Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? New Orleans (37-13, 17-8 Sun Belt) picked up its 12th-straight victory with a 6-3 win over the UALR baseball team (13-31, 7-17) on Saturday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field. The Trojans wasted a solid outing from pitcher David Klumpp by managing just five hits against the Privateers.
Klumpp followed up a leadoff single from UNO's Ryan Eden by retiring 15-straight Privateers to help stake the Trojans to an early 2-0 lead. The Waco, Texas-native opened the game with five scoreless innings, but left the game in the seventh inning with the Trojans trailing 3-2. Klumpp ended up taking a no decision after UALR tied the game at 3-all in the bottom half, despite holding the second-place Privateers to seven hits and three runs, with nine strikeouts and no walks, over 6.2 innings of work.
UALR led 2-1 after six innings, but the Privateers rallied for two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth on their way to the 6-3 win. Jake Henderson (6-1) picked up the win in relief of starter Justin Garcia by holding UALR to one hit and one run in 2.0 innings of work. Ryan O'Shea went the final 1.1 innings to pick up his 12th save of the year, retiring all four batters he faced (with two strikeouts).
The Trojan pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts and no walks in the loss, while UNO's hurlers totaled nine strikeouts and seven walks. UALR stranded 10 runners and managed just five hits in the loss, with only one hit over the final three innings.
Garcia came into the game having issued just eight walks in 62.1 innings pitched, but opened the bottom of the second by walking junior Greg McCarthy and sophomore Brad Swiderski. With two on and no outs, however, Garcia came back to strike out the next three batters he faced and escape the jam.
UALR got to Garcia in the fourth inning, though, as a single through the left side by McCarthy and a double by Swiderski off the wall in left, led to a pair of runs for the Trojans. With runners on second and third with one out, junior Kody Kroll scored McCarthy from third with a well placed squeeze bunt. Swiderski then made it a 2-0 game when he scored from third on a sacrifice fly by junior Jared Powell.
Klumpp coasted over the first five innings, following up a leadoff single by Ryan Eden in the top of the first by retiring 15-straight Privateers (seven by strikeout). Klumpp's run finally came to end in the sixth when Mark McGonigle opened the frame with a leadoff double to left. McGonigle moved up to third on a fly ball and scored UNO's first run when Eden singled up the middle.
Down 2-1, the Privateers manufactured two runs in the top of the seventh to take their first lead of the game. After a single to right by Joey Butler, UNO called on Nick Mitchell to pinch hit, and he delivered a run-scoring double to left. Butler took third on the play off an errant throw, and gave UNO a 3-2 lead when he scored from third on a groundout by McGonigle.
The Trojans answered in the bottom half, scratching across a run to tie the game at 3-all. Senior Nick DeSanctis reached base after being hit by a pitch, and junior Matt Apfel followed with a single through the left side. The duo moved up on a wild pitch by Henderson, with DeSanctis scoring the tying run on a RBI groundout by senior Robert Taylor.
UNO's loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth off junior Clay Rominger, as each of their first three batters reached base. Senior Steve Gilgenbach came on in relief of Rominger with the bags full and no outs, but an infield single by T.J. Baxter and an ensuing throwing error allowed two runs to come across. Leading 5-3, Mitchell plated Josh Vander Hey with a sacrifice fly to center to bring the game to its 6-3 finale.
The two teams return to action tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. for the final contest of a three-game Sun Belt Conference series.
