Trent Tingelstad home run vs. LSU 2019
Hilary Scheinuk / The Baton Rouge Advocate
7
ULM ULMBSB 0-1
12
Winner LSU LSU 1-0
ULM ULMBSB
0-1
7
Final
12
LSU LSU
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
ULM ULMBSB 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 10 3
LSU LSU 2 0 2 0 0 1 2 5 X 12 10 2

W: Devin Fontenot (1-0) L: Gray, Cole (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

ULM Falls Short in Upset Bid at No. 1 LSU, 12-7

Box Score

By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist

BATON ROUGE, La. – As Alex Box Stadium started to fill on Friday night, ULM baseball players scanned the gathering crowd of 12,404 and took in the pageantry of their season-opener against top-ranked LSU.

And from the game's opening frame, the Warhawks did everything they could to ruin the event for the home team. 

Chad Bell and Trent Tingelstad came out swinging hot bats, starting pitcher Jacob Barton was solid and ULM led into the sixth inning before LSU finally broke through with a five-run eighth inning to claim a 12-7 win.

"I didn't come in here thinking we were going to lose to LSU," ULM coach Michael Federico said. "I think we've got a good club. We've got to get some guys healthy, but we went toe to toe with them for a while."

ULM (0-1) rallied to tie the score at 7-7 before the Tigers (1-0) posted their pivotal inning. The Warhawks made two costly errors in the eighth to open the floodgates.  

"They proved it, 27 outs are hard enough to get as it is," Federico said. "If you give them a few extras, anybody can win."

The teams were playing for the first time since the 2012 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. 

ULM collected 10 hits against six LSU pitchers. Tingelstad homered with two RBIs and joined Ryan Humeniuk, Cameron Horton who had two hits each for the Warhawks. Bell drove in a pair with his home run.   

Antoine Duplantis had two homers and drove in six runs for LSU, including a grand slam in the eighth. Daniel Cabrera also hit a pair of home runs and collected five RBIs for the Tigers.  

ULM hushed the bustling home crowd with a robust first inning off shaky LSU ace Zack Hess. Humeniuk drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on Tingelstad's double over the center fielder's head. Bell stepped in next and put ULM ahead 3-0 when he yanked an opposite field homer to left. 

In the bottom of the first, Josh Smith led off for LSU and reached third as ULM center fielder Jake Kaufman dropped a wind-blown fly ball for an error. Barton hit LSU's Brandt Broussard and surrendered a one-out single to Cabrera that drove in a pair of runs and made it 3-2. The Warhawks avoided further damage as Barton coaxed an inning-ending double play. 

"I was more disappointed with the early part of the game and some of the things we did," Federico said. "We gave them too many free bases." 
Tingelstad's one-out solo home run in the top of the third, a majestic arc over the fence in right, put ULM ahead 4-2. After Horton's single and an LSU error, Andrew Beesley's two-out single pushed another run across and ULM led 5-2. 

With two outs in the bottom of the third, Cabrera belted a two-run home run off Barton to pull LSU within 5-4.   

Hess lasted 3 2/3 innings for LSU after giving up six hits and five runs, with four earned. He struck out four and walked two.  

The senior Barton, making his first start for the Warhawks, pitched five innings and exited with a 5-4 lead. Barton allowed five hits, four runs with three earned and struck out three. He also hit three batters. 

"He ended up covering 15 outs, which is huge for a starting pitcher to give that and shrink the game up for the bullpen," Federico said. "We had some guys ready on the backside and didn't execute some pitches."  

Reliever Dylan Marsh came on in the top of the sixth and Cabrera greeted him with a solo home run that tied the score at 5-5. At that point Cabrera had driven in all five LSU runs. Miles Dunn got the call in the same inning with two outs and LSU runners at first and second. Dunn coaxed a flyout to Tingelstad to end the threat.

The Tigers would take their first lead at 7-5 when Duplantis roped a two-run homer off Dunn. Smith, who led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, scored on the shot out to right.     

ULM tied the game at 7 in the eighth against LSU reliever Devin Fontenot (1-0) as Humeniuk slapped a two-run single up the middle. Carson Klepzig reached on an infield error to open the inning, Nathan Miranda banged a one-out single and the runners moved up to second and third on a wild pitch to set the table. LSU abruptly stopped the uprising though when Cabrera caught a fly in left and doubled Humeniuk off at first base.  

Reliever Cole Gray (0-1) started the eighth inning for ULM and got two quick strikeouts before things went south. LSU's Brock Mathis reached on a throwing error by the shortstop Miranda, then advanced to second and third on two wild pitches – the second being ball four to Hal Hughes. ULM summoned lefty Justin Barton to face Smith and walked LSU's leadoff hitter to load the bases. With a full count and the crowd getting loud, Broussard hit a hot shot that Bell couldn't handle at third for another error and the Tigers were up again 8-7. LSU blew it open when Duplantis rocketed a grand slam into the stands in right for a 12-7 score.    

Against LSU pitcher Matthew Beck, ULM loaded the bases in the ninth on two walks and a hit batsman. But with two outs, Beck fanned pinch-hitter Blake Buckman to end the game.  

"We'll clean some things up, we'll learn from this and we'll put this one to bed and get ready for Air Force," Federico said.  

Military Appreciation Weekend: The Warhawks remain at Alex Box Stadium and play Air Force on Saturday, Feb. 16 with first pitch at 6 p.m. ULM faces Army at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 17. 

Scattered hits: ULM's defense ended three of the first four innings with double plays induced by Barton. …Braedon Barrett, who came to ULM as a shortstop and played 53 games in center field in 2018, started at second base. … The Warhawks stacked six left-handed hitters in the starting lineup against the righty Hess.  … Eight of 10 players in the ULM starting lineup made their Warhawk debuts.  … The Warhawks wore their new gold jerseys with white pants along with a tri-color cap with the refreshed ULM logo. … Cabrera robbed Horton of an extra base hit in the seventh with a leaping catch at the wall. 
 
 
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