Baseball Takes On Nicholls In Weekend Series

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans baseball team takes on Nicholls in the penultimate weekend of the 2017 regular season, playing two of the three-game Southland Conference series on the road with one at home. The Privateers plays in Thibodaux, La., on Friday, May 12 at 6 p.m. and Sunday, May 14 at 1 p.m., with UNO hosting Nicholls on Saturday, May 15 at 6 p.m. in the final home game of the season. Following Saturday's contest, the Privateers will honor its senior class with fireworks after.

With just six games remaining in SLC play, the Privateers currently sit in a three-way tie with Nicholls and Lamar for seventh place in the Southland Conference standings. Only the top eight teams make the conference tournament.

"We need to take two this weekend to create some separation heading into the final weekend of the season," head coach Blake Dean said. "Nicholls is a tough team that has gotten some big wins over good teams. Their biggest strength this year has been their pitching. They are an average hitting team, but they so the little things well. We are going to have to play our best ball of the season on the mound, in the field and at the plate. The past couple of years we have been unable to score a lot of runs against them, we are going to need to find some offensive production and hopefully outscore them at least two times."

New Orleans (24-23-1, 12-12 Southland Conference) enters the pivotal SLC series following a 2-1 outing against HBU, winning on Friday and Saturday by scores of 3-1 and 8-3 before losing the finale 4-1.

Offensively, New Orleans is hitting .297 (499-1681) with a .443 slugging percentage off the strength of 90 doubles, 12 triples and 44 home runs while posting 275 RBI. Junior catcher John Cable leads five Privateers who are hitting over .300 with a .358 average, followed by junior infielder Owen Magee, senior infielder Samuel Capielano, junior outfielder Tristan Clarke and sophomore outfielder Orynn Veillon with marks of .331, .330, .306 and .303 respectively. Magee leads the team with 14 doubles with Capielano boasting three doubles and Clarke, Veillon and senior outfielder Hezekiah Randolph all  having nine home runs while Magee also leads the team with 42 RBI.

On the mound, UNO sports a 4.45 ERA while tallying 376 strikeouts with 179 walks in 426.1 innings of work to date. Sophomore southpaw Bryan Warzek and junior right-handed pitcher Shawn Semple both have seven wins, with Warzek posting a team-low 2.14 ERA in a team-high 80.0 innings while Semple boasts a team-best 88 strikeouts and freshman left-handed pitcher Christopher DeMayo holding opposing batters to a team-low .227 average. Freshman right handed pitcher Reeves Martin leads the team with three saves and 25 mound appearances this season.

Nicholls (26-24, 12-12 Southland Conference) played its final midweek contest prior to the weekend series, defeating Jackson State 4-2.

The Colonels are hitting .263 (428-1625) as a team with a .353 slugging percentage coming from 81 doubles, eight triples and 16 home runs while tallying 204 RBI. Spencer Halloran leads Nicholls with a .314 batting average,  while Gavin Wehby leads the team with 13 doubles, two triples and 30 RBI and Kyle Knauth posts a team-best three home runs.

On the mound, Nicholls has a team ERA of 4.62 with 376 strikeouts and 174 walks in 436.0 innings of work. Adam Tarver leads the Colonels with seven victories and a .238 opposing batting average, while Cole Stapler and Mike Hanchar both have 69 strikeouts with Stapler posting a team-high 81.0 innings and Austin Bollinger boasting a team-best 2.11 ERA.

The Privateers play their final midweek game of the 2017 campaign on Tuesday, May 16 at Tulane with first pitch 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.