BOCA RATON, Fla.?Boomer
Blanchard and Matt Laird had three hits and a home run each to lead ULM to an
11-4 victory over Florida Atlantic Saturday afternoon at FAU Stadium to even
the Sun Belt Conference series at a game each.
Blanchard was 3-for-4 with a
pair of walks and scored four times at the top of the ULM (14-11, 5-6 Sun Belt)
lineup. Jon Prevost added a 2-for-4 afternoon for the Warhawks, while Laird was
3-for-4 with three RBIs.
Ryan McMillan drove in three
runs and Matt Collins plated a pair as ULM scored its most runs in conference
play this season.
Justin Anderson (4-1) threw a
career-high six innings to pick up the win for the Warhawks. The junior
southpaw allowed just two runs ? one earned ? on seven hits. Blake Jones earned
his first save of the season tossing the final three innings allowing a pair of
unearned runs on three hits.
Dating back to ULM's 9-2
victory at Southern Miss on Tuesday afternoon, the Warhawks have used just five
pitchers in the last three games.
The Warhawks chased Florida
Atlantic ace Barry Rooks after he recorded just a pair of outs in the opening frame.
ULM plated three runs on three hits off Rooks, who entered the game with a 3-0
record and a team-best 3.03 ERA (among all players with a start).
Blanchard led off the game
with a single to left and came home to score the game's first run on a fielder's
choice by Collins. Ben Soignier, who reached on an error, scored on a balk by
Rooks and Collins scored on a Laird single to right field to give the Warhawks
a 3-0 lead.
McMillan gave the Warhawks a
5-0 lead in fourth inning with a bases loaded fielder's choice to score
Blanchard, who walked for the second time on the day. Prevost, who also walked,
came around to score as the throw by second baseman William Block sailed to the
wall.
The Owls (15-8, 4-6) had their
first true threat as they loaded the bases with just one out in the bottom of
the fifth inning, but Anderson got leadoff hitter David Wilson to ground into a
5-4-3 inning-ending double play.
The Warhawks kept the pressure
on plating three more runs in the sixth inning. Blanchard and Prevost reached
on back-to-back singles and a walk to Soignier loaded the bases for McMillan
for the second time. The senior answered the call with a single to right field
to score a pair and increase the lead to 7-0. Collins made it an 8-0 game with
a sacrifice fly to right field.
Florida Atlantic thought it
was out of the inning as Nick Wade grounded to shortstop Nick DelGuidice, but
the sophomore overthrew Block at second to allow McMillan to score.
The Owls finally cracked the
scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by DelGuidice to left
field. Tom Hatcher also came home to score on the play as the throw into third
base was wild. FAU got a pair in the eighth after a ULM error prolonged the
inning.
Blanchard and Laird hit solo
home runs in the seventh and ninth innings, respectively. Blanchard's home run
was his sixth of the season and fifth in the last nine games, while Laird's
blast was his fourth of the year.
Rooks (3-1) took the loss for
the Owls and was one of five pitchers used by Florida Atlantic on the day.
The rubber game on Sunday has
been moved up to a 10 a.m. (CDT) start time due to the threat of inclement weather
in the Boca Raton area. The game will be broadcast live on 540 AM instead of
the usual 1680 AM due to the time change ? the game will also be available
worldwide at ulmathletics.com.
