Privateers' Late Comeback Attempt Falls Short Against Northwestern State

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers put on a late rally but were left with too much to cover on the scoreboard as they fell 11-8 to the Northwestern State Demons on Friday night in the series opener at Maestri Field.
 
DECISIONS
Cal Carver went seven innings and didn't allow a hit through four in his fourth win of the season. Tyler LeBlanc took the loss to drift to 2-3. Kyle Froehlich earned his fourth save of the year.
 
At one point, Northwestern State was up 11-0 heading to the bottom of the fifth inning in their Southland opener. That's when Anthony Herron Jr. dropped a double into shallow right-center field for the first Privateer hit of the night.
 
Mitchell Sanford followed with a line drive homer that cleared the wall in left to get New Orleans on the board.
 
Two innings later, Miguel Useche drilled a homer to deep left to shave another run off the deficit. The big inning came in the eighth when the Privateers set the table with two walks and a hit batter.
 
Ethan Francis came in out of the pen and gave up two extra base hits: a double to Tristan Moore that scored two and a triple to Sanford that plated another pair of runs. The Privateers got the lead down to three entering the ninth.
 
That's when Froehlich came in and retired the first two batters in seven pitches. Then, Kasten Furr battled valiantly but was retired on a fly out after a 10-pitch at-bat that sealed the game for the Demons.
 
Northwestern State started with a six-run first inning. The big hit was a three-run homer by Bo Willis, which was one of four times he reached base on the night. Jeffrey Elkins also hit a home run to lead off the second.
 
INSIDE THE BOX
Sanford went 2-for-4 with four RBI. Moore and Useche each finished with a pair of RBI. Caleb Menina allowed one run in 3.1 innings of relief. Jacob Mead and Matthew Maldonado each threw a scoreless inning. Jorge Tejeda went 1-for-3 with a double.
 
NEXT UP
The series continues with a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday.
 
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