NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers baseball team will begin the 2024 Pelican Cup against the Tulane Green Wave at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. First pitch on Tuesday for the series opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
The Privateers won their second consecutive series to begin the season when they defeated the Evansville Purple Aces during the first two days. Evansville avoided the sweep by winning the series finale on Sunday.
The Privateers have won the Pelican Cup three times in four seasons it was contested since it returned in 2018. The Privateers won the series in '18, '19 and '23. Tulane won the Cup in 2022.
Mitchell Sanford drove in 10 runs during the four-game stint against Southern Miss and Evansville. Sanford is currently ranked fifth in the Southland in RBI with 12. Sanford went 4-for-4 with five RBI in the series opener against Evansville.
Nathan Blasick's transition to the mound has already yielded solid results. He is tied for the team lead in appearances through two weeks and his season line is five innings, four hits, no runs, two walks, seven strikeouts.
Blake Dean is 11-7 against Tulane since taking over as head coach in 2016. His teams have scored five or more runs 14 of those 18 games and have scored 10 or more runs six times. The most runs the Privateers have scored in a game against the Green Wave is 16 last March.
Maika Niu has been electric in the lead-off spot in the lineup. Last week in four games, Niu was 8-for-18 with a home run, six RBI and seven runs scored.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Tulane (3-4) was swept by UC Irvine over the weekend. Marcus Cline is the leading hitter on the team with a .368 batting average. Nathan Rose is hitting .320 through the team's first seven games of the season.
Teo Banks was named American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year by Perfect Game heading into the season.
WE ARE YOUR KREWE
For 54 seasons, Privateer student-athletes have had the unique experience of wearing New Orleans across their chests. Like the city itself, our sports teams have been fueled by resiliency, grit, and the unquenchable desire to win. Our city also houses the nation's biggest celebration each year. And much like a Mardi Gras parade krewe, we are tethered to our community through pride, tradition, a culture of acceptance, and finally our commitment to show that New Orleans is a world-class city to live, learn, play and work. We invite you to become more involved with the only University that truly represents New Orleans all day, every day. Join #NOLAsTeam, We Are Your Krewe!
Visit UNOPrivateers.com/signup to stay connected and follow us @UNOPrivateers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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