MONROE, La.-Kelvin
York hit a two-out,
two-run, walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally ULM
past
New Orleans 16-15 on Sunday afternoon at Warhawk Field as the teams
battled 30
degree temperatures and snow flurries all game. The Warhawks scored
three runs
in both the eighth and ninth innings to win for the ninth time in the
last 10
games against their in-state rival.
York finished the
game with a
career-high seven RBIs on a career-best four hits. His game-winning
double was
the first extra-base hit of the season for the junior right fielder.
Trailing 15-13
heading into
the bottom of the ninth inning, the Warhawks (9-10, 3-3 Sun Belt) took
advantage
of a pair of walks and pieced together two hits to claim the victory and
win
the series. Boomer Blanchard drew a lead-off walk and was replaced at
first
when Nick Wade grounded into a fielder's choice. Judd Edwards singled to
left
and Josh Gill walked to load the bases.
Wade scored on a
wild pitch by
Kevin DeGrouttola, who entered the game in the top of the ninth, to pull
the
Warhawks within one, 15-14. Following a foul out, York stepped to the
plate
already 3-for-5 with five RBIs on the game. The junior from Gonzales,
La.,
hammed a 2-2-pitch from DeGrouttola down the line in left to allow
Edwards and
Gill to score easily on the play.
York's seven RBIs
were the
most by a ULM player since Dexter Fontenot, also a Gonzales native,
posted the
same number against Middle Tennessee in 2008.
Josh Chappell and
Edwards
joined York in the four-hit department on the day for the Warhawks -
both career
highs - as ULM belted out a season-high 21 hits as a team. Wade finished
2-for-5 with three RBIs, while Caleb Clowers and Shane Ardoin each had a
pair
of hits in four plate appearances.
After UNO scored
twice in the
top of the eighth to grab a 14-10 lead, the Warhawks pulled within one
with
three in the bottom of the frame. Edwards led off the inning with a
single and
moved to third on a double by Gill. Chappell plated Edwards with on
single to
left and York singled back up the middle to clear the bases.
Gill (1-0) worked
the final
inning and a third on the mound for the Warhawks to pick up his first
career
victory. He allowed one unearned run in the top of the ninth inning and
struck
out two. DeGrouttola (0-2) was charged with the loss after blowing the
save -
it was the third time in six league games that UNO lost in its
opponent's final
at-bat.
Mike Petello
finished the game
3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored to pace the UNO offensive
attack.
Nolan Church was 2-for-3 with four runs scored and Kevin Berry was
2-for-4 with
a pair of RBIs.
UNO scored twice in
the top
half of the first and second innings, but the Warhawks answered each
time
plating three in the first and five in the second.
The Privateers tied
the game
with four runs on just one hit in the top of the third taking advantage
of
three walks, a hit batter, a pair of passed balls and a wild pitch.
Petello put
UNO up 10-8 with a two-run double to left in the top of the fourth
inning.
After UNO added
another run in
the fifth, the Warhawks pulled within one, 11-10, thanks to an RBI
double by Clowers
and a run-scoring single by Wade.
Church led off the
sixth with
a home run to left and the Privateers added two more in the eighth to
increase
their lead to 14-10.
ULM travels to
Texas-Arlington
on Tuesday for its lone mid-week game of the season before heading to
Bowling
Green, Ky., for a three-game Sun Belt series against Western Kentucky
over the
weekend.
