ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawks open a four-game stretch against ranked opponents with a three-game series against No. 4 Ole Miss at University Stadium and Swayze Field in Oxford. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, 1:30 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

All three games are set to be televised on SEC Network+ from ESPN. All three games will also be carried on 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB, KMLB.com and the TuneIn app with Mike Hammett on the call.

ULM and Ole Miss meet for the first time since the pair closed out the abbreviated 2020 season against one another on March 10 and 11 at Warhawk Field. The No. 5 Rebels won both ends of the double midweek series, taking the March 10 game, 6-3, and the March 11 contest, 18-7.

Friday's game is the 47th all-time meeting between ULM and Ole Miss, with the Rebels leading the series 36-11-1. It is ULM's first trip to Oxford since May 2-3, 2017. The Rebels have won 10 straight games in the series dating back to ULM's series- and season-opening win over No. 17 Ole Miss, 6-5, at Swayze Field on Feb. 19, 2010. That also marks the last weekend series between the two clubs. 

ULM (5-4) is coming off a midweek loss to Louisiana Tech, 10-3, Tuesday night at Warhawk Field. ULM led 3-1 through six innings, but the bullpen struggled in the seventh inning as the Bulldogs rallied for seven runs to blow the game open. The Warhawks won last weekend's series against Nicholls State after rebounding from a 5-2 series-opening loss to take games two and three, 5-3 and 6-4.

Ole Miss (11-2) has won six straight games entering the series after Tuesday's 11-1 win over Alcorn State in eight innings. The Rebels have not lost since dropping two-of-three games in a weekend series against UCF on Feb. 26-27. Ole Miss opened the season with wins over No. 10 TCU, No. 3 Texas Tech and No. 9 Texas at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas, and have also collected wins against Arkansas State, Memphis, Jackson State and a three-game series sweep of Belmont last week.

ULM has dropped 24 consecutive games against Top-25 opponents, dating back to an 8-4 win over No. 25 Florida Atlantic on April 7, 2013. The Warhawks last beat a Top-5 opponent on April 14, 2009, when they beat No. 5 Arkansas, 3-2, in Fayetteville.

LEADING OFF

• Cam Barlow slides to the weekend pitching rotation for the third series of the season. The third-year freshman from Halls, Tennessee returns to the weekend after making two Saturday starts in 2020. Barlow is slated to pick up his first Friday night start of his career after opening the season with two sharp outings in midweek games. Barlow is 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA after throwing four scoreless and hitless with a walk and a career-high seven strikeouts in the season-opener against Northwestern State and followed it up by allowing one run and two hits with one walk and a career-high matching seven strikeouts in five innings vs. Grambling State.

Last season Barlow threw 12 1/3 innings over three starts. He picked up wins in his two weekend starts. He made his collegiate debut on Feb. 15, 2020 against Southeast Missouri State, throwing four innings while allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts. In his final start of 2020 he returned to the weekend rotation at McNeese, firing six shutout innings, giving up four hits with four strikeouts on March 7.

• Ty Barnes is slated to make his third start of 2021 on Saturday afternoon. He started the first game of each of ULM's first two weekend series. The Petal, Mississippi native suffered the loss in game one of a doubleheader on Saturday vs. Nicholls, giving up three runs on four hits with six strikeouts over six innings against the Colonels. In his 2021 debut at New Orleans on Feb. 26, Barnes lasted 4 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts and took a no-decision. 

In 2020, Barnes had a 3-1 record with a 2.16 ERA in four Friday night starts, including two dazzling home performances against Southeast Missouri State and Grambling State. Against the Redhawks, Barnes allowed an unearned run on one hit with five strikeouts in six innings. He took it to the next level against Grambling, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning, tossing seven shutout innings with one hit and eight strikeouts.

• Tyler Lien rounds out the Warhawk rotation with a slated start on Sunday. Lien has picked up the win in each of his first two starts. The Kirkwood, Missouri native cruised through the first four innings against Nicholls before running into trouble in the fifth inning. He exited after the fifth inning, giving up four runs, three earned, on six hits with six strikeouts. He earned his first win of 2021 at New Orleans, giving up two runs on six hits with a walk and a strikeout over 5 innings. 

Lien was ULM's midweek starting pitcher in 2020, going 2-0 with a 2.73 ERA in 13 1/3 innings across three starts. His final start of the season came against Ole Miss. He rebounded from a rough first inning, where he surrendered a three-run home run to Tyler Keenan, to allow just one more hit over the next four innings. Lien took a no-decision, giving up three runs on four hits with three strikeouts. He also threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings with four hits and three strikeouts against Jackson State on March 3, 2020.

• Trace Henry is back anchoring the top of the ULM lineup. Henry picked up a bouncing ball single along with a walk, steal and run scored on Tuesday vs. Louisiana Tech. He is hitting .263 (10-of-38) on the season with three doubles, four RBIs, four runs, two walks, two steals and seven strikeouts. He returned to the leadoff spot for ULM in game two of Saturday's doubleheader with Nicholls. Henry had the top offensive week for ULM last week, hitting .412 (7-of-17) over four games, picking up a pair of hustle doubles and three RBIs. He had two hits in three out of the four games. He raised his batting average on the season from .118 entering the week to .265 after Sunday's game.

• After a quick start to the season, Mason Holt has cooled off. The number two hitter in the order for ULM is 2-of-16 over the last four games with a run scored and six strikeouts. On the season, Holt is hitting .343 (12-of-35) with two doubles, a home run, two RBIs, nine runs scored, five walks, six steals and seven strikeouts. Holt opened the season hitting .526 (10-for-19) over the first five contests. He finished 1-of-5 with three strikeouts Tuesday night against Louisiana Tech.

• Andrew Beesley has held down the third spot in the batting order in the first nine games. A second-year senior, Beesley was selected to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team as a utility player. So far in 2021, he has started at first base and designated hitter. The Natchez, Mississippi native is hitting .273 (9-of-33) with a double, three RBIs, seven runs scored and three stolen bases. His six bases on balls leads the team and boosts his on base percentage to .400. The Natchez, Mississippi native hit a double in his first at-bat of the season against Northwestern State and added three hits on Feb. 27 at New Orleans. He had a pair of hits and RBIs in the opening game of the series against Nicholls and hit safely in all three games against the Colonels. He was 0-of-4 with a strikeout Tuesday vs. Louisiana Tech.

• Danny DeSimone made his 2021 debut on Saturday against Nicholls. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native missed the first five games of the season as he was working through an injury. DeSimone had solid plate discipline on Tuesday against Louisiana Tech, going 1-of-2 with an RBI single, run scored and two walks. He hit 1-for-10 in the series against Nicholls, picking up a double in the series finale. DeSimone also hit a drive to left field where Nicholls' Wes Toups made a leaping catch and hit a sacrifice fly to the warning track in dead centerfield in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader. DeSimone was second in the Sun Belt in 2020 with six home runs and 22 RBIs. He hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first of the March 10, 2020 game against Ole Miss at Warhawk Field.

• Wiley Cleland has had a tough past five games for ULM, hitting 2-of-17 with three RBIs, three runs scored, a walk and seven strikeouts. Cleland was 0-of-2 with a walk and a run scored against Louisiana Tech on Tuesday. The Columbia, Mississippi native had a tough weekend against Nicholls, going 1-for-10, but closed strong with a single and a pair of runs scored in Sunday's series finale. Cleland, who has split his time between first and second base defensively, is hitting .257 (9-of-35) with a home run, a team-high nine RBIs, seven runs scored and two stolen bases. Cleland hit 4-of-14 (.286) in the three-game series at New Orleans, including three of his six RBIs and a solo home run on Feb. 28. He collected three hits and three RBIs in the Feb. 24 season-opener vs. Northwestern State.

• Ryan Humeniuk is another of six seniors returning in 2021 thanks to the blanket eligibility waiver passed by the NCAA for the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. The Stonewall, Manitoba native has responded with a .364 (12-of-33) batting average through nine games with a team-best two home runs, three RBIs, six runs scored, two walks and three steals. After opening the season 0-of-3 against Northwestern State, he responded with a 6-of-14 (.429) weekend at New Orleans, following up Cleland's home run on Feb. 28 with one of his own. He finished 1-of-2 at the plate on Tuesday vs. Louisiana Tech with a walk and a stolen base. He has hit safely in each of the last three games.

• Grant Schulz has gone from a platoon player to a full-time starter early in 2021. The Mereaux, Louisiana native has a .259 (7-of-27) average through nine games, including a double, home run, eight RBIs, four runs scored and five walks. After opening the season 0-for-7, Schulz went 4-of-7 over the final two games of the New Orleans series, picking up his double and homer as well as three of his six RBIs. He picked up two hits against Nicholls, both on bunts. He earned two RBIs on Tuesday vs. Louisiana Tech, connecting for an opposite-field RBI single and added another on a safety squeeze.

• Logan Wurm had a strong finish to the UNO series. The second-year senior from Marysville, California is hitting .231 (6-of-26) in eight games but had three of his hits in the series finale vs. the Privateers on Feb. 28. Wurm has a pair of doubles to his credit this season with two RBIs. Against Nicholls, Wurm laid down a safety squeeze bunt for an RBI in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader and laced a two-RBI single to left in Sunday's series finale. Coach Mike Federico said Wurm is considered the best bunter on the team.

• Matthew Lee made his ULM debut with a midweek start behind the plate against Grambling State and made his second start vs. Louisiana Tech on Tuesday. The freshman from Baton Rouge has yet to pick up his first career hit, but worked his way on base twice and scored twice against Grambling. Lee, along with Britt McKay and Chris Noble, is expected to back up Wurm at catcher and allow him to have some games off.

• Colby Deaville and Michael Cervantes also return from the 2020 squad and have split time at shortstop. Deaville is hitting .200 (4-of-20). He has three doubles, with one in three consecutive games from Feb. 27 to March 3. Cervantes has started the last three games at shortstop. The League City, Texas native has picked up a hit in each game and earned his first RBI of the season in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader against Nicholls.

Justin King, Carson Jones and Travis Washburn have also drawn starts early in the season. King started the first two games at designated hitter before Jones started Feb. 27 at second base and Washburn started Feb. 28 at second base. King is also expected to be used out of the bullpen this season. Jones returned to the starting lineup March 3 vs. Grambling and had his first-career hit. Washburn had two hits, including a triple, and scored twice in the Feb. 28 win over New Orleans and picked up another hit as a pinch hitter on March 3.

• In the bullpen, seven different pitchers have an ERA under 4.00 in the early portion of the season. Reid Goleman (4 innings), Lucas Wepf (2), Cole Cressend (1) and Eric Heiman (1) have each thrown at least one inning without allowing an earned run. Trey Lindsay earned his first win on Saturday night, throwing four shutout innings with one hit and four strikeouts against Nicholls. Lindsay has tossed nine innings with two runs, one earned, on six hits, three walks and eight strikeouts for a 1.00 ERA. Carson Orton earned his first save on Saturday night and has a 1.50 ERA in six innings, giving up three runs, one earned, on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Bryson Wrobel has a 3.38 ERA over 2 2/3 innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on two hits with a walk and a strikeout.