MONROE, La.?Playing
for the final time at home, ULM senior
left-hander Jared Jennings tossed his second complete game of the year leading
the Warhawks to a 8-5 victory over Troy
on Senior Day at Warhawk Field.
The victory assures the Warhawks (32-19, 20-10 Sun Belt) at
least second place in the Sun Belt Conference after they were picked to finish
eighth by the league coaches prior to the season.
ULM needs Louisiana-Lafayette (25-27,
13-14) to defeat New Orleans
(38-13, 18-8) twice next weekend to win the regular season title.
Jennings struck out nine batters and
scattered seven hits collecting his fourth victory of the season. The Shreveport,
La., native moved into a tie for second
all-time in ULM
history with 81 career appearances.
Troy (30-22, 16-11) took a 2-1 lead into
the bottom of the sixth inning, but would not leave the inning with the same
fortune.
Dexter Fontenot and A.J. Siggers hit back-to-back one-out
singles for the Warhawks and Ryan McMillan was hit by a Jeff Green fast ball to
load the bases. Following a pitching
change and a strikeout, sophomore third baseman Nick Wade hit his second career
grand slam down the line in right field off of Travis Burge. Wade now has three home runs and 12 RBIs in
the Warhawks past six games.
The Warhawk seniors made sure the lead would stick in the
seventh inning as Kyle Suire singled, Fontenot was hit by a pitch and Siggers
blasted his seventh home run of the season pushing the lead out to 8-2.
Bryan Miller pulled the Trojans within three with a
three-run home run in the eighth inning hitting the foul pole down the right
field line ? his third of the weekend.
The teams traded solo home runs early in the game with Michael
Precise putting Troy
up 1-0 with a lead-off homer in the top of the second inning and Ben Soignier
leading off the bottom of the third with his 15th homer of the
season tying the game at 1-1.
Siggers finished the game 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs and two runs
scored, while Soignier went 2-for-3 and Matt Laird was 2-for-4.
Green took the loss for Troy falling to 2-5 on the season allowing
four runs on six hits in 5.1 innings of work, while Burge was charged with four
runs on four hits in just one inning on the mound.
ULM wraps up the regular season next
week on the road traveling to Louisiana Tech on Tuesday and Creighton for a
three-game set on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Sun Belt Tournament awaits the Warhawks
upon their return from Omaha, Neb.,
on Wednesday, May 21 in Lafayette,
La.
