NEW ORLEANS — The offensive lineup of Xavier University of Louisiana and left-handed pitcher Blair Frederick finally collaborated, and the result was a 9-1 victory Friday against Rust in the opener of a three-game baseball series at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
        XULA (9-3, winner of five in a row) and the Bearcats (10-10) will meet in a noon doubleheader Saturday at Barrow. XULA's starting pitchers will be Nigel Mayfield and Juwan Fitch.
        Frederick (1-2) struck out nine and allowed four hits and five walks in eight innings. Freshman LaMar Price, in his first collegiate appearance, retired all three Rust batters in the ninth.
        "I was locked in," Frederick said. "I didn't throw a lot of fastballs. Mostly I used my changeup and curve and threw a lot of strikes. I didn't have to do too much . . . just let the defense work behind me."
        XULA was errorless for just the third time this season, and on offense the Gold produced eight hits — including home runs by Tristan Rodriguez and Danny Coleman and pinch-hitter Michael Sonn's first-pitch, two-run double — eight walks and a hit batter.
        "It was beautiful to watch," XULA head coach Adrian Holloway said. "Blair was dominant, and the guys finally gave him some run support. When Blair's on and the guys play well behind him, we're pretty hard to beat."
        XULA never trailed after Courtland Posey's sacrifice fly scored Jose Fulgencio, who led off the second inning with a walk. Co Co Simoneaux's third-inning single scored Jonathan Santos to make it 2-0, then Rodriguez and Coleman homered on consecutive at-bats in the fifth to make it 5-0.
        Sonn's double occurred on his first collegiate plate appearance and was the highlight of a three-run seventh.
        XULA, the NAIA leader in stolen bases per game, swiped six to raise its total to 32 in the last four games. Courtesy runner Shane Goins and Coleman executed a double steal in the seventh that brought home Goins from third base.
        "Nine runs take a lot of pressure off of me," Frederick said. "The guys worked hard for me. When we're hitting, we're quite a ballclub."
        XULA, playing baseball for the first time since 1960, didn't hit a home run in its first eight games this season. But XULA hit seven in the past four games, three apiece by Rodriguez and Coleman.