TROY, Ala. -- For the second consecutive weekend, the University of New Orleans headed into a Sunday with brooms in hand. But for the second straight time, the Privateers suffered some breakdowns as Troy salvaged an 11-7 win at Riddle-Pace Field.
UNO struggled with three errors that led to five unearned runs as the Privateers (16-9, 5-6 Sun Belt Conference) could not pull off a league weekend sweep for the second consecutive Sunday.
Center fielder Bryan Miller went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, and Stephen Felix went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run for the Trojans (17-10, 6-3). Drew Hull (3-0) got the win in relief of starter Ryan Ellison, who lasted 4 1/3 innings.
UNO's Ryan Eden went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored, and T.J. Baxter, Johnny Giavotella and Nick Schwaner each had two hits. Stephen Whalen (2-3) got the loss after giving up seven runs (five earned) in 5 1/3 innings.
The Privateers jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI groundout in the first by Schwaner and a second-inning leadoff home run by Jeff Lanning.
UNO was only down 5-4 in the sixth inning before a five-run Troy rally ? keyed by a UNO error ? put the game away.
"We just didn't get it done defensively today," said UNO head coach Tom Walter. "Stephen Whalen deserved a better fate. He didn't have his best stuff, but if we make some of the plays that should have been made, it could have been a different ball game."
The Privateers finished with 14 hits and actually out-hit Troy 14-12. It marked the first time this season that UNO out-hit an opponent and lost.
UNO, which is 2-1-1 in SBC series this season, will get a weekend off from conference play next week. UNO will travel to Texas-Pan American for a three-game non-conference series next weekend.
The Privateers wrapped up a stretch of 10 games in 13 days, though UNO went 8-2 during the stretch.
“We have definitely had a lot of games over the last two weeks,” Walter said. “Fortunately we have just one midweek game this week, so we can get a good practice day in on Wednesday. After the way we played today, we obviously need it.”
The Privateers will host Nicholls State at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Maestri Field.
