METAIRIE, La. ? Sean Ochinko's RBI single in the bottom of the 15th helped No. 16 LSU take a 7-6 win over No. 22 New Orleans in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic on Tuesday at Zephyr Field.
Ochinko, who didn't enter the game until the 10th inning, brought home Michael Hollander ? who led off the inning with a double -- as LSU (36-16-1) increased its win streak to 13 games and avoided a three-game season sweep against UNO (38-14).
The loss snapped a 13-game win streak for the Privateers, who struggled mightily against the LSU bullpen.
Four Tiger relievers combined to hold UNO to just three hits and one unearned run in 10 innings of work. Louis Coleman (5-0) got the win after striking out three and retiring all six batters he faced.
Matt Brown (2-3) got the hard-luck loss, as the rarely-used junior tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings before giving up the late-night hit.
Micah Gibbs went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, and Hollander went 2-for-4 with three runs scored for LSU, which now has the longest current win streak in the nation.
Ryan Eden, Joey Butler, Nick Schwaner and Jeff Lanning each had two hits for UNO, while T.J. Baxter had a two-run home run and three RBIs.
Baxter got UNO on the board in the first inning with an opposite field home run, but LSU responded with three runs of its own in the first. The Tigers took advantage of UNO starter Cory Myers, who struggled with his control. Myers walked two and hit one and did not record an out in three batters faced.
The Privateer bullpen, though, shined throughout. Randy Verdin gave up one run in two innings, and Jim McGonigle had his best relief outing of the year. The sophomore tossed four scoreless innings and allowed one hit while striking out six.
The effort allowed UNO to fight back from a 4-2 deficit to take a 6-4 lead in the seventh on a Baxter sacrifice fly.
The Tigers, however, got two runs in the bottom of the inning off UNO reliever David Burch.
Both bullpens were flawless after that until Hollander got a double that barely stayed fair before getting to the wall. Jared Mitchell bunted him over to third, setting up Ochinko's heroics two batters later.
It was the second-longest game in UNO history, tying with two 15-inning affairs against Tulane in 1994 and 1996.
UNO will play its final Sun Belt Conference series of the season beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Louisiana-Lafayette. The Privateers are two wins shy of claiming their first SBC regular season championship since 2000.
