NEW ORLEANS — Cam Finn blasted a three-run homer over the left-field wall with two out in the eighth inning Monday afternoon to lift Xavier University of Louisiana to an 8-5 baseball victory against Tougaloo at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
        The Gold Rush (3-0) rallied from 2-0 and 4-2 deficits to complete a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs (0-3).
        Finn, a freshman catcher who entered in the fourth inning, hit a 2-ball, 1-strike pitch from starter and loser Tyler Hickman (0-1) to score Eliam Dudamel, who singled after two were out, and Dillon Cousin, who walked.
        Deionte Norris (1-0), who starts at third base, got the decision as the third XULA reliever. Norris pitched the final two innings and did not allow a run.
        Tougaloo's Khilan Magee hit a two-run triple in the first inning, and teammate Matt Jones hit a pair of run-scoring singles, the second of which tied the score at 5 in the seventh.
        Courtland Posey's RBI double capped a three-run fifth and gave XULA a 5-4 lead. Posey and teammate Miles Peterson both went 3-for-4.
        XULA pitchers Joseph Semien, Ryan Kinney, Kedrick Edwards and Norris combined for 12 strikeouts. Semien, the starter, struck out six in four innings.
        XULA right-fielder D'Aires Davis produced his second assist of the series when he threw out Orlando Truss at third base in a double play that ended Tougaloo's seventh.
        This is the first 3-0 start in XULA's second era of baseball, which began in 2021. The Gold Rush outscored Tougaloo 34-11 in the series, and XULA was errorless in each game.
        XULA will resume a nine-game homestand with a three-game series against city rival Dillard at Barrow — a nine-inning game that will start at 5 p.m. Friday, then a doubleheader at noon Saturday. Dillard is in its first season of intercollegiate baseball.