MONROE, La. - The ULM baseball team scored
two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, outlasting No. 28 Southern Mississippi
2-1 in a pitcher's duel Wednesday night at Warhawk Field.
The Golden Eagles struck early in the top of
the first, after Connor Barron reached second on a fielding error by ULM
shortstop Jeremy Sy to lead off the game.
Kameron Brunty singled up the middle to bring Barron across for the 1-0
lead. Starter Andrew Richardson picked
Brunty off first, and then forced Jared Bales to ground out to short to get out
of the inning.
Brandon Alexander singled the first pitch he
saw from Andrew Pierce (0-1) up the middle to get the ULM momentum rolling in
the bottom of the second inning. Alexander
moved into scoring position after Judd Edwards was hit by a pitch. Logan Fiasco chopped out to third base to get
Pierce out of the early jam.
Southern Miss (2-2) threatened again in the
top of the fourth. Brunty struck a sharp
double down the left field line and then advanced on a Bales single. Richardson kept the Golden Eagles off the
scoreboard as he struck out Blake Brown and got Chase Fowler to ground into the
4-6-3 double play.
ULM (4-1) woke up the bats in the bottom of
the fourth inning. Joey Rapp drove a 2-2
offering down the left field line to lead off the frame. An Alexander single gave the Warhawks men at
first and second with one man out. Pierce
forced consecutive fly outs from Taylor Abdalla and Edwards to avert the
threat.
Kendall Thamm (1-0) entered for the Warhawks
in the top of the sixth inning after Richardson allowed a single to Ashley
Graeter. Thamm struck out Brunty, picked
Graeter off first base and struck out Bales to retire the side and keep ULM
within one run.
Rapp sliced a one-out base knock to the gap
in left center to start the rally in the sixth.
Corben Green followed one hitter later, blasting a double to the corner
in right that pushed Rapp to third base.
An intentional walk to Alexander set up Abdalla with the bags full of
Warhawks. The right fielder lined the first
pitch he saw into left field, scoring Rapp to tie the game at 1-1 and chase
Pierce.
Reliever Taylor Nunez fell behind Edwards 2-1
after entering the game, but was bailed out when Edwards unintentionally hit a
ball off Abdalla's foot as he was advancing to second base. The big second out brought Fiasco to the
plate with the bases still loaded. Nunez
struck Fiasco in the shoulder on a full-count toss, bringing in Green to give
ULM a 2-1 lead.
A sharply hit ball from Fowler up the middle
looked like it was going to get through off Thamm in the seventh, but Sy laid
out to rob the Southern Miss catcher of a base knock. Thamm responded by punching out Dillon Day
for his fourth strikeout to maintain the one-run lead (2-1).
The Golden Eagles threatened in the ninth,
with Brown doubling off the center field wall to move pinch runner Andrew Furr
to third base. Thamm punched out Fowler on a 1-2 count for a big out number
two. Wil Browning entered from the
bullpen to face pinch hitter Austin Roussel, freezing Roussel on a 2-2 offering
to give the Warhawks their fourth straight win.
Rapp extended his hit streak to five games
with a 2-for-4 evening. The first
baseman has recorded multiple base hits in four of his five starts this
season. Alexander and Edwards each added
a pair of hits in the victory.
Richardson threw a strong five innings in his first start of 2012,
allowing no earned runs on five hits, striking out three.
Thamm was brilliant out of the bullpen,
striking out seven men in 3.2 innings for his first career win.
Brunty and Bales paced Southern Miss with two
base hits, with Brunty registering the team's only RBI. Pierce allowed two earned runs in 5.1 innings
to take the defeat.
ULM opens a three-game weekend series against
Sam Houston State Friday at 6 p.m. inside Warhawk Field.
