MONROE, La. - Randy Zeigler shined in his
seven innings of work and the offense provided timely run support for the ULM
baseball team in a 2-0 win over Sam Houston State in game one of a three-game non-conference
series Friday night at Warhawk Field.
Zeigler (1-1) allowed three hits, walking
only one batter and striking out eight to power the Warhawk pitching
staff. Wil Browning tossed a scoreless
ninth inning to earn his second save in as many chances. The win was the fifth straight for the
Warhawks, giving the team its best start to begin a campaign since it opened
with a 6-1 mark in 2009.
ULM (5-1) stole a season-high six bases and
drew seven walks off Bearkat pitching. Warhawk
pitchers allowed a season-low four base hits and struck out 10 Sam Houston
State hitters.
Ryan O'Hearn singled off ULM's Kendall Thamm
before stealing second to lead off the eighth inning and kick start the Bearkat
offense. Thamm responded by striking out
Corey Toups on a 3-2 offering and forcing Colt Atwood and Greg Olson to ground
out to third base and shortstop respectively, halting the Sam Houston State
(3-2) momentum. Browning retired the
side in the ninth on just 10 pitches to close out the victory.
Judd Edwards drew a full count walk against
Sam Houston State reliever Michael Oros and stole second to move into scoring
position in the bottom half of the seventh inning. Edwards then reached third on a balk by Oros
and scored on Toups' second error of the game to extend the Warhawk cushion to
two runs (2-0).
Zeigler polished off his third consecutive
1-2-3 inning as part of a scoreless top of the seventh frame. The junior left-hander did not allow a single
hit over his final 5.1 innings pitched.
Jeremy Sy reached on an error by the shortstop
Toups to open the bottom of the fifth inning, moved over to second on a stolen
base and reached third on a groundout by Les Aulds. Caleb Clowers was retired after hitting a
sharp shot on the ground to Toups, but not before Sy scored the game's first
run and gave the Warhawks a 1-0 lead.
Aulds paced ULM with a hit and two stolen
bases. Edwards reached base in all of
his plate appearances after drawing a career-high four walks. Clowers added the Warhawks' only RBI of the
evening along with his third and four steals of the season.
O'Hearn led Sam Houston State with two hits,
while Jessie Plumlee and John Hale each chipped in a base knock. Starting pitcher Cody Dickson (0-1) allowed
one hit in 5.2 innings, walking four and striking out eight to take the loss.
The series resumes Saturday at 6 p.m. at
Warhawk Field. Alex Hermeling (1-0) is
scheduled to start for ULM against Sam Houston State's Justin Jackson
(1-0). The game can be heard live worldwide
at ulmwarhawks.com.
