Monroe, La. - After trailing by eight runs, ULM rallied on Friday night, but it fell short, falling to Georgia Southern 9-8 in the series opener at Warhawk Field.
ULM (9-17 overall, 0-7 Sun Belt Conference) closed within a run heading to the ninth inning, and put the potential tying run on third base and the potential game-winning run on second base with two outs before Hayden Harris induced a ground ball out from Blake Buckman to end the threat and preserve the Georgia Southern (14-11, 5-2) victory.
With the win, Georgia Southern moves into a tie for first place in the Eastern Division of the Sun Belt with Coastal Carolina.
"I'm proud of the effort that the guys did, gave ourselves a chance, had the winning run at second base with two outs, with Blake Buckman who's been swinging the bat extremely well," head coach Michael Federico said. "At the same time, we had to overcome too many obstacles along the way."
Georgia Southern capitalized on ULM mistakes to build a 9-1 lead in the game. Matt Anderson opened the top of the third inning with a solo home run to left to get the Eagles on the board. Blake Evans was hit by a pitch and Nolan Tressler reached on an error, setting up Tyler Martin's 2-RBI single to give the Eagles the 3-0 lead after the third inning.
ULM took advantage of a Georgia Southern mistake to get on the board in the fifth inning. Buckman registered ULM's first hit of the game with a single to center to lead off the inning. After advancing to second on Masen Prososki's sacrifice bunt, Buckman moved up to third when Ryan Humeniuk reached on an error. Logan Wurm's sacrifice fly to right plated Buckman to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Georgia Southern broke the game open in the top of the sixth with six runs in the frame. Mason McWhorter opened the inning with a double down the left field line, and the bases were loaded on back-to-back walks to Noah Searcy and Noah Ledford to chase ULM starter Trey Jeans from the game. Austin Thompson hit an infield single, bringing home McWhorter, but a throwing error allowed Searcy to score as well. Ledford then scored on a wild pitch to push the lead to 6-1. Anderson followed with an RBI single to right to score Thompson. Evans reached again when he was hit by a pitch. Anderson and Evans both scored later in the inning on a fielder's choice and an error to push the lead to 9-1. The Warhawks committed five total errors in the game, to four for Georgia Southern.
"To give up six runs in an inning, we just can't do that," Federico said. "Five errors in the game, and four walks and a couple of hit batsmen. Pitching and defense, that's what it comes down to. That's the hardest part of what we're trying to build. We've got to get better performances from the mound and defensive side of it. That shows up every day, no matter what level you're playing, I don't care what sport you're playing, defense wins championships, defense wins games, defense wins on Friday night."
The Warhawks started their rally in the bottom of the sixth. Joey Jordan picked up a leadoff single, but was still on first base with two outs. Andrew Beesley hit a fly ball to center, but the ball was dropped for a two-base error, putting runners on second and third. Buckman followed with his second hit of the game to bring home Jordan and Beesley to cut the deficit to 9-3.
In the seventh, ULM kept cutting into the lead with two outs. Humeniuk reached on an error to open the inning, and advanced to second on a throwing error on a pickoff throw to first by pitcher Seth Shuman. Following back-to-back strikeouts, Jordan kept the inning alive with a walk. Trent Tingelstad then pushed his hitting streak to a season-best nine games with a 2-RBI triple to deep center, scoring Humeniuk and Jordan. Bell then sent a 2-run home run to left field to bring the Warhawks within two at 9-7.
In the eighth inning, the bases were empty with two outs when Humeniuk sent a solo shot to right field, as the Warhawks pulled within a run at 9-8.
The Warhawks had a chance to tie or win the game in the ninth. Joey Jordan walked to open the inning, and was replaced by pinch runner Braedon Barrett. After Tingelstad flew out to left and Bell struck out, Beesley hit a single back through the middle, with Barrett stopping at third. Beesley stole second base to put the potential game-winning run at second base before Buckman grounded out to end the game.
Shuman picked up the win for Georgia Southern, pitching 6 2/3 innings, giving up six runs, all unearned, on four hits with a walk and nine strikeouts.
"Shuman was dominating tonight," Federico said. "That's what a Friday night guy in our league does. He just kept us at bay. If we could've just kept it there, 3-1, I feel good about it. Once we knocked him out, look what we did to some of their bullpen guys."
Jeans suffered the loss for ULM, giving six runs, four earned, on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts over 5 innings. Harris tossed 2 innings, giving up a run on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts for the save.
The Warhawks and Eagles continue the series at 1 p.m. Saturday. Links to live video and audio are available at ULMWarhawks.com.
