Baseball Hosts Lamar In Weekend Series

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans baseball team returns to action on Friday, April 7, when the Privateers play host to Southland Conference rival Lamar in the first of a three-game weekend series. First pitch of Friday's game is slated for 6:30 p.m. while Saturday and Sunday's games will begin at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

Both sides enter the weekend series off of big midweek victories, with the Privateers defeating crosstown rival Tulane 9-5 on Tuesday evening at home and Lamar besting Baylor on the road 11-1.

"[Lamar Head Coach Will] Davis is a fellow LSU alumni, I've known him a while and how he coaches so I know they will be tough to beat," head coach Blake Dean said. "They are going to come at us with a lot of energy. They are similar to us in that they don't attempt a lot of steals, they pitch pretty well and they hit for power. We are going to have to limit our mistakes and throw quality pitches. Our bullpen needs to work on holding runners off in the later innings."

Offensively, New Orleans (17-13, 6-6 Southland Conference) is hitting .305 as a team (322-of-1056) with a .465 slugging percentage on the strength of 67 doubles, nine triples and 28 home runs. Junior catcher John Cable is one of five Privateers to hit over .300 with a team-best .346, followed by junior infielder Owen Magee, senior infielder Samuel Capielano, junior outfielder Tristan Clarke and sophomore outfielder Orynn Veillon with marks of .345, .333, .321 and .316 respectively. Magee paces the team with 11 doubles, while Clarke ties Capielano for the most triples at two and leads the team with eight home runs and 30 RBI.

From the mound, UNO sports a 4.46 ERA while tallying 241 strikeouts and 110 walks in 270.1 innings of work to date. Sophomore left handed pitcher Bryan Warzek and junior right handed pitcher Shawn Semple both have four wins, while Warzek posts team-highs in strikeouts with 49 and innings pitched with 43.0. Junior right handed pitchers William Griffin and Jarred Taylor both have two saves which ties for the most on the team.

Lamar (17-13, 5-7 Southland Conference) comes into the weekend series hitting .286 as a team (296-of-1035) with a slugging percentage of .429 off of 58 doubles, three triples and 28 home runs. Robin Adames leads three Cardinals who are hitting over .300 with a .368 average, followed by Reid Russell at .366 and Cutter McDowell with a .336 clip. Russell paces the team in home runs and RBI with seven and 29, while McDowell boasts a team-best 16 doubles.

On the mound, Lamar has a team ERA of 3.94 with 225 strikeouts and 117 walks in 263.0 innings. Carson Lance leads the team with four wins and 32 strikeouts, while Jimmy Johnson has a team-low 2.45 ERA and Tanner Driskill has logged a team-high 41.2 innings of work.

UNO holds a 49-46 advantage in the all-time series, with the two sides playing each other since 1971 and Lamar winning the last 10 including all nine in Southland Conference play. Amongst the current Privateers, Capielano has a team-best five hits and five RBI when playing against the Cardinals. Senior right handed pitcher Riley Hodge has had the best success against Lamar on the mound, allowing no earned runs in six innings with three strikeouts in one start.

"This is going to be a tough series," Dean said. "We are reaching the end of our home schedule with just one weekend series here after Lamar. We play our best when we are on our field, so we need to capitalize on it this weekend and get at least two wins." 

Prior to Friday's series opener, the Privateers' men's basketball team, the 2017 Southland Conference regular season and tournament champions, will be honored and will be on the field to throw the ceremonial first pitch.

The Privateers homestand wraps up on Tuesday, April 11, when South Alabama comes to Maestri Field at First NBC Ballpark with first pitched scheduled 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.