ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawks return the trip down I-20 Tuesday night to take on No. 23 Louisiana Tech at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park in Ruston. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

Tuesday's game is not televised. The game will be carried on 105.7 FM KMLB, KMLB.com and the TuneIn app with Mike Hammett on the call.

It is the second meeting of the season between ULM and LA Tech, with the I-20 foes meeting just two weeks ago in Monroe as the Bulldogs picked up a 10-3 win. ULM controlled the first six innings, carrying a 3-1 lead into the seventh inning. However, the Warhawk bullpen faltered in the top of the seventh inning as LA Tech tallied seven runs to surge in front. It erased a strong starting pitching effort from ULM's Cole Martin, who threw five innings while allowing one run on three hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Grant Schulz paced the ULM offense with two RBIs. Greg Martinez threw the final 3 1/3 innings for the win for the Bulldogs, giving up two hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Philip Matulia had a bases-clearing triple for Tech in the seventh inning.

Tuesday's contest is the 184th meeting between ULM and LA Tech, with the Bulldogs leading the series, 106-77. ULM won the last meeting in Ruston, 9-4, on March 26, 2019.

ULM (9-7 overall, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) enters the series with back-to-back wins over Georgia State to take the Sun Belt Conference opening weekend series over the Panthers, winning 3-1 and 9-7. LA Tech marks ULM's fifth game against a ranked opponent this season. The Warhawks are 2-2 in those games. ULM lost 10-1 and 6-5 to No. 4 Ole Miss before beating the Rebels 8-3 on March 14 and followed it with a 13-6 win over No. 14 Oklahoma State on Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington. 

Louisiana Tech (13-5 overall) entered the D1Baseball.com Top 25 this week at No. 23 and is riding a five-game winning streak entering the game. It started with a 2-0 win over No. 1 Arkansas on March 14 and continued with a 13-1 win over No. 4 Ole Miss on Tuesday. The Bulldogs then swept Tulane over the weekend in New Orleans, winning 2-0, 4-0 and 8-6.

ULM is 3-1 in midweek contests this season, earning wins over Northwestern State, Grambling State and No. 14 Oklahoma State while falling short against Louisiana Tech.

LEADING OFF

• Nicholas Judice earns his first start of the 2021 season on Tuesday night at Louisiana Tech. The second-year freshman right-hander from Baton Rouge was dominant in his last outing March 16 against No. 14 Oklahoma State at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Judice came out of the bullpen with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the third inning and proceeded to earn the first two outs of the inning before giving up a walk and allowing an inherited runner to score. However, Judice bounced back and ended the inning and went on to throw five shutout innings in all, giving up one hit with one walk and a career-high seven strikeouts. Tuesday night will be his third-career start after picking up a win against Illinois State on March 1, 2020 and taking the loss against No. 5 Ole Miss in the season-finale on March 11, 2020.

• Andrew Beesley has bounced between batting third and hitting leadoff for the Warhawks. Beeslely hit third in the order for the first 10 games of the season, but his steady approach pushed him to the leadoff role against right-handed pitchers starting on March 13 at No. 4 Ole Miss. Beesley was 0-for-3 March 13 at Ole Miss but bounced back with two hits, including a double, RBI and run scored on March 14. On March 16 against Oklahoma State, Beesley hit a leadoff single in the top of the first inning and scored on a Cowboy throwing error. He also walked twice in the game. He collected two hits with an RBI on an infield single in the six-run second inning Sunday vs. Georgia State. 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 .262 (16-for-61) with three doubles, five RBIs, 10 runs scored and three stolen bases. His nine bases on balls leads the team and boosts his on base percentage to .366. He has just three walks over the last 10 games.

• 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 10 consecutive games with nine starts at shortstop and one at third base. He has responded by going 11-for-34 (.324) at the plate with four RBIs, six runs scored, a walk and three stolen bases. Cervantes has hit safely in eight of his 10 starts. He had his best offensive day as a Warhawk on March 14, picking up a career-high three hits with an RBI single in the five-run fourth inning, two runs scored and a stolen base. He added a 2-RBI triple in the four-run top of the first inning against Oklahoma State on March 16. He had two hits in the series-opener against Georgia State on Friday. Cervantes made just two appearances in the first six games of the season, registering one at bat.

• Wiley Cleland is trying to emerge from a slump and has earned back-to-back starts after being removed from the regular lineup ahead of the March 13 game against No. 4 Ole Miss. Cleland picked up his second three-hit game of the season on Sunday against Georgia State. Prior to Sunday's game, Cleland was hitting 3-for-25 (.120) over his previous nine games. He has started the last two games at third base and has seen time at first base and second base as well in the first 16 games of the season. Cleland is hitting .277 (13-for-47) with a home run, 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.

• Danny DeSimone broke out of an early season slump March 16 against his former team in Oklahoma State. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native went 2-for-5 at the plate against the Cowboys, picking up an RBI double down the left field line in the third inning and adding a 2-run home run to right field in the seventh inning. He added his second homer of the season on Sunday, a moon-shot three-run homer to left in the fourth inning against Georgia State. 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. DeSimone was second in the Sun Belt in 2020 with six home runs and 22 RBIs.

• Trace Henry has bounced around the batting order, hitting sixth against right-handed pitching and batting leadoff against lefties. He has hit safely in four consecutive games after picking up two hits on Sunday vs. Georgia State. It was his fifth two-hit game of the season. He has reached base safely in 14 consecutive games dating back to the first game of the series at New Orleans on Feb. 26. Henry collected a pair of hits including an RBI double in the third inning against Oklahoma State on March 16.  He made an impact on March 14 at Ole Miss by walking three times, stealing a base, laying down a sacrifice bunt that turned into an error and scoring twice. He is hitting .288 (17-for-59) on the season with four doubles, seven RBIs, nine runs, seven walks, five steals and 11 strikeouts. 

• Mason Holt had a career-best seven-game hitting streak come to an end on Sunday vs. Georgia State.  Holt drove the offense in Saturday's come-from-behind win over Georgia State, hitting the go-ahead 2-run home run to left field and adding an RBI when he grounded into an error in the eighth inning. On March 16 against Oklahoma State, Holt had two hits, including a mammoth home run to the second deck of seats behind the Warhawk bullpen in left centerfield. Holt was ULM's offensive catalyst at No. 4 Ole Miss. After picking up a hit on March 12, Holt came through with two hits on March 13, 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 March 14, 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 .328 (21-for-64) with three doubles, two triples, three home runs, nine RBIs, 19 runs scored, seven walks, nine steals and 16 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 .328 (19-for-58) batting average through 16 games with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs, 13 runs scored, six walks and seven steals. Humeniuk hit safely in all three games of the Georgia State series over the weekend, including a double and two runs scored in Sunday's series finale. He added an RBI single with two walks and three runs scored on March 16 vs. Oklahoma State. Humeniuk had a huge game on March 13 at Ole Miss, collecting three RBI singles and stealing two bases. 

• Grant Schulz has gone from a platoon player to a full-time starter early in 2021. The Mereaux, Louisiana native has a .225 (9-for-40) average through 13 games, including a double, home run, eight RBIs, four runs scored and seven 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. 

• Travis Washburn has started six straight games at second base. The sophomore from Conroe, Texas has hit safely in each of the last four games, including all three games of the Georgia State series. Washburn was 1-for-4 with an RBI on a bunt single on Sunday vs. GSU. He has a knack for working at bats. On March 12 at Ole Miss, 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 March 13 at Ole Miss by grinding out another 10-pitch at bat in his first trip to the plate before striking out.

• Logan Wurm had two hits and three RBIs on March 16 against Oklahoma State. The second-year senior from Marysville, California dropped in a bloop RBI double down the right field line in the third inning and added a 2-run home run, the first of his career, in the seventh inning. Wurm made an important offensive impact in the final game of the Ole Miss series. He 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 .227 (10-for-44) in 15 games but had three of his hits in the series finale vs. UNO on Feb. 28. Wurm has three doubles to his credit this season with a team-high 10 RBIs. Against Nicholls, Wurm laid down a safety squeeze bunt for an RBI in the nightcap of the March 6 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.
• 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 March 9. 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 eight games for the Warhawks. The second-year junior from Broomfield, Colorado has five hits on the season, with one coming on March 13 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 March 12. 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 Sun Belt Conference with a 0.66 ERA over 13 2/3 innings. Lindsay allowed an unearned run over 1 1/3 innings to earn his first save on Sunday vs. Georgia State. He pitched four total innings over three outings in the previous week and allowed just one of six inherited base runners to score. Carson Orton has a 1.69 ERA over 10 2/3 innings out of the bullpen to rank 10th in the SBC in ERA. The Oklahoma City native came on with runners on second and third with two outs on March 13 at No. 4 Ole Miss and retired the next batter to end the inning. He carried the Warhawk lead into the ninth inning on March 14 before giving way to Lindsay to shut the game down. Wrobel has a 3.18 ERA over 5 2/3 innings. He threw a scoreless inning on Sunday vs. Georgia State. He pitched two shutout innings and did not allow an inherited runner to score in the March 14 win over Ole Miss.