NEW ORLEANS ? Matt Goulas had three hits, including a two-run home run during a five-run ninth inning, to lead Louisiana-Lafayette to a 10-4 win at New Orleans on Thursday.
Goulas added a double and three RBIs as ULL (23-28-1, 12-15 Sun Belt Conference) won for the 12th time in the last 14 meetings at UNO (22-31, 12-16).
Alex Fuselier hit a three-run home run, and Kyle Olasin hit a pinch-hit three-run double in the ninth.
The late offense made a winner out of ULL starter Zach Osborne (4-3), who went six innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters. UNO did get 10 hits off the right-hander but could only manage two runs in the first and two in the sixth.
Left-hander Blake Haagen worked the final three innings to claim his fourth save.
UNO's Tyrone Wethers had a career night despite the loss. The Destrehan product had a career-high four hits and also drove in a run. Alan Harris went 3-for-4, and Jay Morris added two hits and an RBI. The Privateers had 12 hits overall.
“They have a very talented pitching staff, so you're not going to score a lot of runs off them,” said UNO head coach Tom Walter. “They scored nine runs with two outs, and we just need to do a better job of minimizing the damage and getting off the field.”
The game was nip-and-tuck for eight innings. ULL jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the second on Fuselier's first career home run. The Ragin' Cajuns added another run in the sixth on an infield RBI single from Goulas.
The Privateers, though, rallied with two runs in the bottom of the frame thanks to four consecutive two-out hits. Freshman catcher Kyle Maldonado brought home Harris with a run-scoring single before Wethers came through with an RBI single to right.
ULL put it away, however, in the ninth thanks to five hits off UNO reliever Matt Brown. Olasin did most of the damage with a bases-loaded RBI double to right-center field.
Goulas followed with a home run that cleared the left-field wall.
UNO committed three errors, and the two teams combined to strand 18 runners on base.
The two teams will continue the series at 3 p.m. on Friday.
