ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - Sandwiched in between a pair of five-game road swings, the ULM Warhawks play host to the Ragin' Cajuns for a three-game weekend series at Warhawk Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday.

All three games of the weekend series will be televised by ESPN+ and broadcast on 105.7 FM/540 AM, KMLB.com and the TuneIn app. Mike Hammett will have the call on both ESPN+ and radio broadcasts.

Thursday's game is the 147th all-time meeting between the Warhawks and Ragin' Cajuns with the Cajuns leading the series, 93-53. The two teams last met in the 2019 season when ULM took the opening game of the three-game series, 6-3, before the Ragin' Cajuns won the final two games of the weekend, 13-9 and 19-8 in seven innings. In addition to this weekend's series, the two squads are also scheduled to meet in a non-conference game in Lafayette on April 27.

ULM (10-11 overall, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference) has lost three straight games and four of the last five contests after falling in a midweek contest at Grambling State, 15-3, on Tuesday. The Warhawks dropped two of three games over the weekend to Texas State in San Marcos. ULM won the series opener against the Bobcats, 6-5, on Friday night after scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Texas State answered back on Saturday, winning 6-5 in 10 innings after tying the game with 2-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Bobcats then used two home runs, one in the seventh inning and another in the eighth inning, to beat ULM on Sunday, 4-1.

The Ragin' Cajuns (14-11 overall, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) have been off since concluding a four-game weekend series with Coastal Carolina on Monday in Lafayette. The Cajuns won three-of-four games from the Chanticleers, winning 9-2 on Friday, 5-3 on Sunday and 7-0 in a non-conference game to conclude the series. The Ragin' Cajuns limited Coastal to just one hit in the series finale. The Chants won the second game of the series, taking Saturday's Sun Belt Conference contest, 5-3.

The Warhawks enter their sixth weekend series with a 1-4 record in the opening game of the series, 2-3 mark in the second game and 4-1 tally in the final game of the series.

LEADING OFF

• After getting scratched from his scheduled start on Saturday at Texas State due to illness, Ty Barnes slots into the Thursday night role for ULM against the Ragin' Cajuns. It marks the third time this season Barnes has started the first game of a weekend series. Barnes is 1-1 with a 4.43 ERA over 20 1/3 innings, giving up 10 runs on 16 hits with just three walks to 18 strikeouts. In the series-opening game at New Orleans on Feb. 26, Barnes allowed three runs on five hits with four strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings. The next week against Nicholls State he gave up three runs on four hits with six strikeouts. He is coming off his best start of the season on March 20 vs. Georgia State, throwing seven innings of one-hit baseball, giving up only a solo home run with one walk and five strikeouts.

• Cam Barlow will continue in his normal routine by taking the ball on Friday night for ULM. The third-year freshman from Halls, Tennessee has started the last three Friday nights for the Warhawks. He is 3-2 with a 4.91 ERA over 22 innings, giving up 13 runs, 12 earned, on 22 hits with 29 strikeouts to eight walks. He earned wins in his first two starts of the season, earning midweek nods against Northwestern State on Feb. 24 and Grambling State on March 3. In his last outing on Friday at Texas State, Barlow notched his third win by grinding through five innings, giving up two runs on four hits with a season-high three walks and six strikeouts.

• ULM's Saturday starter is currently undetermined by Warhawk coach Michael Federico, but Tyler Lien has started the series finale in each of the first five weekends. Lien is 3-0 with a 4.24 ERA over 23 1/3 innings, giving up 12 runs, 11 earned, on 25 hits with 14 strikeouts to four walks. Lien has earned wins at New Orleans and at home against Nicholls and Georgia State. Last week at Texas State, Lien labored early but settled in, giving up a run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a no-decision.

• Andrew Beesley has hit in the top third of the order for the Warhawks this season. Following an injury to starting first baseman Danny DeSimone, Beesley has started the last two games at first base after starting 18 consecutive games at designated hitter. The Natchez, Mississippi native is hitting .273 (21-for-77) with four doubles, seven RBIs, 15 runs scored, 10 walks, 12 strikeouts and five stolen bases. His 10 bases on balls is tied for the team lead with Mason Holt and boosts his on base percentage to .371. He has six multi-hit games on the season, including three in the last six games. A second-year senior, Beesley was selected to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team as a utility player.

• Michael Cervantes continues to play steady on the left side of the infield. The second-year freshman from League City, Texas has now started 15 consecutive games with 13 starts at shortstop and two at third base. He has responded by surging into the team lead in batting average following Tuesday's game at Grambling, moving up to .327 (17-for-52) on the season. He has added one double, one triple, one home run, seven RBIs, eight runs scored, five walks and 18 strikeouts. Cervantes has hit safely in 13 of his 15 starts. He hit his first-career home run, a 3-run blast, on Saturday at Texas State. Cervantes made just two appearances in the first six games of the season, registering one at bat. He has hit safely in five straight games.

• Wiley Cleland has made his last five starts at third base after starting the season by splitting time between first base and second base. Cleland is hitting .250 (16-for-64) with a home run, 10 RBIs, eight runs scored and two stolen bases. He had a three-hit day in the series finale vs. Georgia State on March 21. Cleland has appeared in eight consecutive games with five starts in that stretch. He earned his first RBI since March 3 with an RBI single at Grambling on Tuesday.

• Danny DeSimone left Friday's game at Texas State after his second at bat with an apparent arm injury. Prior to the injury, he had been flashing his power over the previous week. DeSimone belted a 3-run home run in back-to-back games, doing so at No. 23 Louisiana Tech and in the series finale vs. Georgia State. He 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. DeSimone missed the first five games of the season as he was working through an injury. He is tied with Ryan Humeniuk for the team lead with 13 RBIs. DeSimone was second in the Sun Belt in 2020 with six home runs and 22 RBIs.

• Trace Henry missed his first game of the season on Tuesday at Grambling after sustaining a leg injury running out a triple on Sunday at Texas State. He returned to the leadoff spot in the order over the weekend against the Bobcats. He has hit safely in a career-high eight consecutive games. Henry had one hit in each game at Texas State after picking up three hits with a double and a run scored at No. 23 Louisiana Tech on March 23. He has six multi-hit games on the season. He has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games dating back to the first game of the series at New Orleans on Feb. 26. He is hitting .315 (23-for-73) on the season with six doubles, eight RBIs, 12 runs, seven walks, eight steals and 12 strikeouts. 

• Mason Holt had a hot start to the season for ULM but has slowed his pace in last two weeks. Holt opened the season hitting .526 (10-for-19) over the first five contests and maintained a high pace through the first month of the season. He has eight multi-hit games, with seven of those coming within the first 13 contests of the season. He has six hits in the last eight contests including a two-hit day in the series-opener at Texas State on Friday. The Coppell, Texas native is hitting .301 (25-for-83) with four doubles, two triples, three home runs, nine RBIs, 23 runs scored, 10 walks and 20 strikeouts. His 12 stolen bases, 23 runs scored, two triples, 10 walks, .408 on base percentage and .506 slugging percentage all lead the team.

• Ryan Humeniuk is one 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 is second on the team with a .325 batting average (25-for-77) with four doubles, two home runs, 13 RBIs, 13 runs scored, nine walks, 15 strikeouts and eight stolen bases. He has two multi-hit and two multi-RBI games in his last five contests, and has walked four times in the last six games. He has reached base safely in 19 of 21 games this year.

• Grant Schulz played a big role off the bench Friday at Texas State. Schulz came on after Danny DeSimone was injured in the third inning. In his first trip to the plate in the fifth inning, Schulz came through with a two-out RBI double to extend the ULM lead back to four runs. In the ninth inning, with ULM's lead down to a run, Schulz cut off a ground ball on the infield, spun and threw on target to first base to pick up the second out of the inning. Schulz has 10 RBIs in 18 games this season.

• Travis Washburn has started 11 straight games at second base. The sophomore from Conroe, Texas has hit safely in eight of the last nine games, including a career-high three hits with a double, one run scored, one walk and a steal at Louisiana Tech on March 30. He hit safely in two of three games at Texas State after picking up two hits in the series finale on Sunday. He hit safely in all three games of the Georgia State series. He is hitting .294 (15-for-51) with two doubles, two triples, two RBIs, eight runs scored, three walks, nine strikeouts and three stolen bases.

• 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. Coach Mike Federico says Wurm is considered the best bunter on the team.

• Matthew Lee started the final two games of the Texas State series after an injury to Logan Wurm on Friday. Lee picked up his first-career hit with a single to right field on Saturday. He made his ULM debut with a midweek start behind the plate against Grambling State on March 3.

• Colby Deaville started in the first six games for ULM and has made two starts over the last 15 games, including one on Tuesday, for the Warhawks. The second-year junior from Broomfield, Colorado has six hits on the season, with one coming on Tuesday at Grambling. 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 started the final two games of the weekend series at Texas State, filling Danny DeSimone's spot in the order. King had his first hit of the season on Saturday with a single to left field. The graduate transfer from Alabama started at first base on Saturday and designated hitter on Sunday. He has also made two relief pitching appearances for ULM, throwing the ninth inning against Louisiana Tech on March 9 and tossing a scoreless inning against Grambling on Tuesday..

• 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 has a 2.12 ERA over 17 innings. He pitched four total innings over three outings on the week of March 8-14 and allowed just one of six inherited base runners to score, earning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week honors. Carson Orton has a 3.21 ERA over 14 innings out of the bullpen. The Oklahoma City native earned his second save of the season on Friday at Texas State, facing just six batters over two innings. He 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 at Ole Miss before giving way to Lindsay to shut the game down. Wrobel has a 4.50 ERA over 10.0 innings.

• Landon Longsworth matched the longest outing of his career on Saturday at Texas State, throwing four scoreless innings with three hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Longsworth has made seven appearances with an 0-1 record and a 3.94 ERA over 16 innings, posting 13 strikeouts to seven walks.