UNO splits twinbill Saturday with Youngstown State

NEW ORLEANS – Tyler Bischke hit a walk-off two-run single as the New Orleans Privateers rallied for an 8-7 win in 10 innings in the first game of a doubleheader against the Youngstown State Penguins on Saturday at blustery Maestri Field. The Penguins held on for a 3-2 victory in the nightcap.

GAME ONE
Up against it late, the Privateers rallied back from down two in the bottom of the 10th for an 8-7 victory. New Orleans pounced on closer, Nathan Ball in the final frame.

The table was set ahead of the winning hit when Miguel Useche, Issac Williams and Jeissy De la Cruz combined for two singles and a walk. Then, Andrew Duran, in a pinch hitting role, bounced a single through the left side scoring a run.

That’s when Bischke came to the plate and after taking the first pitch for a ball, he singled up the middle scoring Williams and De la Cruz to secure the come-from-behind victory in the Privateers’ first extra inning game this season.

Tod Gauthe (1-0) picked up the win while Ball (0-2) was charged with the loss.

Kyle Khachadourian allowed one earned run in 4.1 innings of relief. Bischke collected four hits on the game while Amani Larry went 3-for-5 with a double, three RBI and a run scored.

GAME TWO
The nightcap was not as kind to the Privateers as their ninth inning rally was stopped by a diving catch from Penguins shortstop, Seth Lucero which secured at least a split from the Ohio visitors.

Travis Perry (1-1) picked up the win after seven solid inning with just one run allowed. Perry did not allow a baserunner through the first four frames. Brandon Mitchell (0-1) took the loss as he allowed two runs in six innings with a season-high seven strikeouts.

The Penguins struck first when they scored on an Eli Brown RBI groundout in the second inning. Steven D’Eusanio’s RBI single in the sixth pushed the lead to 2-0. New Orleans got on the board in the bottom of the frame when Larry’s sac fly to right scored Jorge Tejeda.

Trailing 3-1 in the ninth, Anthony Herron Jr. singled back up the middle and Useche doubled to left. With the tying run in scoring position an RBI groundout from Williams scored Herron and moved Useche 90 feet away from tying the game.

De la Cruz got a hold of one on an 0-1 count but Lucero sprawled out for the catch to preserve the win for the Penguins. Nick Perez earned his first save of the year.

NEXT UP
The series closes with a first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.

NEXT UP
The Privateers will head to Fort Worth next Friday and Saturday to take part in the TCU Tournament against the host, Horned Frogs, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, ULM and Arizona State.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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