Stephen F. Austin
New Orleans
Pair of UNO Grand Slams Dooms ‘Jacks on Friday Night
3/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
New Orleans 19, Stephen F. Austin 11
Jaycees Field • Nacogdoches, Texas
Records: SFA (9-10, 0-4 SLC); UNO (14-4, 3-1 SLC)
Up Next: UNO • Saturday, March 19 • 2:00 p.m.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin baseball team jumped in front early but couldn’t keep up with New Orleans after a pair of grand slams on Friday night at Jaycees Field. The two teams combined for 37 hits but the Privateers prevailed in the slugfest, 19-11, with 13 runs in the final two innings.
The heart of the Lumberjack lineup was solid all night, as the four through seven hitters provided all 11 of the SFA RBI. Kyle Thornell led the way with four runs driven in on a 2-for-6 night at the plate. Conner Fikes went 4-for-6 with two RBI, Garrett McMullen also drove in a pair and Zach Michener tallied three RBI on three hits in the contest.
Shortstop Tyler Kendrick went 3-for-4 with two runs from the top of the SFA order.
McMullen opened the scoring with a two-run single up the middle in the first inning to score Kendrick and Nick Ramos. Michener popped one out to right field later in the frame for an RBI single to send McMullen around, giving SFA a 3-0 lead.
The Privateers cut that advantage to 3-2 with a single run in the second and third innings.
In the bottom of the third, Fikes and Michener teamed up for back-to-back solo shots over the right field wall. Almost identical in trajectory and location, the two bombs extended the ‘Jack advantage to 5-2.
UNO took over control at 6-5 with four runs off a Hezekiah Randolph grand slam in the fifth inning, but SFA answered right back with a two-spot in the bottom half. Zach Valenzuela walked and Kendrick reached on an infield single before Thornell ripped a two-run single into left field.
The newly established 7-6 cushion for SFA was erased by 13 unanswered UNO runs in the eighth and ninth innings. The Privateers scored four in the eighth and nine in the ninth to go up 19-7. UNO’s second grand slam of the day came in the eighth by Dakota Dean.
The ‘Jacks would get four back in the bottom of the ninth to cap the scoring at 19-11. Thornell, Fikes and Michener drove in runs during the final period.
SFA and UNO will play game two of the three-game set on Saturday afternoon beginning at 2:00 p.m.
-SFA-
