UNO wins 2 of 3 from Houston Baptist

Two Hezbombs this weekend

Once again, the Privateers (24-23-1, 12-12) were able to ride strong pitching efforts from Shawn Semple and Bryan Warzek on Friday and Saturday, only to come up short on Sunday for a two-out-of-three series win.

This time, it was the offense that fell short on Sunday, as New Orleans could not capitalize on Riley Hodge's best effort of the season in a 4-1 loss.  Hodge surrendered just one run in 6 2/3 innings.

However, on Friday, Shawn Semple fell one out short of a complete game shutout but did throw 149 pitches to complete a brilliant outing, striking out 15 in a 3-1 triumph. Hezekiah Randolph homered to lead the offense.

Warzek followed Semple's sparkling
Friday start with another gem on Saturday

On Saturday, Bryan Warzek went eight quality innings in an 8-3 Privateer win, bolstered by Randolph again blasting a homer, this time a three-run shot over the left field wall.  Randolph is now tied with Orynn Veillon and Tristan Clarke for the team lead with 9.

New Orleans next faces Nicholls in Thibodaux on Friday and Sunday, and will play the Colonels on Saturday night at 6 p.m. in their Maestri Field finale. UNO is in a dogfight with Nicholls, among others, for the seventh and eighth spots in the upcoming Southland Conference tournament.  Only the top eight qualify.

UNO Wins Just 3 on Lengthy Road Trip

After blowing a ninth-inning lead at Maestri Field on April 11 to South Alabama, the Privateers set out to jump-start their season on an 11-game road trip, but won just three of those games away from home.

Veillon's five homers on the
road trip led New Orleans

It was a challenging trip beginning with three-game swings at conference leader McNeese State, then a three-game non-conference tilt at Texas.  New Orleans was unable to salvage any of those games, blowing a 6-0 lead at McNeese and dropping two one-run contests to the Longhorns along the way.

After poor weather forced a midweek tie at Jackson State in another game UNO led late, the Bucs secured wins on Friday and Saturday at Incarnate Word before their pitching broke down again on Sunday in a 10-9 slugfest loss after leading 8-3.  Finally, New Orleans drubbed Grambling 10-1 on Tuesday night in a neutral site game in Biloxi.

Orynn Veillon led UNO's offensive effort with five homers on the road trip.  The Privateers (22-22-1, 10-11) sit in eighth place in the Southland and return home this Friday night for a critical series against third-place Houston Baptist.

Privateer Heat: UNO Wins Series over Lamar

Bryan Warzek gets congrats after
Saturday's complete game shutout

There is a significant drop off between the top two Privateer starters and the rest, and it was not more clearly evident than this weekend. Shawn Semple and Bryan Warzek engineered two shutouts on Friday and Saturday, but New Orleans fell behind big early and never recovered in a blowout loss on Sunday.

Semple's eight shutout innings (nine strikeouts) plus Reeves Martin's spotless inning of relief was enough for UNO to eke out a 2-0 win on Friday night.  Sam Capielano delivered an RBI triple in the third inning to provide the first run, and as it turned out, the only run UNO would need.

On Saturday, Bryan Warzek tossed a complete game shutout, surrendering just five hits on the afternoon.  Ninth-place hitter Orynn Veillon supplied plenty of offense as well, blasting a three-run homer in the second inning as well as a double later on, and the Privateers won 6-0.

On Sunday, New Orleans coach Blake Dean gave freshman Christopher DeMayo a shot at the Sunday starting role, but DeMayo lasted just two innings while surrendering four runs, and UNO went on to a 9-1 loss.

Next up, the Bucs (19-14, 8-7) will play their last home game before an 11-game road trip, hosting South Alabama on Tuesday night.

Privateers Top Tulane in Midweek Contest

In a tuneup preceding a home conference series over the weekend, New Orleans (17-13), powered by a seven-run fourth inning, bested crosstown rival Tulane 9-5 at Maestri Field.

After surrendering two runs to the Wave in the top of the fourth, the Privateers tied the game in the bottom of the frame, then went ahead on a three-run blast by increasingly important sub Chase Crump, tonight's DH.  Later in the inning, Aaron Palmer's two-run single put UNO up 7-2, and the home team held off a Tulane semi-rally to prevail.

In what will be the last home weekend for New Orleans until Houston Baptist visits from May 5-7, the Privateers will host the Lamar Cardinals, who come to Maestri Field with a 4-7 mark in the Southland Conference.

Discuss on the forum

Privateers Take 2 of 3 from Islanders

John Cable's grand slam helped
UNO to a Friday night victory

After an 8-4 midweek setback to Southern Mississippi, New Orleans (16-13, 6-6) took two out of three in a Southland Conference series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi over the weekend at Maestri Field.

On Friday, catcher John Cable smashed a grand slam to give UNO an early lead, and it held up behind 6 2/3 innings of solid pitching from Shawn Semple in a 10-3 win.

In the first game of a Saturday doubleheader due to impending Sunday weather, the Privateers got a three-run Hezbomb en route to an 8-2 lead, gave up seven unanswered runs, tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, and won it in the tenth on a bases-loaded walk issued to Chase Crump, 10-9.

In game two, TAMU-CC touched up UNO starter Rafael Martinez and surged to a five-run first inning.  It turned out to be all they needed, as the Islanders cruised to an 8-4 victory in the series finale.

New Orleans finally has its first meeting with Tulane on Tuesday night at Maestri Field.