THIBODAUX, La. ? The University of New Orleans baseball team tallied 15 hits and got a solid effort from its bullpen in a 9-6 win at Nicholls State on Wednesday.
Alan Harris went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run, and Rodarrick Jones added three hits and two runs scored as UNO (10-16) tallied double-digit hits for the third time in the last five games.
Mats Mattson (2-1) won for the second time in seven days, as the sophomore left-hander pitched two scoreless innings. He was one of four UNO relievers who combined to toss five innings while allowing only one run.
The Privateers had six different players record multiple hits, and the 1-2-3 hitters (Ryan Eden, Jones and Nick Mitchell) combined to go 7-for-14 with five runs scored.
Drew Erwin (1-2) got the loss after giving up four hits and two runs in one inning. Jason Dennis went 3-for-4 and had a two-run triple for Nicholls (11-15).
UNO jumped ahead with three runs in the first inning and led 4-0 before Nicholls scored five runs off UNO starter Andrew Richardson in the fourth.
The Privateers responded with two runs in the fifth ? highlighted by RBI singles from Jones and Harris ? and the bullpen did the rest.
After Mattson's two scoreless innings, right-hander Randy Verdin struck out two of the three batters he faced in the seventh. Kevin DeGrouttola allowed the bullpen's only run in the eighth before handing the ball to David Burch, who collected his third save.
“Mats coming out and throwing up two zeroes after they scored five runs was huge,” said UNO head coach Tom Walter. “We got some good innings as well from Randy and Kevin, and Burch was lights out in the ninth.”
UNO broke the game open with a three-run eighth inning. Harris crushed a two-run home run and scored its final run on a Nicholls error.
The Privateers will host Grambling State in a three-game series this weekend at Maestri Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
