No. 7 New Orleans Survives No. 3 Northwestern State
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SUGAR LAND, Texas – No. 7 New Orleans defeated No. 3 Northwestern State 6-5 in the first elimination game of the 2016 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament at Constellation Field.
The Privateers threw five pitcher with senior left-hander Jordan Priddle throwing 5.2 innings to see the most action. . Leadoff hitter, junior shortstop Aaron Palmer saw five at bats picking up two hits and one run for UNO.
Northwestern State started the game with an offensive surge, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Sophomore second baseman David Fry flied out to right field for a sacrifice to score senior first baseman Cort Brinson for a 1-0 lead. Brinson would score on an RBI single from junior third baseman Regan Kaufman. The Demons picked up two more runs on a home run over the left field wall from junior designated hitter Daniel Garner.
New Orleans answered back with four runs in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game at four runs apiece. Palmer scored on a throwing error to put the Privateers on the board. Junior second baseman Samuel Capielano scored on a ground out, cutting the Demon’s lead in half, 4-2. Sophomore designated hitter Chase Caldarera singled down the right field line scoring junior right fielder Hezekiah Randolph and advancing senior third baseman Preston March to third base. Marsh scored on a throwing error to tie the game, 4-4 before wrapping up the first inning.
The Demons regained the lead in the top of the fifth inning on a single through the left side from senior first baseman Cort Brinson to score junior shortstop Matthew Alford for a brief 5-4 lead. UNO’s Marsh scored on a Demon error in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game once again, 5-5.
The Privateers open the bottom of the sixth inning with a walk from junior first baseman Dakota Dean followed by a single from senior center fielder Kyle Bracey to move Dean to third base. Dean scored on a passed ball for UNO’s first lead of the game, 6-5.
New Orleans advances to take on the loser of No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana and No. 6 McNeese State while Northwestern State ends the season with a 33-24 after going 0-2 in the league tournament.
New Orleans Head Coach Blake Dean
Taking advantage of errors
“The same thing happened for us yesterday.” When you make four errors and walk guys it’s difficult to win ball games in the postseason. You have to play clean baseball and today we capitalized and took advantage of the mistakes.”
On Jordan Priddle
“Jordan did a great job. Semple and Medine didn’t have their best stuff and I wasn’t going to leave anybody out there for an extended period of time. It was phenomenal and he stepped up as a senior after not having a good outing the last time out.”
Northwestern State Head Coach Lane Burroughs
Overview on the game
“They lost a real emotional game yesterday, and we thought they may be a little flat coming out. We hit the four spot, and they used two pitchers. You’ve got them right where you want them. I think they were reeling a little bit. They don’t hit one ball hard against Chase, and we don’t make a play. I think every infielder had an error. We didn’t make the plays we needed to and let them back in the game.”