Alcorn State (15-14) at New Orleans (4-26)
Tuesday, Apr. 2, 2013 • 6:30 p.m. CST • Wesley Barrow Stadium • WGSO 990 AM
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NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers' baseball program will return home on Tuesday to face Jackson State in a 6:30 p.m. contest at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
The game will be broadcast on WGSO 990 AM and WGSO.com. Live stats and video of the contest can be found on UNOPrivateers.com.
For much of the last six weeks, UNO (4-26) has spent significant time away from Barrow Stadium, the team's temporary venue for 2013. Contesting this year's slate as an NCAA Division I Independent, the Privateers have played 25 of their last 27 on the road.
A bit more favorable schedule awaits UNO in the month of April as the squad will play nine home games.
To date, the Privateers are 2-3 at Barrow Stadium and have seen significant improvements when playing at the facility as compared to true venue road venues. Though a smaller sample size exists,
Andre Damiens' .500 batting average represents one of seven UNO batters topping .300 at home compared to just one on the road.
As a team, the Privateers are out-hitting opponents .290 to .247 at Barrow with the team's earned-run average dipping from an 8.53 mark on the road to 5.80 at home. On the base paths, UNO has 12 steals over five games compared to 13 spread amongst the squad's 22 true road contests.
Overall, sophomore
Jonathan Coco's .316 batting average paces the Privateers. Damiens is second on the squad with a .299 average. Freshman
Chaz Boyer presently leads UNO with 16 runs and 11 stolen bases while tying junior
Reese Kanter with a team-high two home runs.
The Privateers will start right-handed pitcher
Daniel Martinez (0-2, 10.34 ERA) on Tuesday. In his previous mid-week start against a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opponent, the freshman threw a career-high five innings against Alcorn State in addition to a career-best three strikeouts.
If Martinez cannot go the distance, the UNO bullpen is coming off its finest weekend to date. Led by
Andrew Shirley and
Kyle Blancaneaux, the Privateer relief pitchers combined for a 2.25 ERA and allowed just a pair of runs on five hits over eight innings against West Virginia. Shirley threw three scoreless frames while Blancaneaux added two.
Tuesday's opponent JSU is 15-14 on the season and comes off a three-game series at Texas-Pan American in which the squad won a single game. The Tigers are led by Malcolm Tate's .328 batting average. Bryce Taylor and Desmond Taylor follow Tate with matching .321 clips at the plate.
JSU has not named a starting pitcher for the contest. Potential starters include right-handed pitchers Kiarious Hall (1-1, 7.20 ERA) and Desmond Russell (3-0, 1.38 ERA).
UNO leads the all-time series against the Tigers 59-10, though JSU claimed a 10-7 victory in the team's last meeting on Apr. 15, 2008.
Following Tuesday's game, the Privateers will take the weekend off before resuming their slate on Tuesday, Apr. 8 at 6:30 p.m. against Southern Miss.
FACULTY APPRECIATION NIGHT
The program's annual 'Faculty Appreciation Night', Tuesday's contest will feature $2 tickets for members of the UNO faculty who present a valid ID. UNO Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) James Lowry will throw out the first pitch.
A 'Staff Appreciation Night' will occur during the Georgia State series on Friday, Apr. 12. More information will be announced soon.
