HAMMOND, La. – The New Orleans Privateers will begin their 2024 Southland Tournament when they take on the host, Southeastern Lions. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
STARTERS
UNO-LHP
Ryan Delorbe vs. SLU-RHP Brennan Stuprich
New Orleans wrapped up the regular season by earning their 30
th win of the year. They took the series finale 8-6 against regular season champion, Lamar.
Issac Williams homered twice to move his career total to 28 and tie him for ninth on the program's career home run list with Stuart Weidie.
With the All-Conference teams being announced,
Blake Dean now has 41 postseason selections. 2024 marks the fourth consecutive year the Privateers had at least five All-Southland selections.
Mitchell Sanford became the third consecutive Privateer to win Southland Hitter of the Year honors when he earned the award on Tuesday. Sanford continues the trend started by Pearce Howard (2022) and followed by
Tristan Moore (2023). Sanford had 15 homers, 20 doubles and 67 RBI behind a .381 batting average.
Miguel Useche moved into a tie for second place on the program's career doubles list after he hit four against Lamar. Useche stands at 53 doubles, tied with Kevin McGann. He is one away from tying the program record (54) set by Scott Schwaner (1982-85).
Against Southeastern, Delorbe had a win and a save. He limited the Lions to one run over 4.2 innings that weekend.
In the regular season, the Privateers finished in the top 50 nationally in three categories. They were 17
th in triples, 39
th in walks and 41
st in sacrifice flies. New Orleans ranked inside the top three in the conference in a bevy of offensive categories including walks, hits, home runs, slugging percentage, doubles, triples and on-base percentage.
The Privateers have gone to two Southland championship finals since joining the conference in 2013. They went in 2018 and 2023. In six Southland tournament openers, the Privateers are 3-3. They are 1-5 in six Southland tournament meetings against Southeastern.
New Orleans took the series in the regular season in Hammond. Mercer, who is slated to start against the Lions, set a new career-high in strikeouts in the series opener with 12 over seven innings of work.
The winner of this game will take on the winner of Nicholls and A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday at 7 p.m. The two losers of those games will meet in an elimination game at 12 p.m.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Stuprich earned All-Southland First Team honors after sporting a 3.13 ERA on the season. He has gone at least six innings in seven of his last eight starts. Against New Orleans, Stuprich gave up three runs on 12 hits in a no-decision.
Southeastern finished the regular season 28-26 but played their way into the tournament after going 5-1 in their last two conference weekends. The Lions are led offensively by TJ Salvaggio and Shea Thomas who combined for 23 homers and 81 RBI. As a team, Southeastern has hit 81 home runs, most in the Southland. The Privateers are second with 67 homers.
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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