TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Danny DeSimone hit a 3-run home run in his return to the lineup while Michael Cervantes hit a two-out 2-RBI single in the eighth inning as ULM snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over Alabama Wednesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
 
ULM (11-14 overall) relied on a strong performance from its bullpen to keep the Crimson Tide (16-12) offense off balance all day. Five different relievers combined to throw 6 2/3 innings, giving up just one run on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks. It was the first win for the Warhawks since a 6-5 triumph over Texas State on March 26.
 
"It makes everything a little bit easier now that you get that win," DeSimone said. "We can keep this going. We can play good baseball. We just have to tell ourselves that that's what we're going to do every day and just be consistent."
 
The Warhawks opened a four-game road trip on a positive note.
 
"I think it's huge," head coach Michael Federico said. "We have been a little bit emotional and back-and-forth. It's just one of those things where the confidence has to build. Every game matters. Every game is important. We've got to be able to play a complete nine innings, win or lose."
 
The Warhawks did just that on Wednesday, coming up with two timely two-out hits, issuing just three walks and playing error-free baseball defensively.
 
"We played an errorless game," Federico said. "We didn't walk a lot of people. We had a big two-out hit and got middle relievers to throw strikes."
 
With two outs in the top of the first inning, Andrew Beesley drew a walk and Ryan Humeniuk then singled off of Alabama starting pitcher Grayson Hitt's leg. DeSimone swung at the first pitch from Hitt, sending a 3-run home run to left field to give the Warhawks the early lead.
 
"I was really looking for a pitch to ambush," DeSimone said. "Based on the way he was pitching, I figured an offspeed pitch was coming, and I was able to turn on it."
 
Alabama struck for a pair of runs in the third inning, chasing ULM starting pitcher Cole Cressend from the game in the process. Reid Goleman came out of the bullpen to throw 1 2/3 shutout innings and was followed by a scoreless inning from Lucas Wepf and three scoreless frames from Trey Lindsay (2-2) on just 27 pitches.
 
"We had a rough week last week," Lindsay said. "Last week wasn't my best performance. I knew I had to come out here and just throw strikes. I think my team needed that and we did a good job today."
 
"We were really just going to go one, one and one, but he threw five pitches and I looked at (assistant coach Brandon) Belanger and I was like, 'what just happened?'" Federico said. "To get those middle innings, to win the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, we won it 2-0 and it helped us win the baseball game. He was a big part of it."
 
ULM added to its lead in the top of the eighth inning. Ryan Humeniuk and Danny DeSimone had each earned a walk and advanced to second and third with two outs when Cervantes stepped to the plate. The freshman was behind in the count 0-2 when he lifted a single to left field to plate both runners for the 5-3 advantage. It was Cervantes' first hit of the day.
 
"The only thing I can do is learn from my at bats," Cervantes said. "They were mostly working me away and I got the inside pitch. They just missed that spot and I took it to left. It's important to get runs in the 6-7-8, that's what coach preaches a lot, and I was able to do it."
 
Alabama threatened in the ninth inning, scoring a run and putting runners on the corners with two outs, but Carson Orton recorded the final out to earn his third save.
 
Humeniuk and Wiley Cleland had three hits each for ULM, while Zane Denton had three hits with two RBIs, including a double, for Alabama.
 
"Every team we face is a faceless opponent," Cervantes said. "SEC, Sun Belt, it doesn't really matter who we play. It's about executing every pitch and taking it inning by inning and pitch by pitch. It was important to get this win today because we had a bad week last week."
 
The Warhawks open a three-game weekend series at Georgia Southern at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Links to live video, audio and stats are available at ULMWarhawks.com.