Privateers Baseball Drops Series Finale at Troy

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TROY, Ala. – The University of New Orleans baseball team (18-10) struck first, but was quickly answered and could not recover in a 9-4 loss to the Troy Trojans (16-13) on Sunday at Riddle-Pace Field. The Trojans clinched the series win with the victory.
 
The Privateers got out to a solid start, taking the early lead in their half of the third. After Bryan Warzek threw two routine innings to set the tone, the UNO bats posted three runs. Aaron Palmer doubled off the right field fence with two outs. Dakota Dean then drew a walk and Hezekiah Randolph followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0 in favor of the Privateers.
 
Troy had an emphatic answer waiting in the bottom of the frame. A one-out single and a walk set up four consecutive extra base hits. Peyton Fuller, Chase Smartt, and Trevor Davis strung together back-to-back-to-back doubles. Joey Denison then parked a two-run homer to put Troy ahead 6-3.
 
"Bryan was lights out for the first two innings," said Coach Blake Dean. "I thought we'd get a good outing from him. He gave up a base hit and a walk and it kind of snowballed. A six spot is just too hard to recover from."
 
UNO grabbed a run back in the sixth. Randolph doubled and Kyle Bracey singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. An RBI fielder's choice from Samuel Capielano brought a run in, but Troy starter, Lucas Brown bounced back from a rocky start to the frame to retire the next two batters on a pop out and a fly out. Brown went 6.0 innings and picked up the win.
 
"Their pitchers filled up the bottom of the zone and everything they missed was down. They didn't miss up very much," said Dean. "That pays off in the long run."
 
The Trojans scored three in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach. The spurt included an RBI triple by TJ Binder, his first triple of the season. Cory Gill threw the final three innings of the game and allowed one hit and one walk to earn his first save of the year.
 
UNO was led by Palmer's 3-for-4 day with two doubles and two RBIs. Palmer also added a stolen base and had three steals on the weekend. Randolph was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run. Chaz Boyer was 1-for-4 with a run scored. The Privateers used four relievers: Jordan Priddle threw 2.2 scoreless innings and Daniel Martinez pitched two shutout frames.
 
Troy was led by Fuller, Davis, and Brandon Lockridge who each had two hits as Troy out-hit UNO 9-7 on the day. Chase Smartt had two RBIs and also collected eight assists in the field. Brown moved his record to 4-3 on the season with the win.
 
The Privateers will be back in action on Apr. 6 at South Alabama. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 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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