Jonesboro, Ark. - It took two full innings, but once the ULM Warhawks started, Arkansas State struggled to find an answer in an 11-4 ULM win on Friday night at Tomlinson Stadium.
The Warhawks pounded out a season-high 19 hits while scoring the final 11 runs of the game.
A pair of first inning errors and walks allowed Arkansas State (22-20, 8-11 Sun Belt Conference) to score three runs in the opening frame for a 3-0 lead. After adding another run in the second, the Red Wolves led 4-0.
It was an ominous start for the Warhawks.
"The first two innings were absolutely brutal," said head coach Michael Federico. "I let the team know that as well. I was not very happy after the second inning. Dropping fly balls, there's no excuse for that at our level. We've got guys that are 22, 23 years old. They need to be catching fly balls. I thought Jeans overcame a couple things and kind of navigated himself very well with some maturity there. To get out of it just being down by four, it could have been worse than that."
The Warhawks flipped the game in the third inning. After Braedon Barrett and Joey Jordan each singled with one out, Chad Bell struck out and the runners were still at first and second base. ULM then started a two-out rally. Andrew Beesley hit an RBI single, and Ryan Humeniuk followed with one of his own. After Logan Wurm walked to load the bases, Brendan Jordan connected for a two-run single to tie the game at 4. Cade Harper singled to load the bases again, and this time Masen Prososki had the honors, hitting a two-run single to give the Warhawks a 6-4 lead.
It was all the cushion Trey Jeans would need. The Warhawk senior ace found his rhythm of the past few weeks, bouncing back from giving up four runs in the first two innings to retire 15 straight Red Wolves at one point, not allowing a base runner from the second inning until there were two outs in the seventh inning. Jeans said the offensive outburst helped.
"It was a great feeling knowing those guys have my back," Jeans said. "It kind of gave me the momentum I needed to go back out and dominate the zone."
After escaping the second inning with just one run allowed, Jeans worked four straight perfect innings before allowing a two-out single A-State's Jake Karst in the seventh inning.
"After the second inning, I did feel like I was in a zone," Jeans said. "I didn't know I retired 15 at all. I thought I was just cruising."
Jeans (3-6) picked up his second straight victory, pitching seven innings with four runs, one earned, on four hits with three walks and a season-high nine strikeouts. In his only previous meeting with the Red Wolves, Jeans did not record an out while allowing the first seven hitters of the game to score in the 31-7 ASU win last season in Monroe.
Jeans admits last year's start was on his mind.
"It kind of started out weighing on me, but as I got out of the first inning, I was getting settled in, getting more confident, and I just felt better and better as the game went on," Jeans said.
Federico said Jeans managed to work his way through some tough situations early in the game.
"If we make a play here or there, he navigates himself through the first inning," Federico said.
"We dropped a fly ball and I ended up calling time and going out there. I went 'look man, this isn't last year. You've just got to execute pitches. You're doing your job right now. We've got to help you out. You can't let any of these negative thoughts get in your mind with that. I'm sure that was going through his mind a little bit there for sure. He definitely needed to get a little bit of comfort, and once he did, he and Wurm were on track, they were on the same page. He limited his walks as well and had nine punches, which helped him out."
After the six-run third inning, the Warhawk offense kept humming over the next three innings. Chad Bell hit his 10th home run of the year, a solo shot in the fourth inning. Joey Jordan hit a two-RBI double in the fifth inning while Beesley scored on a passed ball in the sixth and Humeniuk came home on Brendan Jordan's third hit of the day, an RBI single. Jordan would add a fourth hit in the eighth inning for his first multi-hit game of the season.
"My approach was just hitting it right back up the middle," Brendan Jordan said. "Coaches preach on that all the time. I feel great. I'm seeing the ball well. I'm just trying to drive it."
Arkansas State starter Zach Jackson cruised through the first two innings, but ran into trouble in the third to take the loss. Jackson (5-4) pitched four innings with seven runs on 10 hits, one walk and five strikeouts. Brendan Jordan says the key was slowing everything down.
"I think we were panicking slightly," Brendan Jordan said. "We were down 4-0. We got a few runners on, scored one or two, and got right back in there."
ULM scored eight of its 11 runs on the night with two outs.
"The two-strike approach was phenomenal tonight," Federico said. "Arkansas State only walked us one time and hit us once. Other than that, we had a bunch of hits we were able to string together. I thought the big hits were the middle of the field. I thought we ran the bases extremely well. We pressured their defense. Made them make an error on one of those plays to help get some runs as well."
In addition to Jordan's four hits, Andrew Beesley also had four hits with an RBI and two runs scored. Nine of the 10 Warhawks that stepped to the plate had at least one hit.
ULM and Arkansas State continue the series on Saturday at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro. Links to live video, audio and stats are available at ULMWarhawks.com.
