University of New Orleans Privateers (8-6) vs Nicholls State Colonels (9-7)
Tuesday, Mar. 12, 2012 • 6:30 p.m. CST • Maestri Field • WGSO 990 AM
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NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans baseball team will conclude its four-game homestand at Maestri Field against Nicholls State on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on WGSO 990 AM with a simulcast on WGSO.com. Live stats will also be available through UNOPrivateers.com.
After dropping 2 of 3 over the weekend against Valdosta State, UNO (8-6) will look to get back on track against NSU (9-7). Head coach Bruce Peddie's squad received a lift offensively from the emergence of
Brandon Simon over the weekend against VSU.
Simon ended a 1-for-19 start to the season by collecting three hits in seven at-bats for a weekend-best batting average of .429. The spurt for the catcher increased his batting average to .154 on the season.
Outside of Simon,
Cameron Wheeless also made his mark amongst the regulars, hitting .400 for the series on a 4-for-10 effort to become the team's batting average leader at .362.
Besides the aforementioned duo, Peddie will seek more production from his top of the lineup. The backbone of the offensive production heading into the VSU series, the top four positions in the lineup went a collective 6-of-36 for a .166 batting average during the weekend.
On the mound, Peddie will have to look outside of his starting pitching trio for only the second time this year due to this midweek contest falling between two weekend series.
In the previous midweek situation similar to this one, Peddie started
Cory Hoffman (1-0, 0.00 ERA) for the first time in his career. Hoffman lasted two innings against Spring Hill in the game on Feb. 28.
Other potential starters for UNO include
Garrett Manning (0-0, 6.55 ERA) and
Kyle Blancaneaux (0-1, 5.78 ERA). Manning started five contests last season while Blancaneaux, who has not appeared since the SHC game, started one last season.
The visiting Colonels are no stranger to success on the road, posting a 6-3 mark away from Thibodaux compared to a 3-4 record at home. Picked towards the bottom of the Southland Conference in the preseason poll, NSU started league play off by winning 2 of 3 against Southeastern Louisiana.
Phil Lyons is the top hitter on the Colonels' roster with a .356 batting average and hits in his last 11 games. Michael LeGrange and Jeremy Hill hit .333 and .328 for NSU, respectively.
The Colonels have not announced a starter, but options include Kory Delange (2-0, 4.15 ERA) and Michael Suk (3-0, 4.24 ERA). NSU has a team ERA of 3.69 with Delange and Suk joining the weekend starters with more than 17 innings pitched to their credit.
Following Tuesday's contest, UNO will play six in a row away from Maestri Field. The Privateers will play a three-game series next weekend at Alabama-Huntsville before contesting a doubleheader at LSU-Shreveport (Mar. 20) and a road game against the Colonels (Mar. 21).
