NEW ORLEANS – Seniors
Lewis Guilbeau and
Cameron Toole each recorded multiple-hit outings and combined for four RBI's to help the McNeese baseball defeat New Orleans, 7-3, and clinch the Southland Conference series Saturday afternoon at Maestri Field.
The series victory is the fifth for the Pokes this season and the third in league play. The Cowboys improved to 17-11 on the year and 9-5 in SLC action while dropping UNO to 18-12 overall and 4-7 in league play.
The Pokes look for the series sweep Sunday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. in New Orleans. The game will be broadcast live on KEZM 1310 – AM and on kezmonline.com.
Guilbeau collected his 11
th multi-hit game of the season after having batted 3-for-5 on the day along with a double and a run scored. Toole went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs in the game.
The Pokes used 12 hits in the ballgame, including four extra-base hits and four walks to develop the advantage over UNO. Four McNeese batters recorded multiple-hit games while seven total Cowboys collected a hit.
Freshman
Bryan King (3-1) was credited with the win for McNeese after having worked 6.0 frames and allowed just one run to score despite scattering eight hits along the way. King struck out three batters and walked two.
Junior
Ricky Ramirez picked up his first career save on a one-pitch effort with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Ramirez who climbed the hill from his usual post in centerfield was called in to relieve freshman
Zach Rider and collected the last out to help seal the deal.
Just like Friday night, McNeese climbed out to an early lead over the Privateers in the first inning, highlighted by Guilbeau's two-out RBI-single to give the Cowboys a 2-0 lead.
UNO cut the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the inning but the Pokes responded with a couple of runs in the fourth frame.
Todd Hinkley and Toole each drove in a run to help McNeese extend the lead to a 4-1 score.
Another Guilbeau RBI in the seventh and a pair of run in the eighth inning helped the Cowboys cushion their lead to a 7-1 score. UNO would not go down swinging and posted two runs in the final frame before finally falling to McNeese, 7-3.
McNeese 7, New Orleans 3 (Apr 09, 2016 at New Orleans, La.)
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McNeese............. 200 200 120 - 7 12 0 (17-11, 9-5 SLC)
New Orleans......... 100 000 002 - 3 13 3 (18-13, 4-7 SLC)
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Pitchers: McNeese - King, Bryan; Rider, Zach(7); Ramirez, Ricky(9) and Toole, Cameron.
New Orleans - Hodge, Riley; Brewer, Keaton(8) and Bracey, Kyle.
Win-King, Bryan(3-1) Save-Ramirez, Ricky(1) Loss-Hodge, Riley(3-3) T-2:44 A-323