Baseball Begins Southland Conference Play With Weekend Series Against Southeastern Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans baseball team begins Southland Conference play this weekend with one of its toughest weekend series of the season as the Privateers take on Southeastern Louisiana in the third-annual Pontchartrain Bowl. The series begins on Friday, Mar. 10 at Maestri Field in a game televised regionally on Cox Sports TV with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The series moves to Hammond, Louisiana on Saturday, Mar. 11 with a 2 p.m. start time, with the rubber match back in New Orleans on Sunday, Mar. 12 at 1 p.m.

UNO leads the all-time series 58-38, taking two-of-three from the Lions last season to win the Pontchartrain Bowl for the first time and take their first-ever weekend series against Southeastern La. Senior outfielder Hezekiah Randolph, whose freshman season was the first year the Privateers played a full Southland Conference schedule, boasts a career-batting average of .411 with eight RBI, five coming in last season's 15-9 victory in Hammond, Louisiana. Sophomore southpaw Bryan Warzek posted a season-high six strikeouts in his first outing against the Lions last season, with that mark being his career-high until his 13 strikeouts against Alcorn State this past Friday.

"In my opinion, Southeastern Louisiana is one of the toughest opponents we will see all season," head coach Blake Dean said. "They are a well-coached team; they play hard, they do everything the right way and they never give up. They are going to pitch well and hit well so we are going to have to come out this weekend and continue to throw strikes and be smarter at the plate."

The Privateers (9-4) enter their Southland Conference opener after dropping a midweek contest to reigning Conference-USA champions Southern Miss 6-0.

UNO currently boasts one of the top offenses in the Southland Conference, leading the league in doubles (38), home runs (16), and slugging percentage (.532) while ranking second in batting average (.323), hits (150), runs scored (107), RBI (100) and on base percentage (.426).

Junior outfielder Tristan Clarke leads the Privateers, and all of the Southland Conference, in hits (24), RBI (20) and home runs (5) while ranking second in batting average (.471) and doubles (7), plus third in slugging percentage (.941). His doubles totals ranks 15^th in the country, while his hits ranks 16^th.

On the mound, the Privateers lead the Southland Conference in strikeouts (111) and shutouts (4) while ranking third in the conference in opposing batting average (.239) and sixth in ERA (3.66) right handed pitcher Shawn Semple and Warzek, UNO's Friday and Saturday starters, both have 21 strikeouts to rank fifth in the league while ranking fifth and sixth in ERA with 0.95 and 1.00 marks. Warzek is holding opponents batters to a .190 batting average, the ninth-lowest in the conference.

Southeastern Louisiana (8-4) comes to New Orleans on a four-game winning streak, besting South Alabama, Seton Hall and Troy over the weekend and West Virginia on Wednesday.

The Lions have a team batting average of .244 in with 95 hits, 79 runs scored, 19 doubles, four triples, seven home runs and 64 RBI. The Lions are led by Drew Avans, who's hitting .372 with 11 walks to give him an on base percentage of .509, while Taylor Schwaner leads the team with two home runs and 16 RBI.

On the mound, Southeastern Louisiana holds opponents to a league-low .233 batting average, allowing 83 hits in 98.0 innings while holding opponents to 36 earned runs for a 3.31 ERA. Mac Sceroler has logged a team-high 18.0 innings on the mound, striking out the second-most batters in the conference with 26 and only walking three batters while allowing six earned runs for a 3.00 ERA. 

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 clicking HERE.