Kelleher Strikes Out 13, Privateers Fall to Abilene Christian

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NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers baseball team (14-31, 3-20 Southland) committed three errors and did not score until the eighth inning in a 7-3 loss to the Abilene Christian Wildcats (12-31, 10-13) on Saturday at Maestri Field at First NBC Ballpark.
 
The Wildcats struck the board in the third inning with two outs. A ground ball by Heath Beasley wound up a two-base throwing error that scored the first two runs. Marcelle Carter followed with an RBI single off of starter, Kevin Kelleher to make it 3-0.
 
Kelleher was in command of his breaking ball early and wound up with 13 strikeouts, the most by a Privateer pitcher since 2008. However, the Wildcats got a few hard hits in the middle frames including a solo home run by Kyle Carroll that pushed the lead to 4-0. Kelleher exited with two outs in the sixth inning after his longest outing of the season.

"He (Kelleher) has got enough stuff that he doesn't have to come over the plate. When he's 0-2 or 1-2, he's got to make his pitch. What can you say. He had 13 strikeouts, but we didn't hit the ball enough early and we made the errors and just got behind it," said Coach Ron Maestri.
 
The Privateers fell behind 7-0 before scratching the board in the eighth inning. After Chaz Boyer led off the frame with a walk and Ryan Calloway followed with an infield single, the Privateers pulled off a double steal to move both runners into scoring position. Cameron Hoffman followed with a pinch hit RBI sacrifice fly.
 
In the ninth, the Privateers denied Austin Lambright from finishing the game. A single by Andre Damiens on the first pitch he saw started a two-run frame as Boyer and Calloway each had an RBI single. The Wildcats went to Ladgie Zotyka who closed it out by getting a fly out to center. It marked the first time since Mar. 20 that Abilene Christian has won back-to-back games.
 
Calloway led the way with three hits and earned his team-leading eighth stolen base of the year. Boyer is at six steals on the season and two on the weekend while going 1-for-3 today with an RBI and a run. Sam Carriere went 2-for-4 and the Privateers were narrowly out-hit 10-9.
 
Thomas Altimont was dominant for the Wildcats, allowing just five hits in seven innings and striking out nine batters. Colton Hall, Tyler Eager, and Alex Copeland each had two hits. The home run for Carroll was his second of the season.
 
The series will close on Sunday with a first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
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