Feb. 24, 2007
Final Stats
Brandon Bowser's fourth inning grand slam helped New Orleans rally past Siena 10-9 in the Saints' season opener Saturday afternoon at Maestri Field. Rick Seltzer's three-run homerun in the seventh pulled the Saints within a run, but it was as close as they would get.
New Orleans jumped out to a 2-0 lead off Siena starter Craig Chaput in the first inning, scoring on a wild pitch and a Greg Wolfe home run.
The Saints erupted for five runs in the second inning, a rally highlighted by sophomore Nick Messinger's grand slam home run. Seltzer later collected his first of five RBI with a run scoring ground out.
T.J. Baxter got the Pirates back on the board with a solo homerun in the bottom of the second, but Messinger's second home run of the game put the Saints up 6-3 in the top of the third.
The lead was short lived as UNO chased Chaput from the game in the bottom of the fourth with five runs on three hits. The fifth home run of the game proved to be the most damaging as Bowser launched a bases load shot over the left field wall and when the dust settled, New Orleans took an 8-6 lead to the fifth inning.
Bowser doubled home a run in the fifth and Wolfe's second home run of the game in the sixth provided another insurance run.
With the Pirates leading 10-6, Siena mounted a rally in the seventh as Chris Klepps and Jake Willis were both hit by pitches to set the stage for Seltzer. Seltzer's opposite field shot closed the gap to 10-9, but nether team scored in its final two at bats.
Reliever Maikel Hurtado was solid in his Siena debut, pitching two scoreless innings without allowing a hit.
Willis, Michael Ambury and Moises Riviera each had two hits for Siena. David Broussard joined Bowser, Wolfe and Baxter with two hits for the Pirates.
The two teams will play the second game of their three game series Sunday at 1 p.m. The Monday series finale has been moved to a 2:30 p.m. start.
