Conway, S.C. – Trent Tingelstad picked up seven RBIs, Chad Bell hit a record-tying home run, and Ty Barnes tossed all seven innings for the victory on the mound, as the Warhawks topped UT Arlington 18-5 in seven innings in the Sun Belt Championship third round on Thursday at Springs Brooks Stadium.
The Warhawks (27-29) advance to Saturday's 11:30 a.m. semifinal, where they will face the winner of Friday's game between UTA and Coastal Carolina. Georgia Southern will play the first game of the day on Saturday against either Little Rock or Troy.
ULM wasted no time getting the bats going. Chad Bell and Andrew Beesley each picked up an RBI double in the first inning, and Beesley scored on a wild pitch for the early 3-0 lead.
Barnes then struggled on the mound in the second inning, giving up three runs on three hits as UTA (32-25) tied the game at 3.
The Warhawks responded in a big way. After Joey Jordan and Tingelstad picked up RBIs, and Jordan scored by avoiding a tag at home on a double steal for a 6-3 advantage after two innings. Tingelstad then hit a powerful three-run home run to right field in the third inning for a 9-3 ULM lead.
"We just talked about keeping our approach and make sure we stay within ourselves," assistant coach Matt Collins said. "We got a couple big hits tonight. That's what we hadn't done in a while. It was good to see that. I know we had a couple opportunities with some guys still left on base, but that happens. It's baseball. I thought our guys did a really good job of responding to the three-spot in the second inning. It just kept going."
Tingelstad added an RBI single in the fifth inning before Anthony Dominguez hit a solo homer for UTA, cutting the ULM lead to 10-4.
The Warhawks then exploded in the bottom of the sixth inning, sending 14 men to plate and scoring eight runs, complete with a two-RBI double by Tingelstad and a three-run homer for Bell, as ULM went ahead 18-4. It was Bell's 19th homer of the season, tying the single-season ULM record set by Corey Taylor in 1998.
Tingelstad posted a 4-for-6 game, complete with a double, home run and a career-high seven RBIs.
"He's been hurt a couple times this year," Collins said. "It's kind of set him back every time. He's starting to get back healthy. That's the key for him, he's got to stay healthy. When he gets healthy, he's dangerous."
Bell had three hits, including a double and three-run home run as he drove in four runs.
"Chad's been here for three years," Collins said. "He's tasting a little bit of success. He's feeding off of it and a lot of other guys are feeding off of him as well. Our seniors have done a really good job of carrying this team and keeping them locked in and keeping them doing what we want them to do. As far as this program is concerned, these guys are the building blocks for us in the near future."
Braedon Barrett had his third multi-hit game of the tournament, reaching base five times and scoring four runs.
Barnes settled down after allowing three runs in the second inning. He gave up five runs, four earned, on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts in picking up his fifth win of the season.
"Ty struggled a little bit," Collins said. "He was leaving some pitches up in the zone. I think he got a little bit comfortable when we hit the three-spot. After he gave up the three-spot and we answered back, he settled in. When he gets settled in, he's a pretty good arm on the mound for us. "
The Warhawks get the day off on Friday before playing Saturday's semifinal at 11:30. Links to live video, audio and stats are available at ULMWarhawks.com.
