MONROE, La. – Ty Barnes retired the first 14 batters he faced and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, while the ULM offense struck for 10 runs over the first three innings, as the Warhawk baseball team rolled past Grambling State 15-0 on Friday night at Warhawk Field.
Barnes was sharp all evening, and didn't allow a baserunner until he hit Michael Sookdeo with two outs in the fifth inning. Barnes then retired the next six hitters before Jordyn Smith hit a solid single to left for Grambling's only hit of the night.
"He was really crisp and clean," ULM head coach Michael Federico. "He was getting a bunch of strike ones. He was navigating the lineup pretty easily just by getting the strike ones with it. He had his breaking ball going as well. We didn't really throw any changeups tonight. We used the breaking ball a little bit more. He was dialed in and ready to go."
Barnes worked seven shutout innings, giving up just the one hit with no walks and a career-high eight strikeouts for his second win of the season.
Barnes said he was aware he was working on a potential no-hitter.
"It was in the back of my mind," Barnes said. "Shout out to the defense for making some great plays behind me. I couldn't do it without them. Having that confidence with them out there is absolutely huge."
The defense made some great plays behind Barnes, with third baseman Grant Schulz, shortstop Colby Deaville and second baseman Wiley Cleland all making highlight-reel plays to keep the no-hitter going.
"I thought our defense played exceptionally well," Federico said. "I hate that he gave up the no-hitter, but it made it easy for me to take him out. I didn't know where we should go with the night."
"When he's putting up numbers like that and he's working hard, we've got to pay him back with good defense," center fielder Mason Holt said. "We've got to make the routine plays and try to make the big-time plays as well. We know he's working hard, so we've got to stay behind him as well."
The offense gave Barnes plenty of cushion early. After Barnes worked a perfect first inning, the ULM offense jumped all over reigning Southwestern Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week Bryan Delgado. The Warhawks struck for five runs in the first inning, including two-RBI singles from Cleland and Logan Wurm. ULM added two more runs in the second, with Holt picking up the first of his three hits on the day with an RBI double. Holt added an RBI single in the three-run third inning for the 10-0 lead. Trace Henry hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, and ULM then used a pair of Grambling errors and three hits to tack on four two-out runs in the sixth inning.
"It's all about having that same approach, being aggressive and not chasing pitches out of the zone," Holt said of the offense. "That's really what we're doing as a team."
"He's a good arm," Federico said of Delgado, who gave up seven runs, five earned, on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts over just two innings. "That's a really good arm. We got to see him a little bit on film. I think laying off the elevation a little bit and making sure he was in the strike zone was key. I think Coach (Matt) Collins and Coach (Jake) Carlson had our guys locked in and ready for that."
Barnes said getting the lead and finding a way to stay warm with temperatures hovering in the upper 30s were a big help to his performance.
"Throwing with the lead is huge," Barnes said. "It always helps. Staying warm was huge. I had three jackets on. I'd go in the clubhouse to stay warm and keep moving. I didn't want to tighten up. I just kept my body going."
"It's hard when we score some runs and he's in that dugout for a little while," Federico said. "Your body kind of gets tightened up a little bit. We're fortunate with our facility to have a locker room that's right by the dugout. Our guys are able to go in there and relax a little bit in between innings."
In addition to Holt's three hits, Wurm had three hits, two RBIs and three runs scored. Schulz and Ryan Humeniuk had two hits apiece. Holt, Cleland, Wurm and Deaville had two RBIs each.
On the mound, freshman Andre Beaudoin and junior Austin Booth each tossed a scoreless inning in their respective ULM debuts. The Warhawk pitching staff combined on a one-hitter for the second straight Friday night. Prior to last Friday, the Warhawks had not limited an opponent to one hit since 2011.
ULM and Grambling continue the series at 6 p.m. Saturday night at Warhawk Field. Links to live video, audio and stats are available at ULMWarhawks.com.
