NEW ORLEANS – Luther Woullard had a monster day with seven RBI to help lead the New Orleans Privateers (1-0) back from an early deficit in a 10-5 win over the Southern Jaguars on Saturday at Maestri Field.
FOUR FOR FOUR
Woullard went 4-for-5 and all of his hits made tremendous impact. His first was an RBI triple that helped spur a three-run inning to get the Privateers back on level terms in the third inning after facing a 4-1 deficit.
An RBI double in the fourth gave the Privateers their first lead of the day. Then with New Orleans protecting a 5-4 lead, Woullard was up as a wild pitch advanced both runners up a station to second and third. Woullard took a full count pitch over the left field fence to extend the lead to four. He capped off his day with a two-run blast in the eighth.
GAME FLOW
Chris Turpin (1-0) settled in and filled up the zone in his time on the mound. Turpin threw six innings and allowed one hit over his final three frames. He threw 78 pitches, 55 of which went for strikes. Kyle Khachadourian got out of a big spot in the seventh. With runners on second and third, Khachadourian got to pop outs to second to squash the threat. The Jaguars had one more go at it with the tying run on base and two outs. Collin Kulivan came in out of the pen to strike out Judah Wilbur on four pitches. Kulivan came back out for the ninth to pick up the save, his second as a Privateer.
SMASHING SUCCESS
Beau Bratton hit a towering two-run home run as part of a 2-for-5 day at the plate. Kasten Furr and Darren Willis combined for four hits and three runs scored. Gaige Howard also scored two runs. Jorge Tejeda’s RBI double in the second got the scoring started for the Privateers.
NOTES-The seven RBI was the most in a game by a Privateer since Tristan Clarke against Alcorn State on Mar. 4, 2017.
-New Orleans is now 24-4 against Southern in games at home.
-Saturday marked the second time since 2010 the Privateers scored double digit runs in a season opener.
NEXT UP: The series closes with a doubleheader on Sunday. First pitch for the first game is at 11 a.m.
{Press release courtesy of UNO Athletics}