Box Score UWA-UNO Box Score
NEW ORLEANS – A solid performance on the mound from a pair of West Alabama pitchers lifted the squad to a series-opening 8-2 win over the University of New Orleans at Maestri Field on Friday night.
Barry Meeks (5-3) came four outs short of his second complete game of the season for UWA (17-16). The right-handed pitcher allowed two runs on eight hits in 7.2 innings before Matt Betts closed out the game by registering the final four outs.
The Tigers took advantage of seven walks by UNO (12-16) and scored a single run in three of the first five innings to take a 3-0 lead. The Privateers tallied their first run in the sixth when
Brandon Simon's RBI double plated
Blake LeBlanc, who led the frame off with a single.
With their lead down to two runs, UWA added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh. The visitors benefitted from a Privateer error with two outs during a stolen base attempt by the Tigers.
All five runs – three of which were earned – came against UNO starter
Stone Speer (3-4). Speer allowed eight hits and yielded five walks in addition to five strikeouts.
The Privateers threatened once more in the eighth after LeBlanc led off the inning with a single. The hit was second for LeBlanc, who later scored on a
Clint Coleman single.
LeBlanc's multi-hit game was his third straight and extended the outfielder's hitting streak to eight games. Coleman joined LeBlanc with multiple hits, batting 3-for-4 in the contest.
The Tigers made sure the game was no longer in question in their final trip to the plate. UWA scored their last three runs of the contest in the ninth off of UNO reliever
Cameron Glendinning.
Ladarrius Coles was 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and three runs scored for UWA. The Tigers also received three hits from Chris Duncan, while picking up a pair of hits from both Ben Fox and Cody
The teams will resume their series with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to enter the Maestri Field complex via Press Drive.
