ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawks conclude a four-game stretch against Top-15 opponents at 6 p.m. Tuesday when they face No. 14 Oklahoma State at Globe Life Field in Arlington, the home of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers and the 2020 World Series.

The game is set to be televised on FloBaseball.tv. It will also be carried on 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB, KMLB.com and the TuneIn app with Mike Hammett on the call.

Tuesday's game is the fifth all-time meeting between ULM and Oklahoma State. The series is tied 2-2 after the two teams split two previous doubleheaders in Monroe in 1974 and 1975. ULM won the first-ever meeting in game one of a doubleheader, 2-1, on March 9, 1974, before the Cowboys won the nightcap, 4-0. A year later, the Cowboys took game one of a doubleheader, 14-6, before ULM claimed game two, 3-2, on March 8, 1975.

ULM (6-6) dropped two of three games over the weekend to No. 4 Ole Miss at Oxford-University Stadium and Swayze Field in Oxford, losing 10-1 on Friday and 6-5 on a two-run walk-off home run on Saturday before prevailing 8-3 on Sunday. Sunday's victory was ULM's first over a Top-5 opponent since 2009, when the Warhawks defeated Arkansas 3-2 in Fayetteville.

ULM is 2-1 in midweek games to open the 2021 season. The Warhawks won their season-opener over Northwestern State, 5-2, on Feb. 24 before beating Grambling State, 9-1, on March 3. ULM then dropped last week's midweek game to Louisiana Tech, 10-3, after the Bulldogs scored seven runs in the top of the seventh inning.

Oklahoma State (11-2-1) lost two out of three games to No. 2 Vanderbilt over the weekend at O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater. Like ULM, Oklahoma State salvaged the weekend with a win on Sunday, beating the Commodores, 10-6. Oklahoma State tied Grand Canyon, 4-4, on March 7 due to a travel curfew for GCU. The Cowboys were unbeaten in their first 10 games of the season, including midweek wins over Little Rock, 7-2, Missouri State, 7-0, and Oral Roberts, 5-0. The Cowboy pitching staff has thrown four shutouts and opponents have scored two or fewer runs in eight of 14 games.

ULM's win on Sunday over No. 4 Ole Miss snapped a 26-game losing streak against Top-25 opponents. ULM's last win over a Top-25 team prior to Sunday was an 8-4 victory over No. 25 Florida Atlantic on April 7, 2013.

LEADING OFF

• Cole Martin makes his second consecutive midweek start for ULM Tuesday night. Martin made one of the best starts of his career in last week's loss to Louisiana Tech. He threw five innings, giving up one run on three hits with one walk and six strikeouts. His only mistake was a solo home run by LA Tech's Manny Garcia in the second inning. Martin was ULM's regular midweek starter in the 2019 season before missing the 2020 season with an injury. He had an 0-4 record with a 6.97 ERA over 40 innings in 2019, but he consistently improved as the season went along. He closed the season with a no decision in the Sun Belt Conference tournament opener against South Alabama, throwing four innings with five runs, four earned, on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts. In the April 16, 2019, meeting with LA Tech he threw a career-high 6 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts. 

• Andrew Beesley moved up to the leadoff spot in the reworked batting order for Saturday's game at Ole Miss. Beeslely hit third in the order for the first 10 games of the season, but his steady approach pushed him to the leadoff role. Beesley was 0-for-3 Saturday at Ole Miss but bounced back with two hits, including a double, RBI and run scored on Sunday. 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 (12-for-44) with three doubles, four RBIs, eight runs scored and three stolen bases. His seven bases on balls leads the team and boosts his on base percentage to .385. Beesley finished the Ole Miss series going 3-for-11 with two doubles, an RBI, a run scored and a walk.

• Travis Washburn earned a chance to start the final two games of the Ole Miss series at second base. The sophomore from Conroe, Texas went 0-for-9 at the plate in the final two games of the series, his second and third starts of his ULM career. However, he made an impact on the Warhawk offense. On Friday night, Washburn grinded out a 10-pitch at-bat before hitting a triple off the top of the right centerfield wall. He set the tone for the ULM offense on Saturday by grinding out another 10-pitch at bat in his first trip to the plate before striking out.

• Mason Holt has heated back up after struggling at the plate through the Nicholls State series and the Louisiana Tech midweek game. Holt was ULM's offensive catalyst at No. 4 Ole Miss. After picking up a hit on Friday night, Holt came through with two hits on Saturday, including a triple. He also drove in a run and scored three times. His final run came after he teamed up with Ryan Humeniuk to execute a perfect delayed double steal to give ULM a 5-4 lead in the top of the eighth inning. On Sunday, Holt had two more hits, including a double, while earning an RBI on a base hit in the eighth inning and scored once. On the season, Holt is hitting .362 (17-for-47) with three doubles, a triple, a home run, four RBIs, 13 runs scored, six walks, eight steals and 10 strikeouts. Holt opened the season hitting .526 (10-for-19) over the first five contests. 

• 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 .333 (15-for-45) batting average through 12 games with a team-best two home runs, six RBIs, seven runs scored, three walks and five steals. Humeniuk had a huge game on Saturday at Ole Miss, collecting three RBI singles and stealing two bases. On Sunday, Humeniuk found his way aboard after a dropped third strike and came around to score in the five-run fourth inning. 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.

• Danny DeSimone gets a chance to play against one of his former teams on Tuesday. The Tulsa native and Cowley College transfer made his collegiate baseball debut for Oklahoma State in 2018. He played in 25 games for the Cowboys, hitting .239 with two doubles, seven RBIs and five runs scored before transferring to Cowley for 2019. He made his 2021 debut on March 6 against Nicholls. DeSimone missed the first five games of the season as he was working through an injury. He had a tough series at Ole Miss, going 1-for-10 at the plate with six strikeouts. He did pick up an RBI and score a run when he reached safely on a successful sacrifice bunt in the five-run fourth inning on Sunday vs. Ole Miss. 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 straightaway centerfield in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader. DeSimone was second in the Sun Belt in 2020 with six home runs and 22 RBIs.

• Trace Henry dropped to sixth in the batting order in Saturday's lineup shakeup at Ole Miss. While he picked up just one hit (1-for-7) in the Ole Miss series, he made an impact on Sunday by walking three times, stealing a base, laying down a sacrifice bunt that turned into an error and scoring twice. He is hitting .244 (11-for-45) on the season with three doubles, four RBIs, four runs, six walks, four steals and eight strikeouts. Henry had the top offensive week for ULM from March 3-7, 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 the March 7 game vs. Nicholls.

• Michael Cervantes appears to have won a starting role on the left side of the ULM infield. The second-year freshman from League City, Texas has now started six consecutive games with five starts at shortstop and one at third base. He has responded by going 7-for-20 at the plate with two RBIs, four runs scored, a walk and three stolen bases. Cervantes hit safely in his first four starts before going 0-for-2 on Saturday at Ole Miss. He bounced back with his best offensive day as a Warhawk on Sunday, picking up a career-high three hits with an RBI single in the five-run fourth inning, two runs scored and a stolen base. Prior to his six consecutive starts, Cervantes made just two appearances in the first six games of the season, registering one at bat.

• Logan Wurm made an important offensive impact in the final game of the Ole Miss series. The second-year senior from Marysville, California went 1-for-4 with two RBIs, hitting a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and an RBI single in the two-run fifth inning. He also allowed the second run of the fifth inning to score when he intentionally got in a run-down between first and second base and maintained the run-down long enough for Cervantes to sneak home from third to push the ULM lead to 7-3. Wurm is hitting .206 (7-for-34) in 11 games but had three of his hits in the series finale vs. UNO 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 says Wurm is considered the best bunter on the team.

• Grant Schulz has gone from a platoon player to a full-time starter early in 2021. The Mereaux, Louisiana native has a .235 (8-for-34) average through 11 games, including a double, home run, eight RBIs, four runs scored and six walks. Against Ole Miss, Schulz was 1-for-7 at the plate with a walk, with both the hit and the walk coming in Sunday's 8-3 victory. 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.

• Wiley Cleland has had a tough past seven games for ULM, hitting 3-for-20 with three RBIs, three runs scored, a walk and eight strikeouts. He was 0-for-2 in the series opener at Ole Miss and was days off on Saturday and Sunday. He pinch-hit in the eighth inning on Saturday and delivered a single as the Warhawks scored three runs in the inning to take a 5-4 lead. Cleland was 0-for-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 the March 7 series finale. Cleland, who has split his time between first and second base defensively, is hitting .263 (10-for-38) with a home run, a team-high nine RBIs, seven runs scored and two stolen bases. He collected three hits and three RBIs in the Feb. 24 season-opener vs. Northwestern State.
• Matthew Lee made his ULM debut with a midweek start behind the plate against Grambling State on March 3 and made his second start vs. Louisiana Tech on Tuesday. The freshman from Baton Rouge has yet to pick up his first career hit in five at bats, 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 midweek games off.

• Colby Deaville started in the first six games for ULM and has made one start over the last six games for the Warhawks. The second-year junior from Broomfield, Colorado has five hits on the season, with one coming on Saturday in his most recent start at Ole Miss. He doubled in three straight games, including the final two games of the New Orleans series and the midweek game vs. Grambling. He is hitting .217 (5-for-23) with three doubles, two runs scored, a walk and two stolen bases in 2021.

• Justin King and Carson Jones have also drawn starts early in the season. King started the first two games at designated hitter before Jones started Feb. 27 at second. King is also expected to be used out of the bullpen this season and has made one appearance, pitching the ninth inning against Louisiana Tech on March 9. He made two pinch hitting appearances at Ole Miss, earning his second RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning on Friday night. Jones returned to the starting lineup March 3 vs. Grambling and had his first-career hit and played late in the first two games of the series at Ole Miss.

• Trey Lindsay, Carson Orton and Bryson Wrobel have become the top mid-game options out of the bullpen for ULM head coach Michael Federico. Lindsay leads the team and is third in the Sun Belt Conference with a 0.73 ERA over 12 1/3 innings. He pitched four total innings over three outings in the past week and allowed just one of six inherited base runners to score. Carson Orton has a 1.93 ERA over 9 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. The Oklahoma City native and Heritage Hall product, who notes he was an Oklahoma fan growing up, came on with runners on second and third with two outs Saturday night and retired the next batter to end the inning. He carried the Warhawk lead into the ninth inning on Sunday before giving way to Lindsay to shut the game down. Wrobel, who is from Justin, Texas, just north of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, has a 3.86 ERA over 4 2/3 innings, but pitched two shutout innings and did not allow an inherited runner to score in Sunday's win over Ole Miss.