MONROE, La. - Hot offense and steady play in
the field led the ULM baseball team to an 11-7 win and two-game series sweep of
Memphis Wednesday night at Warhawk Field.
With the victory, the Warhawks improved to
4-0 against Conference USA in 2012. ULM
is also unbeaten in its four home weekday contests this season.
Memphis (5-8) took a quick 2-0 lead off ULM
starter Alex Hermeling in the top half of the opening inning. Leadoff hitter Adam McClain drew a four-pitch
walk, then came all the way around to score on a double down the left field
line by Carter White for the first Tiger run of the game. Eli Hynes sent a 3-2 offering back up the
middle to plate White with nobody out. Hermeling
responded by forcing Jacob Wilson to fly out and T.J. Rich to ground into a
4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
The Warhawks (9-5) responded with a five-run
surge in the bottom of the third frame to chase starting pitcher Erik
Schoenrock (0-1). Caleb Clowers rapped a
two-run single through the left side, scoring Logan Fiasco and Brandon Alexander
to tie the game at 2-2. Joey Rapp
followed with a sharp single down the right field line to bring around Clowers
and Les Aulds and take a 4-2 lead. ULM
added a run on a Corben Green sacrifice fly to push the advantage to 5-2.
Cale Wine (2-1) entered in the top half of
the fourth inning in relief of Hermeling, and promptly struck out Ford Wilson
looking. Colton Simbeck scored from third
base on a passed ball by the catcher Fiasco two batters later to draw within
two runs at 5-3. Wine forced McClain to
ground out to second to cap the threat.
The Warhawks kept the pressure on in the
bottom of the fifth, as a fielding error on Memphis second baseman Zach Willis
moved Rapp to third base and Green to second with no outs. Alexander ripped a two-run single off pitcher
Clayton Gant to bring both runners home and up the Warhawk lead to 7-3. An infield base hit from Jeremy Sy extended
the cushion to 8-3.
Sy and Fiasco each paced ULM with two base
hits apiece, while Rapp and Alexander each added two RBIs. Aulds stole a career-high three bases.
Wine motored through the Memphis lineup 1-2-3
in the top of the sixth inning, as a soft liner to Sy at shortstop off the bat
of Ford Wilson sat the visitors down in order.
Hynes sparked the Tigers in the top half of
the seventh on a hard hit double to center field off Logan Dopson, scoring
White from second to bring the score within four runs (8-4). A shallow flyout to Aulds in left field by
Jacob Wilson halted the Memphis momentum.
Kendall Thamm entered with the bases full of
Tigers in the top of the eighth inning and made short work of Willis on a three-pitch
strikeout for out number two. McClain
fought off a series pitches against the ULM southpaw and drew the count to 2-2,
but Thamm forced him to swing through a fastball to escape the jam and preserve
a five-run lead (9-4).
Trent Lucas drove in his first career run on
a sacrifice fly to deep left field, scoring Rapp and extending the ULM
advantage to 10-4. A sharp shot up the
middle by Fiasco drove Edwards home from third base and upped the Warhawk lead
to 11-4.
Memphis added three runs in the top half of
the ninth inning on a pair of home runs off reliever Devin Malone. Wil Browning emerged from the bullpen and
struck out Simbeck on a nasty breaking ball for the frame's second out. Browning retired Ethan Gross swinging to end
the ballgame.
Hynes led all hitters with a 4-for-5 night at
the plate, driving in four runs. White
added two hits and three runs scored.
Schoenrock allowed five earned runs in his 2.2 innings to take his first
loss of the season.
The Warhawks travel to Tennessee for a
three-game set this weekend. First pitch
on Friday is set for 5 p.m. The game can
be heard live on Talk 540 AM and ulmwarhawks.com.
