NEW ORLEANS – After playing their first road game of the season on Tuesday, The University of New Orleans baseball team returns to the friendly confines of Maestri Field at First NBC Ballpark on Friday, Mar. 3, when they begin a three-game weekend series against Alcorn State. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. start times on Saturday and Sunday.
This will be the first weekend series between New Orleans (6-3) and Alcorn State (4-4), with the two sides only playing against each other six times heading into the weekend. The last time the two teams played against each other, a 12-3 victory for the Privateers at Maestri Field, junior
Shawn Semple tossed 6.0 innings and allowed one run off four hits with nine strikeouts to get the win in the 2016 season opener while seniors
Samuel Capielano and
Aaron Palmer both logged three hits. UNO holds a 6-0 advantage over the Braves, with every game being played at Maestri Field.
"Alcorn is going to come in well coached," head coach
Blake Dean said. "They got a new coach from Florida A&M whose in his second year there and is starting to get the team where he wants them to be. We have to limit extra opportunities for the opponents and be more aggressive at the plate. We have to take better swings this weekend and avoid striking out so much."
The Privateers enter the weekend series after playing against their second opponent that advanced to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, losing 10-7 to South Alabama on the road.
UNO currently boasts one of the top offenses in the Southland Conference, ranking in the top-10 of all Division I in hits (107) and doubles (28). Along with hits and doubles, which the Privateers lead the Southland conference in; New Orleans also leads the league in batting average (.322), slugging percentage (.524), home runs (11) and total bases (174) while ranking second in runs scored (76), RBI (71), on base percentage (.405) and third in triples (3).
Capielano leads the Privateers attack with a .424 batting average, ranking 10
th in the SLC and tied for the most hits in the league with 14. Junior Outfielder
Tristan Clarke leads the conference in home runs (3) while ranking third in slugging percentage (.771) and doubles (5). His doubles total trails teammate
Orynn Veillon, who leads the conference with six.
The Privateers' pitchers have a team ERA of 3.95, the fifth-lowest in the conference, with three arms posting ERAs under 2.00 after throwing over nine innings. Junior right handed pitcher
Rafael Martinez has a team-best 2-0 record, tied for the most wins of any pitcher in the Southland Conference, while ranking seventh with an opposing batting average of .182. Semple and freshman right handed pitcher
Reeves Martin both rank in the league's top-10 in strikeouts with 13 and 12.
Alcorn enters the weekend series after going 2-2 against Butler last weekend.
Like the Privateers, Alcorn ranks in the top three of almost every offensive category in the Southwestern Conference, sitting second in batting average (.259), on base percentage (.359), hits (71), RBI (44), doubles (12) home runs (2) and third in slugging percentage (.332) and walks (35). Kirt Cormier paces the Braves with a .370 batting average, seven runs scored and a .556 slugging percentage, all team-highs and rank in the top-10 of the SWAC.
On the mound, the Braves lead the SWAC with a 3.95 ERA, ranking second with a .269 opposing batting average and third in strikeouts with 61. Both Carlos Lopez and Jahborus Smith have 11 strikeouts for the Braves, while Daniel Belmont has allowed no earned runs in 12.2 innings of work.
Following the weekend series, the Privateers return to action on Tuesday, Mar. 7 when they host Southern Miss at 6:30 p.m. UNO begins Southland Conference play on Friday, Mar. 10 when they host Southeastern Louisiana in a televised contest starting 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 clickingÂ
HERE.
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