University of New Orleans Privateers (7-4, 1-1 GSC) vs Valdosta State Blazers (8-6, 0-0 GSC)
Saturday, Mar. 10, 2012 • 2 p.m. CST • Doubleheader • Maestri Field • WGSO 990 AM
Sunday, Mar. 11, 2012 • 1 p.m. CST • Maestri Field • WGSO 990 AM
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NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans baseball team will open a four-game homestand with a three-game series against Valdosta State this weekend.
The teams will play a doubleheader at 2 p.m. on Saturday before contesting a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on WGSO 990 AM with a simulcast on WGSO.com.
UNO (7-4, 1-1 Gulf South Conference) will have had six days off since splitting a doubleheader against then-No. 2 ranked West Florida last weekend on the road.
The two games provided a glimpse into the future of the Privateer program as freshmen
Seth Laigast and
Jonathan Coco put forth significant offensive contributions.
Laigast was 2-for-3 with two runs, his first collegiate homerun and a pair of RBIs in the UNO victory against UWF while Coco rounded out a productive week. Coco snapped a 2-for-15 skid at the plate by hitting 5-for-9 last week with two runs and two RBIs while extending his streak of getting on base via a walk to five games.
Overall,
Beau Boudreaux remains the top hitter for the Privateers with a .440 batting average while pacing the club in home runs (two) and RBIs (14). Three other regular starters are hitting at least .350 led by
Clint Coleman (.368), who is followed by
Dan Perkins (.364) and
Cameron Wheeless (.351).
On the mound, Privateer head coach Bruce Peddie intends to start
Christian Cale (3-0, 2.45 ERA) and
Stone Speer (1-1, 3.77) in Saturday's doubleheader with
Jake Fabre (3-1, 3.45) scheduled to throw on Sunday. Fabre has only given up a single earned run in his last 13.2 innings after a rocky debut in the opener on Feb. 7.
The three pitchers will join their teammates in the first meeting between VSU (8-6, 0-0 GSC) and UNO since
Ron Maestri's 1974 Privateer club opened the Division II World Series with a 13-9 win over the Blazers on June 1, 1974.
VSU's pitching rotation for the weekend will be have left-handed bookends in Kevin Rogers (0-2, 3.46 ERA) and Pete Whittingslow (0-1, 1.74). Right-handed pitcher Jarod Carlton (2-0, 4.82) will throw in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
The top hitter for the Blazers is Christian Glisson, who has 21 hits in 44 at-bats for a .477 batting average. Glisson's hits include 11 extra base hits, of which four are home runs.
Three other batters top .300 for a VSU squad that is outhitting its opposition .282 to .251 this year.
General admission tickets can be purchased at the Maestri Field ticket office beginning 90 minutes prior to first pitch on both days for $2. Students are admitted free when they present a valid UNO ID.
Following this weekend's series, UNO will round out its homestand on Tuesday night against Nicholls State. First pitch against the Colonels is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
