MIAMI ? It was by no means pretty, but since the University of New Orleans baseball team entered Friday night with a six-game losing streak, the Privateers were not looking for aesthetics
UNO's Alan Harris drove in three runs, including a go-ahead RBI double in the eighth inning, to help the Privateers overcome four errors in a 9-7 win at Florida International.
Harris and Nick Schwaner each went 3-for-5, with Schwaner adding an RBI and two runs scored, as UNO (14-22, 5-11 Sun Belt Conference) won its first game at FIU (22-13, 9-7) since the 2005 SBC Tournament.
Ryan Eden added two hits and an RBI -- part of a UNO offense that tallied 10 hits.
Mats Mattson (3-1) picked up the win thanks to two solid innings in relief of starter Donnie White, who kept the Privateers in it early.
UNO was down 3-0 in the sixth before rallying with a five-run sixth inning. Harris was also key in that inning thanks to a two-run single.
After FIU scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie it at 5-5, the Privateers broke it open with four runs in the eighth.
The Golden Panthers scored two runs in the bottom of the frame, but David Burch recorded the final four outs to pick up his fifth save.
“We needed to win a game that was tight down the stretch,” said UNO head coach Tom Walter. “We got some clutch hits, made some big plays at the end and picked up a nice win.”
The Privateers earned the victory over one of the SBC's top pitchers. Scott Rembisz went seven innings and gave up a season-high eight runs (seven earned) despite eight strikeouts.
The right-hander was cruising early, allowing only three hits in the first five innings. But a pair of walks to start the sixth got the Privateers going, as the visitors scored nine runs during the next three innings to hand Rembisz (5-1) his first loss of the year.
FIU's Ryan Mollica went 2-for-5 with an RBI, and Pablo Bermudez had a hit and four RBIs. Raiko Alfonso had two hits and scored three runs.
White was also big for the Privateers. Making his second straight SBC weekend start, the freshman right-hander tossed five solid innings. He allowed five runs, but only two were earned, and struck out four.
The two teams will continue the three-game series at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday.
