Mach’s grand slam vaults UNO to series opening win over HCU

NEW ORLEANS – Dylan Mach hit a seventh inning grand slam and the New Orleans Privateers outlasted the HCU Huskies 9-7 in the series opener on Friday night at Maestri Field.

DECISIONS
Nolan Daniel pitched the inning before the Privateers went ahead and got his second win of the season. Tim Ewald took the loss to drift to 0-2. Jacob Mead earned his second save of the week after he recorded the last six outs.

New Orleans entered the seventh inning trailing 6-5 and had been either tied or behind for the majority of the game to that point. However, a Huskies miscue when a ball scooted between the legs of Cash McNicholas set the stage.

Miguel Useche drew a walk then Anthony Herron Jr. was hit by the first pitch he saw from reliever, Javan Smitherman. That’s when Mach came up and crushed a 1-0 pitch down the left field line to put the Privateers ahead 9-6.

OH MY WORD! DYLAN MACH WITH THE GO-AHEAD GRAND SLAMMMMMMMMMMMM. SCENEEEEES IN NEW ORLEANS!

Hey @ESPNAssignDesk, meet @mach_dylan. You'll love him.#SCTop10 #SCTop10 #SCTop10 #SCTop10 #SCTop10#EarnedEveryDay x @PrivateersBSB pic.twitter.com/XwJOm7jFBP

— Southland Conference (@SouthlandSports) May 6, 2023

However, HCU pushed New Orleans to the end. The first two men got on via a single and an error. With runners on first and third and no outs, Samuel Benjamin came to the plate who had hit a three-run homer back in the first.

Mead though induced a double play ball that cleared the bases. He then got a ground out from Reed Chumley’s bat to end an eventful game.

The Privateers battled back from a 3-0 deficit after the first inning to tie the game at 3-3. Jorge Tejeda delivered his first career triple with the bases loaded. Herron then hit a two-run single in the third to give New Orleans their first lead of the night.

HCU had a quick response though when Trent Baker hit a two-run homer to level the score at 5-5. The Huskies went back ahead narrowly with a sixth inning RBI single when Damian Ruiz singled to left center.

The bullpen was the story in some key spots though for the Privateers as they moved back to an even .500 in conference play at 8-8. HCU is now two games back at 6-10.

INSIDE THE BOX
Ryan Delorbe threw 2.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts as the first call out of the pen. Mead lowered his ERA to 0.55 after giving up no earned runs in two innings. Herron and Mitchell Sanford each had two hits on the night. Useche drew four walks, one shy of the program’s single game record.

Ruiz and Austin Roccaforte combined for six hits and three runs. McNicholas was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

NEXT UP
The second game of the series has been moved to a 6 p.m. start on Saturday, a call that was made because of the threat of inclement weather during the early afternoon hours.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow @PrivateersBSB on Twitter, @PrivateersBSB on Instagram, like Privateers Baseball on Facebook and subscribe to the UNOPrivateers YouTube channel.