New Orleans Privateers (7-41) vs. Campbell Camels (43-9)
Thursday, May 16, 2013 • 5 p.m. CST • Jim Perry Stadium • Live Stats • Live Video
Friday, May 17, 2013 • 5 p.m. CST • Jim Perry Stadium • Live Stats • Live Video
Saturday, May 18, 2013 • 12 p.m. CST • Jim Perry Stadium • Live Stats • Live Video
UNO Twitter • UNO Game Notes
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The 2013 campaign will come to a conclusion for the New Orleans Privateer baseball team this weekend following a three-game series against Campbell that begins Thursday at 5 p.m. CT.
The series includes games on Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 12 p.m. All three contests will feature live stats and a video broadcast on GoCamels.com.
UNO (7-41) ended a 13-day hiatus in an 11-2 loss to No. 2 LSU on Tuesday at Alex Box Stadium.
Zach Liberto went 2-for-5 from the leadoff position to lead the Privateers against the Tigers, giving the infielder his ninth multi-hit performance of the season. Only
Zacary Hawkins (11) and
Reese Kanter (10) have more multi-hit games than Liberto.
Over the course of the last four games, Liberto has seven hits in his last 15 at-bats, increasing his batting average to a team-best .284. Liberto has hit safely in 9 of 10 games, including four in a row.
Liberto's current hitting streak ranks second on the team behind
Dan Perkins. Perkins is hitting 8-for-25 during the course of his six-game hitting streak and has an opportunity to match his career-high of nine straight games with a hit this weekend.
On the mound, UNO will send freshmen
Blake Prest (1-6, 6.88 ERA) and
Daniel Martinez (0-2, 5.91 ERA) to start off the weekend. Sophomore
Alex Smith (3-9, 4.37 ERA) will get take the mound in Saturday's season finale.
Competing as an NCAA Division I Independent for three more games before heading into the Southland Conference in 2014, the Privateers began their 869 mile commute from the Crescent City to the central North Carolina town of Buies Creek on Wednesday morning.
Upon arrival, the Privateers will find a Campbell (43-9) squad that has already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big South Conference tournament for the first time since 1986. The Camels also claimed the league's North Division championship, the program's first since 1987.
One of the nation's top offenses, Campbell ranks in the top 16 of NCAA Division I in batting average (.312), scoring (7.2 runs per game), runs (373), hits (546) and stolen bases per game (2.21) as of Mar. 12. The top hitters are Brent Graham (.382, 41 runs, 35 RBIs) and Michael Felton (.362, 44 runs, 43 RBIs).
The Camels enter the weekend on a six-game winning streak and have won 28 of 33 home contests at recently opened Jim Perry Stadium to date. Campbell's pitching staff has a collective 2.71 earned run average, which ranks the squad 12
th in the country.
Right-handed pitcher Ryan Mattes (6-3, 2.28 ERA) will take the mound on Thursday followed in order by fellow right-hander Heath Bowers (8-0, 1.86 ERA) and southpaw Hector Cedano (8-2, 3.21 ERA).
This weekend's series represents the first games ever played between UNO and Campbell.
Privateer head coach Bruce Peddie was able to arrange the series after knowing Camels' head coach Greg Goff for nearly 20 years. Peddie's Shippensburg (Pa.) squad faced off with Delta State in the 1996 Division II World Series. Goff was the pitching coach of DSU at the time.
Following the conclusion of this weekend's series, UNO will next play on Feb. 14, 2014 at Alex Box Stadium against LSU. The Privateers' home opener is scheduled for the next day at 2 p.m. at a renovated Maestri Field against the very same Tigers' squad.
