ULM Warhawks

Baton Rouge, La. - For the final time in the 2019 season, the ULM Warhawks will head on the road for a midweek contest on Tuesday, visiting Southern in Baton Rouge. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Lee-Hines Field.

Setting the Scene

The Warhawks have lost back-to-back games and five of their last six games overall after getting swept in a Saturday doubleheader vs. Little Rock, 7-3 and 4-2. ULM won the series opener vs. the Trojans on Friday night 5-2.

Southern enters Tuesday's game on a hot streak, winning eight of their last nine games, including taking the rubber match of their weekend series with Texas Southern 16-6 in seven innings on Sunday. The streak started with a 7-2 win over then No. 8 LSU at Lee-Hines Field on April 9.

Tuesday marks the second meeting of the season between the Warhawks and Southern. ULM won the first meeting in Monroe 10-6 on March 12.

Tuesday's game is the 17th all-time meeting between the Warhawks and the Jaguars, with ULM leading the series 10-6. The meeting on March 12 was the first meeting between ULM and Southern since 1999, when Southern defeated ULM 8-7 in the NCAA Regional at Baton Rouge. It was the first regular season meeting since Southern knocked off ULM 12-11 in Baton Rouge on April 26, 1989.

ULM head coach Michael Federico is in his second season with the Warhawks. He led the team to an 11-win improvement in his first season, as the Warhawks posted a 23-31 record in 2018. He is 39-54 overall as the head coach at ULM.

Southern head coach Kerrick Jackson is in his second season with the Jaguars. Jackson is 33-49 over his two seasons with the Jaguars after posting a 9-33 mark in 2018. Jackson has previous college coaching stints as an assistant at Missouri, Nicholls State, Jefferson College, Fairfield, Emporia State and Coffeyville Community College. Jackson most recently served as a MLB Certified Player Agent for the Boras Corporation and has also worked as a scout for the Washington Nationals.

Leading Off

Trent Tingelstad ranks among the Sun Belt Conference's best hitters. Tingelstad is fifth in batting average at .355, while sitting second in the SBC in on base percentage at .486 and is fifth in slugging percentage at .587. He is tied for 10th in doubles with 11, 10th in total bases with 81 and 10th in RBIs with 34. Tingelstad is third in the league in walks with 32. Tingelstad missed last week's midweek vs. Louisiana Tech after injuring his leg vs. Appalachian State, and returned to the lineup as the designated hitter on Friday night vs. Little Rock. He returned to right field on Saturday in the doubleheader against the Trojans.

Chad Bell continues to display power. After hitting a pair of doubles on Friday night against Little Rock, Bell hit two more in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader with the Trojans. He then connected for a solo home run in the eighth inning of the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. Bell is now tied for fifth in the Sun Belt Conference with 12 doubles, is tied for fifth with nine home runs, and is sixth in the league in slugging percentage at .584. He has also moved into a tie for fourth in the conference with 87 total bases on the season. 

Ryan Humeniuk and Andrew Beesley are among the top base stealers in the Sun Belt Conference. Humeniuk is fifth in the SBC with 15 steals, while Beesley is sixth with 14 stolen bags. Beesley has moved into the top 10 in the SBC in batting average at .352, while Humeniuk is 10th in the league in runs socred with 36.

In Friday night's 5-2 win over Little Rock, ULM jumped on top early with Chad Bell hitting a double and Andrew Beesley driving him in for a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Warhawks led 2-0 in the second after Braedon Barrett's fielder's choice scored Ryan Humeniuk. Little Rock cut the deficit to a run twice, but ULM was able to pull away late, thanks to a solo homer by Humeniuk and a steal of home by Masen Prososki. Trey Jeans earned the win, throwing six innings with two runs, one earned, on four hits with three walks and a season-high eight strikeouts. Kolton Childress pitched three shutout innings with two hits, three walks and two strikeouts to pick up his second save.

In game one of a Saturday doubleheader vs. Little Rock, the Warhawks fell behind in the first inning and never pulled in front in a 7-3 loss. Riley Pittman hit a two-run homer in the first to set the tone for Little Rock. Chad Bell hit a pair of RBI doubles in the loss.

In game two of the doubleheader against Little Rock, Riley Pittman hit a three-run home run in the third inning and the lead stood up for the Trojans in a 4-2 victory over ULM. Chad Bell hit a solo homer in the eighth inning for ULM, while Ryan Humeniuk had three hits, including two doubles.