MONROE, La. – The ULM baseball team stranded seven runners on the base paths Friday night while visiting Little Rock used a pair of home runs to hand the Warhawks a 5-1 loss in the teams Sun Belt series opener.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Little Rock 5, ULM 1
LOCATION: Warhawk Field / Monroe, Louisiana
RECORDS: ULM (6-17, 1-3 SBC)
Little Rock (9-13, 2-2 SBC)
TURNING POINT
-ULM left seven runners on base in the loss, including at least one runner in six different frames. The Warhawks left a runner stranded in each of the first three innings before stranding two in the sixth and then one in each of the final (three) frames.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-With the wind howling out to left field all night, Little Rock's Riley Pittman lifted a long fly ball that carried over the wall to put the visitors on the board in the top of the first. Little Rock added to the advantage with a two-run homer in the top of the fourth off the bat of Hunter Owens to extend the lead to three.
-ULM posted its only run in the bottom of the sixth on Spencer Hemphill's RBI double to plate Cade Stone, who led off the inning with a single, but the Warhawks would end the inning with two runners stranded.
-Little Rock added two final runs in the top of the eighth on Owens' two-out, two-run double.
-Three Warhawks combined for six of the teams' seven hits, as Stone, Francis and Hemphill tallied two hits each, with Hemphill notching a double for the only ULM extra base hit.
-ULM starter Josh Leone was saddled with the loss, tossing seven innings and allowing the three runs (two earned) on four hits with seven strikeouts as the Warhawks committed three errors behind him. Reliever Chase Cater finished the final two innings, allowing two runs on two hits with two strikeouts.
-Owens was the only Little Rock player with two hits as the visitors finished with six hits and left five men on base. Starter Cory Malcom finished with a complete game victory for the visitors, his second season in a row with a complete game win with over 100 pitches thrown against ULM.
UP NEXT
-The Warhawks continue the series with Little Rock on Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. first pitch before the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
