Warzek Throws Seven Shutout Frames, Privateers Baseball Defeats South Alabama

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NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans baseball team (16-5) got seven shutout frames from Bryan Warzek and the Privateer bats set the tone early in an 8-2 win over the South Alabama Jaguars (15-6) on Tuesday at Maestri Field at First NBC Ballpark. UNO moved to 14-1 at home with the victory.
 
The Privateers jumped out early with three runs in the first two innings. UNO loaded the bases with no outs in the first off of Jaguars starter, Harrison Spruiell and Hezekiah Randolph followed with an RBI sac fly to open the scoring. UNO followed with two runs in the second inning as Chaz Boyer led off the frame with a double, then scored on a single and an error. Aaron Palmer knocked in a run with an RBI single to make it 3-0 after two frames.
 
Warzek pitched around early traffic on the base paths and settled in after three walks in the first two innings for his longest outing of the season. Warzek struck out five batters and stranded seven base runners in his span on the hill. In the fourth and fifth inning, Warzek induced inning ending double plays that were started up by the Privateers middle infield.
 
"Bryan threw well," said Coach Blake Dean. "If he continues to throw like that, he'll give us a chance to win every week. He concentrated a little more and for the most part, he locked back in, he made pitches when he needed to, and he made our defense work behind him. We can't work with walks, but we can work with contact."
 
Ryne Long came in out of the pen in with one out in the second and kept the Privateers scoreless until the seventh. Dakota Dean hit a triple to deep right with one away and that set up the second sac fly of the night off the bat of Randolph. Long pitched 5.2 innings in total and gave up just one run.
 
The Privateers then exploded for four runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach. Jay Robinson collected his third hit of the night, an RBI single to make it 5-0. Ryan Calloway grounded into a fielder's choice that scored another run. An RBI single by Dean and a wild pitch to score another run came afterward to push the lead to 8-0.
 
"If the bottom of the order is hitting well and the top of the order comes around then there's probably going to be some runs produced," said Dean. "The middle of our order is swinging the bat well and seeing the ball well right now. When those guys are hitting, we're a tough lineup to deal with."
 
South Alabama pulled back two runs, both with two outs in the ninth.  An RBI triple by Adam Wolfe scored the first run of the night and Eddie Paparella followed with an RBI double before a ground out off the bat of Drew LaBounty ended the game.
 
The Privateers collected 12 hits in total on the evening and only had one strikeout at the plate. Robinson led the charge, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Boyer was 2-for-4 with two runs and Calloway, Palmer, and Dean each added two hits. Jarred Taylor pitched a scoreless frame in the eighth with two strikeouts.
 
South Alabama was led by Travis Swaggerty who went 2-for-3 with a walk. The rest of the Jaguars' six hits were split among six different players. Spruiell gave up three hits and three earned runs in just 1.1 innings of work. South Alabama stranded nine runners on the game.
 
UNO will begin a three-game set on Thursday at Lamar. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
Season tickets for the 2016 campaign are available for as low as $125 and single-game tickets start at $5. For additional information, contact the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263) or click HERE.
 
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