HOUSTON – HBU rallied for four runs in the seventh inning and received an outstanding performance from the bullpen for a 5-3 victory over New Orleans to even the Southland Conference baseball series Saturday afternoon at Husky Field.
Sophomore catcher
Parker Edwards went 2-for-3 and drove in a pair, while junior designated hitter
Tyler LaRue went 2-for-4 and scored a run. Junior first baseman
Brennen Bales was 1-for-4 with an RBI and junior centerfielder
Austin Roccaforte was 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and scored.
The Huskies (9-18, 3-2 SLC) got three no-hit innings out of its bullpen. Junior righthander
Matthew Charles (1-0) picked up the win, while junior
Tyler Zarella worked the eighth and senior
Andrew Reitmeyer nailed down a 1-2-3 ninth, including a strikeout for his sixth save of the season. Senior starter
Jared Burch allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in six innings.
Amani Larry went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run for UNO (15-10, 2-3). Pearce Howard singled and drove in a run and Tyler Bischke singled and scored.
Tod Gauthe (1-1) took the loss for the Privateers, giving up two runs on two hits with a strikeout and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. Starter Brandon Mitchell allowed three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in six-plus innings.
The Privateers took advantage of a dropped fly ball and a throwing error to take a 1-0 lead in the third. They added two more on back-to-back RBI singles by Larry and Howard in the third to extend the lead to 3-0.
HBU loaded the bases with no outs in the six, but only came away with a run on Edwards' sacrifice fly.
The Huskies once again loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, but took advantage on Roccaforte's RBI single and sophomore second baseman
Sebastian Trinidad's sacrifice fly to tie the game, 3-3. With two outs, Bales delivered the go-ahead single and Edwards followed with an RBI single for the insurance run.
The series concludes with the rubber match Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
