Baseball Hosts Nationally-Ranked LSU In Televised Game On Tuesday

PARKING FOR TUESDAY'S GAME

NEW ORLEANS – After a successful 3-0 weekend, the University of New Orleans baseball team will be playing in front of a national audience on Tuesday, Feb. 21, when the Privateers host No. 2 LSU in a televised game at 6:30 p.m. presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Gates to Maestri Field at First NBC Ballpark are scheduled to open around 4:30 p.m.

The matchup between undefeated teams will be televised live on Cox Sports Television. It is the first of two Privateers' baseball games scheduled to be on CST, with the Friday, Mar. 10, match against Southeastern Louisiana also airing on the network.

"We are trying to approach this game like it's any other one on our schedule," head coach Blake Dean said. "We have to come out tomorrow and try to limit our mistakes on defense and start strong on offense. Our pitchers are going to have to limit walks like they did this weekend."

New Orleans enters the televised match after a 3-0 outing in the MLB Urban Youth Invitational, with two of the wins coming in shutouts.

The Privateers currently boast a 1.50 ERA on the mound while holding opponents to .171 batting average. Junior Shawn Semple and sophomore Bryan Warzek both threw six scoreless innings over the weekend with Semple tossing 10 strikeouts in the season opener.

At the plate, UNO is hitting .372 through three games with 12 different batters recording a hit. Junior outfielder Tristan Clarke leads the Privateers with six hits in 11 at bats for a .545 average with three doubles and two RBI. Senior infielder Samuel Capielano and junior infielder Dakota Phillips have both hit home runs in the season-opening weekend.

LSU ranks in the top-five of every major NCAA Division I poll, ranking second in the Collegiate Baseball poll after a 3-0 weekend. Like UNO, LSU also won two of their games with shutouts.

The Tigers have a 0.78 ERA heading into the matchup, only allowing two earned runs so far. Jared Pochhe' threw a complete game over the weekend, holding Army scoreless for a shutout victory. LSU's bullpen has only allowed one run.

LSU is hitting .329 as a team, posting six doubles and four home runs to give them a .565 slugging percentage. Cole Freeman leads the Tigers with six hits off 10 at bats for a .600 batting average while hitting two doubles and recording three RBI. Greg Deichmann has blasted two home runs already with a double to boast a team-best 1.222 slugging percentage while batting .444.

"LSU is a veteran team," Dean added. "They returned at least one person from each position from last season's team. They have a team that has played together for a while and are used to playing in high-pressure situations. If we don't start strong versus this team we could have our hands full."

In the all-time series between the two teams, LSU leads 60-34 winning the last seven games. The Privateers last defeated the Tigers in the 2010 season by a 7-4 score. In that game, LSU first baseman Blake Dean was one of four Tigers to record multiple hits with two.

The Privateers return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 22, when they host Jackson State at 6:30 p.m. For tickets to future Privateers athletic events, contact the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263) and season tickets can be purchased over the Internet by clicking HERE.