College baseball

MAINE vs. NEW ORLEANS

Time, site: Friday, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m.; Maestri Field, New Orleans

Records: Maine 5-12, New Orleans 16-11

Series, last meeting: New Orleans leads 4-0; UNO 5-2 in 1995

Top hitters – Maine: C Myckie Lugbauer (.349, 2 HR, 8 RBI), 1B Joel Barrett (.338, 1 HR, 10 RBI), CF Billy Cather (.300, 11 RBI, 7 SB), 3B Kevin McAvoy (.299, 1 HR, 12 RBI), SS Curt Smith (.269, 8 RBI); New Orleans: 2B Johnny Giavotella (.385, 8 HR, 35 RBI), 3B T.J. Baxter (.341, 8 HR, 27 RBI), LF Joey Butler (.304, 1 HR, 5 RBI), RF Drew Anderson (.281, 8 HR, 19 RBI), Greg Wolfe (.274, 7 HR, 25 RBI)

Possible Pitching Matchups

Maine Black Bears New Orleans Privateers

ERA W-L Ks ERA W-L Ks

RH Greg Norton 8.00 2-2 14 RH Ryan O’Shea 5.80 1-2 27

LH Brad Hertzler 4.74 0-2 19 RH Justin Garcia 5.26 3-0 23

LH Nolan Boike 5.28 1-0 20 RH Bryan Cryer 4.85 3-2 33

Outlook: The Bears continue their tough non-league schedule, prepping for America East play with a series against the Privateers of the Sun Belt Conference. Maine has lost 10 of its last 11 games, while New Orleans has won four of seven. The Bears hope to streamline their starting pitching, but face a ballclub that is averaging 8 runs per game while batting .289. UNO has belted 42 home runs. Maine must limit walks and errors to avoid giving the Privateers’ power hitters a chance to clear the bases. Offensively, the Bears haven’t been able to get several hitters hot at once and thus haven’t scored to the level they are capable (5.6 rpg).