Privateers Baseball Piles on Late, Clinches Series vs. Southeastern

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NEW ORLEANS – Jordan Priddle threw 4.2 shutout innings and the University of New Orleans baseball team (30-19, 14-12 Southland) pulled away late in a 10-3 victory over the Southeastern Lions (35-15, 21-5) on Saturday at Maestri Field at First NBC Ballpark.
 
The win sealed the series for the Privateers and it also marked the first series Southeastern lost in conference since March 2014. The victory was the 30^th for UNO, marking the first time they reached the 30-win mark since 2008. Priddle allowed just one hit in collecting his second win of the year. He struck out Drew Avans to seal the win.

"Jordan did a great job," said Coach Blake Dean. "The key to his success was he was throwing all three pitches for strikes. He missed with a few here and there, but he kept those guys off balance and got ahead. Our defense played well and made some pretty good plays behind him."
 
Entering the bottom of the eighth, the Privateers were holding a 5-3 lead. With two outs and the bases empty, Samuel Capielano and Dakota Dean got aboard with singles. Hezekiah Randolph followed with an RBI single to make it 6-3. After Kyle Bracey was intentionally walked to load the bases, Preston Marsh lined a single to center to score two. Ray Veit then tripled to the gap in left-center to finish off a five-run inning. The Privateers were 10-for-19 with two outs on the day.
 
"Those guys didn't stop," said Dean. "They competed and that's the story of this year for those guys. I told them now you know what you're capable of so if you don't play to that degree and that intensity moving forward it's your fault because you see what you're capable of."
 
The Privateers trailed after the top of the first when Southeastern scored a run on an RBI single by Jameson Fisher. It was the only deficit UNO faced on the day as they quickly tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first on an RBI ground out by Dean. The Privateers went ahead in the fourth with an RBI ground out by Jay Robinson and an RBI single from Aaron Palmer.
 
Southeastern tied it back up in the fifth when two runs scored on a wild pitch and a subsequent error. That's when Priddle came in and executed a pick-off in the sixth to erase Sam Roberson on the base paths. Priddle followed up by inducing a pop out to shallow left.
 
UNO got 16 hits on the day and had six multi-hit performances. Dean and Palmer each had three hits and two runs. Ray Veit went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and started a 5-4-3 double play in the field during the fourth inning. Veit now has four hits on the weekend.
 
"That's what you call a success story," said Dean. "Ray has been behind somebody the whole year. We had success and there weren't many options that could move stuff around but when he's been called upon he's done a fabulous job. If there's  been anyone I've been most proud of it's Ray for sticking through the tough times and taking advantage when he's gotten the opportunity.
 
The Lions collected just six hits on the day. Fisher went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Brennan Breaud was 1-for-3 and scored twice. Roberson reached base three times on two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Mac Sceroler had his eight-game winning streak snapped after allowing five runs (all earned) on 10 hits.
 
The series concludes on Sunday in Hammond at 1 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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