ULM (23-31, 10-20 in 2018) opens the 2019 baseball season with Military Appreciation Weekend at LSU, starting Friday evening. The Warhawks open the season by facing the No. 2 Tigers on Friday night at 7 p.m., and finish out the weekend against Air Force at 6 p.m. Saturday and Army at 11 a.m. Sunday.
ULM Game Notes
The Warhawks return four starters from last season's squad. Senior utility player
Chad Bell leads the way among the returners. Bell started all 54 games for ULM last season. He was second on the team last spring with a .283 batting average. Bell led the team with 13 doubles, seven home runs, three triples and 40 RBIs.
ULM returns three other starters from last season in senior infielder
Joey Jordan (.262 in 48 games), senior first baseman and outfielder
Brendan Jordan (.240 in 48 games) and senior infielder
Braedon Barrett (.235 in 53 games). Barrett and
Joey Jordan tied for the team lead in steals with 12, while Barrett was tied for second on the team with five home runs.
Senior outfielder
Cade Harper is the only other position player to return from the 2018 squad. Harper played in 33 games last year with 16 starts while hitting a pair of doubles with a home run and 12 RBIs. Junior infielder
Blake Buckman also returns for ULM after redshirting the 2018 season.
On the mound, the Warhawks return senior starting pitcher
Trey Jeans. Jeans led the Warhawks in several categories, including wins (tie - 3), starts (14), innings pitched (62.1) and strikeouts (67). He threw six innings in two starts last season, giving up three runs on four hits while striking out 11 against Northern Kentucky (2/23/18), and tossing six shutout innings against Appalachian State with just three hits and five strikeouts (4/21/18).
In the bullpen, senior
Miles Dunn is the top returner, posting a 4-1 record with a 4.28 ERA over 29 appearances and 40.0 innings in 2018. Dunn posted 24 strikeouts to three walks. The Warhawks also return junior
Cole Gray along with seniors Kole Childress and
Richard Hebert. The trio made a combined 50 appearances out the bullpen with 75.2 innings pitched.
ULM has 27 newcomers in 2019, with 25 of those newcomers being transfers. ULM turns to Mississippi State transfer and senior
Jacob Barton as its opening night starting pitcher.
Kayleb Sanderson is slated to start on Sunday. Jeans is scheduled to start Saturday vs. Air Force.
Barton, a right-handed pitcher out of Mangham, La., redshirted the 2018 season while sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules. Barton last pitched for Mississippi State in 2017, where he made 23 relief appearances for the Bulldogs. He threw 37.0 innings on the season, and tossed 4.2 shutout innings on Opening Day against Texas Tech. Barton also pitched two seasons at LSU-Eunice, and was part of the national championship team for the Bengals as a freshman. His brother, Justin, is a left-handed pitcher for ULM. Barton will face off with LSU right-hander Zack Hess.
Jeans finished 2018 with a 3-5 record and 5.20 ERA over 62.1 innings. He made 15 appearances, with 14 starts, on the mound. Jeans struck out 67 batters on the season to 40 walks. He will meet up with Air Force starting right-hander Matt Hargreaves.
Sanderson, out of Omaha, Neb., played the last two seasons at Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Neb. The right-hander had a dominant sophomore season with the Storm in 2018, compiling a 9-1 record with a 2.44 ERA over 66.1 innings pitched. He picked up 91 strikeouts to just 13 walks on the season, helping to push Southeast to a 43-15 record and a Region IX championship. Sanderson will square off with Army right-handed pitcher Sam Messina.
Friday marks the 45th all-time meeting between ULM and LSU. The Tigers lead the series 39-5. The two teams have not met since the 2012 Baton Rouge NCAA Regional, with LSU winning a first-round meeting 4-1. It also marks the first regular season meeting between the two teams since March 9, 2010, when the then top-ranked Tigers picked up an 18-7 win over ULM.
The Warhawks have visited Baton Rouge in each of their last four NCAA Tournament appearances, meeting LSU four times. LSU defeated ULM 4-1 in 2012, 21-0 and 5-3 in 2000, and 11-4 in 1999. ULM also played in the Baton Rouge regional in 1995, but lost to Cal State-Fullerton and Central Michigan.
ULM last beat LSU in 2001, earning a 7-6 decision in Baton Rouge on Feb. 14. Since then, LSU has won 10 straight meetings with ULM.
Saturday's game vs. Air Force and Sunday's game with Army marks the first-ever meetings with the two academies. ULM has never matched up with any of the three service academies on the baseball field.
The Warhawks have won their last two season openers, picking up an 8-3 win at Dallas Baptist in 2017, and winning head coach
Michael Federico's debut last season, 4-3 in 10 innings over Eastern Illinois. It was the first of two wins on Opening Day 2018, with the Warhawks sweeping the doubleheader in game two, 7-6. ULM is 35-33 all-time in season-openers.
This weekend marks the third time in the last four seasons the Warhawks have played opening weekend away from Monroe. ULM dropped two out of three games at Southeastern Louisiana and Dallas Baptist in 2016 and 2017, respectively. ULM last took 2-of-3 away from Monroe on opening weekend at UTSA in 2012, and last swept away from Monroe at Nicholls State in 2008.
For links to live video, audio and stats, visit the
baseball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.
