MONROE,
La.-Arkansas State scored
in each of the first seven innings and Andy Ferguson was strong on the
mound as
the Red Wolves defeated ULM 15-3 in game one of a three-game Sun Belt
Conference series at Warhawk Field.
The Red Wolves
(19-11, 9-4 Sun
Belt) plated eight of their 15 runs with two outs, including five of the
first
seven. Ryan Emery had five hits while Michael Faulkner and Giovanni
Garcia both had
four hits to lead Arkansas State's 21-hit attack. Ferguson
(3-2) allowed three runs, all in the
eighth inning, on nine hits in 7 1/3 innings of work to pick up the win
for
Arkansas State.
Judd Edwards, Josh
Gill and
Jarrett Hammond all had two hits for the Warhawks (12-18, 3-7). Edwards
and
Gill hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the eighth inning -
both were
the first home runs of their ULM careers.
Following a leadoff
double on
a check swing by Faulkner, James Jones induced a pair of weak fly balls
to left
field. Todd Baumgartner, Emery and Kyle DeGrace then put together a trio
of RBI
singles around a walk to give the Red Wolves an early 3-0 lead.
Faced with a tight
strike
zone, Jones walked three straight batters in the second inning,
including one
with the bases loaded as ASU scored a pair in the frame. Garcia and
Jordan
Castaldo had back-to-back base hits to score runs in the third.
Faulkner added an
RBI-single
between first and second with two outs in the fourth. Emery extended the
lead
out to 10-0 with a pair of run-scoring singles back up the middle in the
fifth
and sixth.
The Warhawks loaded
the bases
with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning on a single between
third and
short by Edwards, a double to right-center field by Gill and a walk to
Hammond.
However, Ferguson got Perry Smith to groundout to end the threat.
ULM broke through
in the eighth
with the back-to-back blasts from Edwards and Gill. Hammond chased
Ferguson
with a single to left and Smith was hit by a pitch by new Arkansas State
pitcher Daniel Wright. Shane Ardoin loaded the bases with an infield
single and
Wright hit Kelvin York to drive home the third run of the frame.
The Red Wolves
added three
more in the top of the ninth to set the final margin.
Jones (3-3)
suffered the loss for the Warhawks after allowing eight runs on 10 hits.
He
struck out three batters in his three innings of work and walked five.
All three
of ULM pitchers suffered with the strike zone as they issued 12 walks as
a
staff.
The Warhawks and
Red Wolves
continue the three-game series Saturday at 4 p.m. on Military Day
sponsored by
the National Guard. All military
personnel in uniform or with a military ID will be admitted free to the
game.
The Warhawks will wear limited edition camouflage jerseys and fans will
have an
opportunity to purchase them during and after the game as they are
auctioned
off.
