MONROE, La. – New Orleans used a pair of 3-run innings to build a lead and then pull away from ULM for an 8-2 win Friday night at Warhawk Field.
 
It marked the seventh-consecutive loss for ULM (1-7) following a season-opening 1-0 win over Southern Illinois on Feb. 18. Two UNO left-handed pitchers, Brandon Mitchell and Tyler LeBlanc, limited ULM to just two runs, both in the fourth inning, on three hits. The Privateers scored eight runs on 10 hits.
 
LeBlanc (3-0) came on with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth inning and proceeded to retire the next 10 batters he faced and retired 16 of the final 18 batters of the game to earn the win. He allowed no runs on no hits with one walk and eight strikeouts, with seven strikeouts looking. Mitchell allowed two runs on three hits with three walks and one strikeout in 3 2/3 innings in the start.
 
"It's embarrassing right now," ULM head coach Michael Federico said. "We're not a very good offensive team. We're not grinding at bats out. He just kept shoving fastballs in to our righties. He has a very talented arm. I'm not going to discredit him. He was really dominating. We had no approach to it."
 
UNO took the 3-0 lead in the third inning as Pearce Howard's RBI single brought home Jeissy De La Cruz, Anthony Herron Jr.'s sacrifice fly scored Kasten Furr and Miguel Useche's two-out RBI double scored Howard. The Privateers added a run in the fourth on De La Cruz's RBI single to plate Jorge Tejeda.
 
ULM's only offensive outburst came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Junior Austin Beech led off with a double down the left field line. Sophomore Michelle Artzberger laid down a bunt, and Mitchell's throw to third to try and throw out Beech was high and not in time. Sophomore Chase DeJean followed with a single to left to plate Beech, cutting the gap to 4-1. After junior Travis Washburn's sacrifice bunt moved runners to second and third, sophomore Gus Freeman was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Sophomore Carson Jones popped up to shallow right field, but the ball dropped in, allowing Artzberger to score to get within two, 4-2. Freeman was thrown out at second base on the play. After senior Trace Henry had two hits toward right barely drift foul, he walked to load the bases again. LeBlanc came out of the bullpen to force Holt to fly out to center to end the inning.
 
"Again, we had opportunities with runners on base and we don't get the hit," Federico said. "We don't execute, really, anything from the offensive standpoint. It's frustrating. We've got to do some soul searching for sure."
 
The game was scoreless to the eighth inning, when UNO added three more runs. Isaac Williams scored on De La Cruz's RBI groundout and two runs scored on Kasten Furr's infield single with two outs. Two errors in the ninth inning allowed another run to score.
 
"We're just a very, very bad baseball team right now from the fifth inning on," Federico said. "We're giving up runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth inning a lot. We're not playing defense. It's absolutely embarrassing with this beautiful field that we have. We owe more to the university and to this program to be playing better defensively."
 
ULM starting pitcher Cam Barlow (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts in five innings.
 
"He was up in the zone a bit tonight," Federico said. "Normally he gets that arm-side fastball called for a strike. I thought he located it really well. He gave us a chance. He didn't have his best stuff, but he still gave us a chance down by two, 4-2. I'll take that any day of the week."
 
Freeman, Beech and DeJean had the hits for ULM. Furr, Tyler Bischke and De La Cruz had two hits each for UNO, while De La Cruz added three RBIs.
 
The series continues at 2 p.m. Saturday at Warhawk Field.