University of New Orleans Privateers (8-7) vs Alabama-Huntsville Chargers (14-12)
Saturday, Mar. 17, 2012 • 1 p.m. CST • Doubleheader • Charger Park (Huntsville, Ala.)
Sunday, Mar. 18, 2012 • 1 p.m. CST • Charger Park (Huntsville, Ala.)
Live Stats
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Playing away from the Lakefront has proven to be successful for the University of New Orleans baseball team, which begins a six-game road trip at Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday.
The teams will play a doubleheader on the first day beginning at 1 p.m. with a single game scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available for all three games at UAHChargers.com.
UNO (8-7) possesses a 5-1 mark on the road this year compared to a 3-6 record at home. The road record stands as one of the best starts in school history away from home.
The Privateers are batting .303 and while maintaining a 3.26 ERA on the road compared to a .245 batting average and 5.88 ERA at Maestri Field. UNO opponents also are impacted statistically as foes are hitting .243 at their home venue with a 7.69 ERA, compared to .315 and a 4.75 ERA on the Lakefront.
Blake LeBlanc has had the hot hand as of late amongst the hitters on the Privateer roster, batting 5-for-11 over the last three games.
Cameron Wheeless has also played a large part since Feb. 25, rebounding from a .211 start to the season to hit .411 with 14 hits in 34 at-bats over the last eight games.
Overall, Wheeless and
Beau Boudreaux at .340 and .333, respectively are the top offensive producers for head coach Bruce Peddie's squad. Boudreaux leads the way in RBIs with 16 while Wheeless paces the squad in home runs (three) and hits (18).
With six games over five days, pitching becomes an issue for UNO looking ahead.
The Privateers have not altered the weekend rotation as
Christian Cale (3-0, 3.21 ERA),
Stone Speer (1-2, 5.23) and
Jake Fabre (3-2, 3.05) have started 13 of 15 games on the season.
Cory Hoffman (1-0, 2.20 ERA) handled the other two starts and could be utilized if need be.
This weekend, the UNO pitching staff will try to cool down a UAH (14-12) program that has rebounded from a 2-10 start to post wins in 12 of 14 contests. The Chargers' current six-game win streak is the second such stretch the team has put together this season.
UAH's recent turnaround coincides with the return of Eric Deese to the lineup on Mar. 10 at Christian Brothers. Deese played in the season opener before missing over a month of the season, returning to hit 13 of 27 with nine runs and six RBIs during his current six-game hitting streak.
Weekend rotation pitchers for the Chargers include left-handed Drew Eiland (2-2, 3.07 ERA) and a pair of right-handed pitchers in David Kendrick (3-2, 3.11) and Dana Wright (2-1, 3.82).
Following the series at UAH, the Privateers will continue their road swing with a doubleheader on Mar. 20 at LSU-Shreveport and a single game at Nicholls on Mar. 21.
