Baseball Hits The Road For Southland Conference Series At McNeese

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans baseball team hits the road on Thursday, April 13, when they travel to Lake Charles, La., to begin a three-game Southland Conference series against McNeese. First pitch for Thursday is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the same start time slated for Friday, while Saturday's finale begins at 3 p.m.

Thursday's contest begins an 11-game road swing for the Privateers, spanning three weeks. UNO takes on Texas and UIW in weekend series, with midweek contests at Jackson State and a neutral-site tilt with Grambling rounding out the road stretch.

"We are going to have our hands full this weekend," head coach Blake Dean said. "McNeese plays well at home, they have only lost once on their field. They are a versatile and dynamic team that can beat you with their pitching and hitting. We are going to have to score some runs to beat them as well as play good defense and get great outings from [Shawn] Semple and [Bryan] Warzek on the mound. We must avoid getting swept and figure out a way to go in there and take one on the road."

New Orleans (19-15, 8-7 Southland Conference) ended its eight-game homestand on Tuesday evening against South Alabama, giving up five runs in the ninth inning to wrap up the stretch with a 9-6 loss.

Offensively, New Orleans is hitting .301 as a team (357-1187) with a .457 slugging percentage off the strength of 72 doubles, 10 triples and 31 home runs. Junior catcher John Cable leads five Privateers who are hitting over .300 with a .362 batting average, followed by junior infielder Owen Magee, senior infielder Samuel Capielano, sophomore outfielder Orynn Veillon and junior outfielder Tristan Clarke with averages of .331, .331, .315 and .304 respectively. Magee and Veillon both have 11 doubles, with Capielano posted a team-best three triples and Clarke boasting a team-high eight home runs and 30 RBI.

On the mound, UNO sports a 4.47 ERA while tallying 267 strikeouts with 130 walks in 306.1 innings of work to date. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Bryan Warzek and junior right-handed pitcher Shawn Semple both have five wins, with Warzek posting a team-low 1.56 ERA in a team-best 52.0 innings while Semple leads the Privateers with 56 strikeouts. Freshman right-handed pitcher Reeves Martin plus junior right-handed pitchers William Griffin and Jarred Taylor all have two saves, which ties for the most on the team.

McNeese (23-9, 13-2 Southland Conference) heads into the Southland Conference series on a four-game winning streak, most recently sweeping Abilene Christian last weekend in a Southland Conference series.

The Cowboys are hitting .318 as a unit (354-1113) with a .496 slugging percentage coming from 75 doubles, nine triples and 35 home runs. Six McNeese hitters currently have a batting average over .300, led by Joe Provenzano's .393 clip followed by Matt Gallier, Ricky Ramirez Jr., Shane Selma, Robbie Podorsky and Jake Cochran with averages of .378, .368, .343, .333 and .326. Ramirez posts a team-high 15 doubles and is one of three on the team with two doubles, while Gallier has eight home runs and Provenzano boasts 35 RBI.

On the mound, USA has a team-ERA of 3.90 with 239 strikeouts and 127 walks in 279.0 innings of work. Rhett Deaton and Grant Anderson both boasts 5-0 marks on the mound for McNeese, while Colin Kober has a team-high six saves and Austin Sanders has a team-best 37 strikeouts.

McNeese holds a 25-20-1 advantage over UNO in the all-time series, with the Cowboys winning every contest since the Privateers joined the Southland Conference. Randolph has played against McNeese 10 times, posting 14 hits on a .318 average with seven RBI and seven walks. Semple has logged a team-best 9.2 innings on the mound against the Cowboys, boasting 12 strikeouts.

UNO returns to First NBC Ballpark on Friday, May 5, when they begin a SLC series with Houston Baptist with first pitch slated for 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.