Privateers Baseball Back Home for Conference Weekend vs. McNeese State

MCNEESE STATE AT NEW ORLEANS
FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 8-10 | 6:30, 2:00, 1:00 PM
MAESTRI FIELD AT FIRST NBC BALLPARK | NEW ORLEANS, LA.

LIVE STATS | TWITTER | AUDIO | VIDEO | GAME NOTES | WEATHER
 
The University of New Orleans baseball team (18-11, 4-5 Southland) dives back into conference play this weekend when they will face the McNeese State Cowboys (15-11, 7-5) in a three-game series starting on Friday at Maestri Field at First NBC Ballpark.
 
The battle continues to heat up as teams are entering the final month of the regular season. UNO will have the next seven games at home where they are 15-1 this season. After getting out to their best 15-game start since 1981, UNO enters a critical stretch against a McNeese State squad that holds the fourth spot in the conference standings.
 
"It's always nice to start good in the beginning and get yourself some breathing room, but it's all about how you finish," said Coach Blake Dean. "If you can't dig deeper at this stage, then the beginning of the season will be almost pointless."
 
The last outing was a tough result for the Privateers who lost 12-3 at South Alabama on Wednesday. UNO fell behind by nine runs after the second inning and didn't get on the board until the seventh inning in the loss.
 
"We have to move forward so we'll get back in and hopefully get back to where we have been all year," said Dean. "Our pitchers have to get better and we can't walk guys. Even if you don't give up runs, you're still playing with fire."
 
The all-time series between UNO and McNeese State has an odd distinction: the teams have played an odd number of times (43) and the series is split evenly. Both teams have won 21 games and there was one tie which occurred in 1976. McNeese has won the last six meetings and the last Privateer victory against the Cowboys came in March 2013.
 
UNO will throw Shawn Semple on Friday and Riley Hodge on Saturday. The Sunday starter is to be announced. For McNeese, Kaleb Fontenot will throw on Friday. Lefty, Bryan King will pitch Saturday and right-hander, Bryce Kingsley is scheduled for Sunday. The Semple-Fontenot match-up features two pitchers are in the top five in the Southland in strikeouts.
 
McNeese State is coached by Justin Hill who is in his third season with the program. Hill has 77 wins to date and last year, guided the Cowboys to 32 wins. Hill's squad pulled off their second win over a ranked opponent when they defeated Houston 4-1. The Cowboys also own a win over then 16^th-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette on March 2.
 
Connor Crane has been the do-it-all hitter for the Cowboys this season. Crane leads the team in hits, batting average, RBIs, and stolen bases. Crane also has five home runs, which is tied for the team lead and also tied for third in the conference. 
 
This weekend also features a match-up of the statistically most disciplined lineups in the Southland. McNeese State has the fewest strikeouts at the plate with 162. UNO has the second fewest entering the weekend with 170.
 
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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