NEW ORLEANS ? Arkansas State's 7-9 hitters went 8-for-12 with six runs scored to help the Red Wolves salvage a 9-3 win at the University of New Orleans on Sunday afternoon at Maestri Field.
Nine-hole hitter Jordan Kimball went 3-for-3 with three runs scored, and Cody Pace went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs as ASU (18-25, 8-13 Sun Belt Conference) avoided a three-game weekend sweep.
Jacob Lee (2-3) went 6 2/3 innings and allowed only five hits, and left-hander Jett Jones worked the final 2 1/3 innings to help the Red Wolves snap a nine-game losing streak at Maestri Field.
ASU scored four runs in the sixth inning off UNO reliever Cory Myers (2-5). Kimball provided the big blow with a two-run triple after Pace gave the Red Wolves a 3-2 lead with an RBI single to center.
The Red Wolves led 6-2 after the sixth and scored three insurance runs in their final two at-bats.
The UNO bullpen gave up nine hits and seven runs in the final four innings. But the Privateers (17-26, 8-13) managed just five hits ? highlighted by a two-run home run by Blake Doty.
“Offensively we didn't get it done today,” said UNO head coach Tom Walter. “We had some opportunities with guys on base, and we didn't get the big hit, and they did. That was the difference in the game.”
The final few innings spoiled another good effort by a Privateer freshman pitcher. Right-hander Joe Zimmermann went five innings and allowed just two runs (one earned). The New Orleans native struck out three and walked just one.
But Lee kept the Red Wolves in it, settling down nicely after Doty's two-run home run in the third. The freshman surrendered just two hits during the next three innings before Jones handcuffed the Privateers down the stretch.
It was the first career save for the senior.
“We got a good start out of our guy,” Walter said. “College baseball is about momentum. If we could have jumped out to an early lead and put some pressure on them, it could have been a different game. Unfortunately we just didn't get it done.”
UNO will return to action on Wednesday, hosting Nicholls State in a 6:30 p.m. start at Maestri Field.
