BOCA RATON, Fla. ? The University of New Orleans baseball team was down 7-0 three innings into its Sun Belt Conference opener at Florida Atlantic on Friday night.
And then the fourth inning happened.
The Privateers erupted for nine runs in the pivotal fourth frame and added eight more runs in the seventh to take a 19-12 marathon win at FAU Stadium.
Senior designated hitter Nick Mitchell went 4-for-6 with two home runs and four RBIs to help UNO (18-27, 9-13 Sun Belt) win for the fifth time in its last seven league contests.
The run tally was a season high, and the Privateers tied a season high with 20 hits.
UNO had four players record at least three hits, and the Privateers took advantage of 10 FAU walks.
Nick Schwaner went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and four runs scored, and Rodarrick Jones and Jay Morris each added three hits.
“This was a wild one,” said UNO head coach Tom Walter. “Anytime you're down 7-0 on a Friday night, you don't feel good about things. But give credit to our offense. These guys came up big today.”
The UNO bullpen tossed 6 2/3 innings, with left-hander Mats Mattson (4-1) picking up the win after tossing one inning.
Nick DelGuidice went 3-for-5 with a home run and three runs scored for FAU (24-19, 7-14). The Owls tallied 11 hits but struggled mightily on the hill.
FAU used seven different pitchers, and Owls starter Adam Morrison gave up six runs and six walks in 3 1/3 innings. Reliever Mike Gipson (2-5) got the loss after surrendering four hits and three runs in 2 2/3 innings.
The two teams will continue the series at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
