander Hey launched a two-run home run as UNO (25-12, 9-7 Sun Belt) clinched its fourth straight SBC series win.
Butler is 7-for-7 in the weekend series and 16-of-20 (.800 average) in his last five games.
“When Joey has it going and has everything on time, he is fun to watch,” said UNO head coach Tom Walter, whose team clinched its first series win over FIU since 2005. “Early in the year, he was struggling mechanically a little bit. He and (associate head coach) Bruce Peddie have worked on getting it corrected, and it is starting to pay off.”
Bryan Cryer (8-1) tied his career high with his eighth victory of the year. The right-hander gave up three home runs in the first four innings but allowed just one hit during his last three innings of work. The Denham Springs product struck out five.
UNO designated hitter Nick Mitchell, making his first start in Sun Belt play, had two hits. Ryan O'Shea gave up a run in the ninth inning but did pick up his eighth save.
Corey Polizzano (3-5) took the loss for FIU (12-29, 5-12). The sophomore was effective early thanks to a good breaking ball and change-up. Tyler Townsend went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs, and Ryan Mollica extended his hitting streak to 24 games with two hits.
UNO, which got two runs in the second on an opposite-field, two-run home run from Vander Hey, was trailing 4-2 before finally getting to Polizzano in the sixth.
After a one-out double by T.J. Baxter, Butler brought him home with a single through the left side. Vander Hey later tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center before Jeff Lanning gave the Privateers their first lead with an RBI single to left.
UNO iced it in the eighth thanks to an RBI double by Butler and a pinch-hit, two-run double from Alan Harris.
“Give Polizzano credit,” Walter said of the left-hander, who finished with a career-high 10 strikeouts. “He was effectively wild today, but he was working with three good pitches. We got some big hits in the sixth and hopefully we can carry this to (Sunday).”
The two teams will wrap up the series at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. UNO is 0-5 in SBC series finales this year.
“We didn't even talk about it after the game,” Walter said. “This team knows all about how we've played on Sundays. A lot of it will depend on how Stephen Whalen throws. We need him to pitch well in the first inning and go from there.”
