MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawk baseball team opens the 2020 season at 4 p.m. Friday with the first game in a three-game series with Southeast Missouri. The Warhawks return seven position players and 11 pitchers from last year's team, which finished 27-31. ULM won its first three games at the Sun Belt Conference Championship in Conway, S.C., before falling to host Coastal Carolina twice in the semifinals.
Friday's series and season opener is also the first all-time meeting between ULM and Southeast Missouri. The Redhawks are one of two opponents on the 2020 schedule, along with Illinois State, that the Warhawks have never faced.
ULM is 34-34 all-time in season openers. The Warhawks have won two of their last three season openers, defeating Dallas Baptist 8-3 in 2017 and Eastern Illinois in 2018. ULM has won three of its last four home openers, topping Valparaiso in 2016, Eastern Illinois in 2018 and SIUE in 2019.
ULM head coach
Michael Federico is in his third season with the Warhawks. He led the team to an 11-win improvement in his first season, and then a four-win improvement in his second season. He is 50-62 overall as the head coach at ULM. Federico has never met Southeast Missouri. He is 1-1 in season openers, defeating Eastern Illinois 4-3 in 10 innings at Warhawk Field in 2018 before falling to No. 1 LSU 12-7 in last season's opener in Baton Rouge.
Southeast Missouri enters the 2020 season after finishing 23-32 overall and 10-20 in the Ohio Valley Conference a year ago. The Redhawks return nine position players and seven pitchers from last year's team. The Redhawks return four of their top five hitters and also return their top starting pitcher in in sophomore left-hander Noah Niznik.
Southeast Missouri coach Andy Sawyers enters his fourth season with the Redhawks in 2020. Sawyers is 79-88 over his first three seasons as head coach. Prior to taking over as head coach at SEMO, Sawyers spent time as Associate Head Coach at Kansas State and Texas A&M.
ULM enters the 2020 season looking to build off a strong finish to the 2019 season. The Warhawks finished 27-31 in 2019, but made waves at the Sun Belt Conference Championship to close the season. ULM secured the final spot in the tournament during the final weekend of the regular season, and made their trip to Conway, South Carolina, last nearly as long as possible. After topping South Alabama in a winner-take-all opening round game, the Warhawks then shut out regular-season champion Texas State and earned a run-rule win over UT Arlington to reach the semifinals. However, the Warhawks were swept in the semifinals by host Coastal Carolina, brining the season to a close.
The Warhawks enter the 2020 season looking to replace the offensive production of
Chad Bell and
Trent Tingelstad. The duo posted two of the top single-season offensive performances in ULM history. Bell broke the ULM single-season home run record with 21 home runs. He also ranked fourth in RBIs at 61. Tingelstad ranked eighth in single-season history with 43 walks, and tied for 10th in doubles with 19 and triples with four. Bell was selected by the New York Yankees in the 19th round of the MLB Draft, while Tingelstad skipped his senior season after he was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 22nd round of the draft.
Senior utility player
Andrew Beesley returns to pace the offense. Beesley was a second team All-Sun Belt selection last season and is a Preseason All-Sun Belt selection this season at utility. Beesley has the top batting average among returners. He started all 58 games last season while hitting .329 with 11 doubles, one triple, three home runs, 37 RBIs and 38 runs scored. Beesley also stole 14 bases on the season. He made starts at first base, left field and designated hitter last season.
Senior outfielder
Ryan Humeniuk also returns for ULM in 2020. Humeniuk started all 58 games last season, while hitting .253. He leads all returners with 13 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 53 runs scored and 17 steals. He also collected 33 RBIs. Humeniuk reached base safely in 22 consecutive games from March 26 to May 3, and reached base safely in 32 of ULM's final 35 games.
Senior catcher
Logan Wurm returns behind the plate after claiming the starting role mid-way through 2019. Wurm hit .218 with 23 RBIs, but took charge of the pitching staff, providing consistency behind the plate. Senior
Carson Klepzig also returns, looking to split time with Wurm.
Elsewhere around the field, senior infielder
Colin Gordon is expected to challenge for a starting role in the middle infield along with senior
Nathan Miranda. Gordon played in 32 games last year and collected 14 hits, while Miranda entered 29 games and had 11 hits. Senior first baseman
Cameron Horton also returns after missing much of the middle portion of the 2019 season with an arm injury.
On the mound, senior right-hander
Ty Barnes returns to anchor the weekend rotation. Barnes was the Saturday starter for much of Sun Belt Conference play in 2019, posting a 5-3 record with a 5.69 ERA over 61.2 innings. He made six relief appearances early in the season before transitioning to the rotation, making his final 10 appearances in weekend or postseason starts. Barnes will get the first chance to claim the Friday night role, vacated by
Trey Jeans, after he posted a 3.76 ERA over 15 starts last season. Jeans was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 33rd round of the 2019 MLB Draft.
Senior right-hander
Kayleb Sanderson returns to his spot in the weekend rotation, slated to make his 2020 debut on Sunday. Sanderson posted a 3-4 record with a 5.89 ERA over 14 appearances and 13 starts in 2019.
Redshirt freshman left-hander
Cam Barlow is scheduled to make his Warhawk debut in the start on Saturday afternoon. Barlow was named to the All-Ohio Valley League team after spending the summer with the Hoptown Hoppers in Kentucky, posting six wins and 61 strikeouts.
In the bullpen, seniors
Conner Deeds,
Landon Longsworth and
Justin Barton lead the list of returners. Deeds, a right-hander, was 2-2 with three saves in 2019, with a 5.13 ERA over 40.1 innings of work. Longsworth, a right-hander, is expected to be used in the back-end of the bullpen in 2020 after making 22 appearances last season with a 1-0 record, one save and a 5.55 ERA. Barton, a left-hander, returns after making 17 appearances last season, throwing 18.1 innings with an 0-1 record and a 5.89 ERA.
For tickets to the season-opening series, call 318-342-HAWK or visit ULMWarhawks.com. Links to live video, audio and stats are available at ULMWarhawks.com.
