ULM Warhawks

The Warhawks sent the tying run to the plate with nobody out in the top of the ninth inning after pinch hitter Jordy Poche led off the frame with a single up the middle and pinch hitter Caleb Knox was hit by a pitch. A double play erased one of the runners, but a walk to Les Aulds once again brought the tying run to the plate. Collin Cargill came out of the bullpen to record the final out and pick up the save.

The Warhawks jumped on Southern Miss starter Jonathan Thompson right out of the gate with back-to-back singles by Aulds and Judd Edwards. Following a strikeout, Joey Rapp hammered a 1-0 offering from Thompson deep out of the park in left field to give ULM a 3-0 advantage.

Edwards and Rapp both finished with a pair of hits while Aulds and Corben Green hit safely for the fifth time in five games this season.  Tyler Koelling and Isaac Rodriguez led the Golden Eagles (4-0) with three hits each.

Southern Miss responded right away in its half of the first. Following a lead-off walk and an infield single, a wild pitch put both runners in scoring position, who then scored on a weak grounder and a sacrifice fly.

USM took the lead in the bottom of the second with three runs on just two hits. Another lead-off walk followed by a double to right-center by Rodriguez tied the game at 3-3. A ULM throwing error allowed another run to score and an RBI single by Chase Folwer closed out the inning.

A two-out single by Koelling extended the Southern Miss fourth inning and one-batter later B.A. Vollmuth was credited with a triple when ULM center fielder Matt Laird slipped on the warning track trying to corral his fly ball. The lead swelled to 8-3 in the fifth when Rodriguez had an RBI single and Dillon Day stole home on a bang-bang play.

Rapp reached for the third time in as many plate appearances with a one-out walk in the sixth inning. A throwing error allowed Rapp to reach second and Kelvin York drove him home with a single down the line in left to close the gap to 8-4.

Edwards led off the eighth with a single to left center and came around to score on a two-out double by Green.

Thompson (1-0) picked up the win for the Golden Eagles. He scattered six hits over 6.2 innings of work, while allowing four runs -- three earned -- and striking out six.

James Jones (0-1) was charged with the loss for the Warhawks (2-3) after he allowed six runs -- five earned -- on six hits over four innings of work. He struck out two and walked two before handing the ball off to the ULM bullpen.

The Warhawks travel to Natchitoches, La., this weekend for the Northwestern State Invitational. ULM opens play against Stephen F. Austin at 2:30 p.m. on Friday before taking on former Sun Belt Conference foe New Orleans on Saturday at 11 a.m. and host Northwestern State on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.