MONTGOMERY, Ala. – ULM's 2021 baseball season ended with a 9-5 loss to Georgia Southern to wrap up Pool B play at the Sun Belt Conference Championship at Riverwalk Stadium.
 
ULM finished at 26-26 for its best winning percentage in a full season (.500) since posting a 32-30 record (.516) in 2012. Georgia Southern (33-22) advanced to Saturday's semifinals against the Ragin' Cajuns.
 
With Georgia Southern claiming the pool championship on Wednesday with a win over rival Georgia State, both teams used eight pitchers and plenty of substitutes as the game progressed.
 
The Eagles took the lead in the first inning when SBC Player of the Year Mason McWhorter hit a 2-run home run. Southern added to the lead with three runs in the second and third innings to push the lead to 8-0. A sacrifice fly by Jason Swan in the fifth inning increased the advantage to 9-0.
 
The Warhawks battled back. In the sixth inning, Travis Washburn doubled and scored off two wild pitches before Carson Jones belted his first career home run, a 2-run shot to center, to cut the gap to 9-3.
 
ULM continued its push in the seventh inning. Ryan Cupit led off the inning with a single and scored on Wiley Cleland's double play ball. Grant Schulz followed with a solo home run to bring the Warhawks within 9-5.
 
Cupit and Schulz had two hits each for ULM, while Swan had three hits and three RBIs and McWhorter had three hits and two RBIs for Southern.
 
Tyler Lien (4-3) suffered the loss after allowing two runs on two hits in the first inning. Connor Bruce earned the win for Southern.
 
For the latest on ULM baseball, visit ULMWarhawks.com.