HOUSTON, Texas – The Huskies evened the conference series at Husky Field against New Orleans with a commanding, 7-1, victory in game two thanks to dominant pitching from Parker Edwards and Nicholas Willard. HCU allowed just four hits on the day while the Husky' offense tallied 12 hits including two home runs from Samuel Benjamin.

After three shutout innings by both teams, New Orleans struck first with a home run in the top of the fourth inning before Benjamin answered with a lead-off homer in the bottom of the inning. In the next at bat, Tyler LaRue singled up the middle before stealing second and scoring on a Trent Baker single through the right side to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead. HCU extended their lead to three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Starting with back-to-back singles from Josh Prinner and Lane Sparks before advancing to scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Trevor Roper, the Huskies grabbed a 4-1 lead when Benjamin singled through the right-side scoring both Prinner and Sparks. HCU tacked on two more runs when Benjamin hit his second home run of the game, a two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring Lane Sparks and giving the Huskies a 6-1 advantage. HCU closed out the game adding a run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Baker doubled down the left field line scoring William Jewell after he was hit-by-pitch to lead-off the inning. The Huskies tied the series with a 7-1 victory heading into the series finale on Sunday.

The Huskies (10-20, 3-5 SLC) were led by Benjamin going 3-for-4 with two home runs, five RBIs and two runs. Baker extends his multi-hit game streak to three games going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs while William Jewell went 2-for-3 with a run. Eight Huskies tallied hits in game two including Sparks and Prinner, both going 1-for-3 with Sparks scoring two runs and Prinner recording a walk and a run. Parker Edwards (3-4) earned the win pitching five innings to start the game allowing just one earned run on two hits with a walk and four strikeouts. Nicholas Willard notched his first save as a Husky pitching four shutout innings of relief allowing two hits with a season-high seven strikeouts and a walk.

The Privateers (18-12, 6-2 SLC) were led by Victor Castillo going 1-for-4 with a home run. Issac Williams, Miguel Useche, and Diego Villescas were the only other UNO batters to record hits, all going 1-for-4. Grant Edwards (2-3) was tagged with the loss pitching 5.2 innings to start the game allowing four earned runs on 10 hits with a walk and four strikeouts. Ryan Delorbe pitched 2.1 innings of relief giving up three earned runs on two hits with two hit-batters and a strikeout.

The three-game series against New Orleans will conclude with game three on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Husky Field. Live stats are available at HCUHuskies.com!