MONROE, La. -- Behind
a 3-for-4 effort at the plate by sophomore Justin Stawychny and 6.2 strong
innings by starter Cale Wine, ULM (1-0) posted a 9-0 victory over Wake Forest
(1-1) in the season opener Friday night at Warhawk Field.
ULM scored in the bottom of the first as Stawychny sent
the first pitch he saw over the fence in left center to give ULM a 3-0
lead. Stawychny's three-run homer was
the third homerun of his Warhawk career.
"I think we came out with a lot of energy and Justin
Stawychny got us on the board early," said head coach Jeff Schexnaider. "I thought Cale Wine did an outstanding job
in his first performance of the season and we played great defense behind him
tonight. Wake Forest made mistakes
tonight and we were able to capitalize on those and that was the difference in
the ballgame."
The Warhawks increased the lead to 6-0 with a trio of
runs in the home half of the third inning.
Chris Dudley delivered a RBI single to left center allowing Stawychny to
score his second run of the game.
Brandon Alexander and Dudley both scored (unearned) in the frame to push
the lead to six.
Wine (1-0) was dominate on the mound Friday night as he
scattered six hits during his 99-pitch outing.
He struckout five Demon Deacons while never surrendering a walk. Just three Wake Forest players moved into
scoring position during Wine's outing.
Alex Dumaine and Tyler Bray closed the door on the Demon
Deacons as they combined for four strikeouts and zero hits during the final 2.1
innings.
ULM added two runs in the fourth as Judd Edwards and
Stawychny came around to score. The
homestanding Warhawks scored their ninth and final run of the contest as
Alexander scored on a RBI groundout by Corben Green.
Stawychny finished the game a triple shy of the cycle and
added three runs and three RBI. His
three runs were a new career mark for the second-year Warhawk, while his three
RBI tied a career best.
Wake Forest starter Jack Fischer took the loss after
giving up eight runs (four earned) on six hits in four innings on the
mound. Evan Stephens and Conor Keniry
each finished 2-for-4 at the dish.
The Warhawks will return to the diamond tomorrow
evening when they host Alcorn State at 6 p.m.
The game can be heard live on 540AM (changed from 1680AM) in Monroe with
pregame beginning approximately 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
