MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawks begin the 2022 season Friday night at the newly-renovated Warhawk Field as they entertain the Southern Illinois Salukis for the first of a three-game series. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Friday's season-opener is the first game at Warhawk Field following offseason renovations. The renovations at Warhawk Field included installation of DoublePlay Speed FieldTurf in the infield and DoublePlay Natural FieldTurf in the outfield, the home bullpen moved adjacent to the first base dugout, the visitor bullpen moved off of the field of play in the left field corner, brought fans closer to the action with foul territory walls moved closer to the foul lines and a new premium seating area, The Stadium Club, located behind home plate at field level.
Prior to Friday night's game, former ULM coach Lou St. Amant will be recognized for his work on the Warhawk Field renovation project. St. Amant, who coached then-Northeast Louisiana for 18 seasons from 1976-1993 and was involved in the construction of Warhawk Field in 1983, made the largest contribution to the project and was instrumental in making countless telephone calls to assist the fundraising effort. Former NLU pitcher Mitch Thomas, who was the first pitcher to throw in the original Warhawk Field in 1983, will also be on hand to throw out the first pitch.
Friday's game is the 10th all-time meeting between ULM and SIU, with the Warhawks leading the series, 6-3. ULM swept the Salukis in Carbondale in 2018, with the Warhawks winning, 5-4, 13-7 and 7-4 from March 2-4. ULM won two of three from SIU in their last trip to Monroe in 2017, winning the opener, 4-3, and the series finale, 6-2, while SIU won the middle game, 9-0, from Feb. 24-26. The two teams first met in 2002, with SIU winning the first two games of the series, 8-1 and 8-2, before ULM salvaged the finale, 7-6 from Feb. 15-17.
ULM (26-26 overall, 11-13 Sun Belt Conference in 2021) enters the new season with six position player starters returning and two starting pitchers back, as well as a wealth of experience in the bullpen. Around the infield, two All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team selections are back in senior third baseman
Grant Schulz and junior second baseman
Travis Washburn. Senior
Colby Deaville started the lion's share of games at shortstop last season, and is battling for the spot with sophomore
Carson Jones. In the outfield, senior centerfielder
Mason Holt and senior right fielder
Trace Henry return. On the mound, fourth-year sophomore
Cam Barlow and sixth-year senior
Tyler Lien return to the weekend rotation. The Warhawks are picked to finish ninth in the SBC.
Southern Illinois (40-20 overall, 15-13 Missouri Valley Conference in 2021) returns five position players and six pitchers in 2022. The Salukis were picked to finish third in the MVC this season. Cody Cleveland is the leading returner at the plate after finishing second on the team with a .346 batting average last year. J.T. Weber also returns after starting all 60 games and hitting .322 with 16 doubles, 15 home runs, 57 runs scored and a team-best 63 RBIs. Ben Chapman is set to start the Friday night matchup after starting 15 games last year, going 7-5 with a 3.97 ERA in 81 2/3 innings with 78 strikeouts to 18 walks. Noah Farmer returns after leading the staff in ERA at 2.98. He is slated to start Saturday's game at Warhawk Field.
Every game of the weekend series vs. SIU will be broadcast on 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB, KMLB.com and the TuneIn app with
Mike Hammett on the call. Links to live stats are available on the baseball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com. There is no video stream available for this weekend's series due to the Sun Belt Conference's exclusive contract with ESPN+.
SCHULZ, WASHBURN EARN ALL-SBC SECOND TEAM RECOGNITION IN 2021
ULM junior third baseman
Grant Schulz and sophomore second baseman
Travis Washburn were each selected to the 2021 All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team, as selected by the conference's head coaches.
Schulz led the Warhawks with a .333 batting average, which ranked fifth in the Sun Belt Conference. He had 10 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 30 RBIs, 22 runs scored and 12 walks while playing in 42 games with 35 starts on the season. Schulz was a big part of ULM's late-season surge. Schulz hit a team-best .440 (33-for-75) from April 18 to May 28 with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs, 20 RBIs, 18 runs scored, five walks and two stolen bases. In that span, Schulz raised his batting average from .185 to lead the team at .333. He hit safely in nine of the last 10 games with six multi-hit games in that stretch.
Washburn was second on the team in batting average at .327, which ranked seventh in the SBC. Washburn played in 45 games with 41 starts, collecting 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 16 RBIs, 30 runs scored, 12 walks and 11 stolen bases. He also was an integral part of ULM's late-season success. From April 18 to May 28, Washburn was second on the team with a .382 batting average (29-for-76), with seven doubles, one home run, 12 RBIs, 17 runs, six walks and seven stolen bases.
BARLOW NAMED LOUISIANA SPORTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION PITCHER OF THE WEEK (MAY 10-MAY 16)
ULM redshirt freshman pitcher
Cam Barlow was named Louisiana Sports Writers Association Pitcher of the Week on May 18 after throwing the first five innings of ULM's attempt at a combined no-hitter at No. 6 TCU on Friday, May 14. Barlow worked around five walks with three strikeouts to earn the win, as the Warhawks did not allow a hit to the Horned Frogs through 8 2/3 innings, with
Trey Lindsay and
Carson Orton attempting to close out the no-hitter. Barlow was the second Warhawk to earn LSWA Pitcher of the Week honors in 2021, joining Lindsay (March 9-14).
HENRY NAMED SUN BELT CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK AND LSWA HITTER OF THE WEEK (APRIL 26-MAY 2)
ULM outfielder
Trace Henry was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week and the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Hitter of the Week on May 4 after hitting .625 (10-for-16) over four games from April 26-May 2, including three doubles, one triple, two RBIs, seven runs scored, three walks and two sacrifice bunts. The Mooreville, Mississippi, native started his week with two hits, including a double, with two runs scored and a walk against the Ragin' Cajuns in Lafayette on April 27. In the April 30 series opener at App State, Henry had a hit with two walks. He then posted a season-high four hits, including two doubles and one triple, with four runs scored and a sacrifice bunt on May 1 vs. App State. He closed the week with three more hits with a pair of RBIs, a run scored and another sacrifice bunt on May 2 at App State. He was the second Warhawk to earn SBC Player of the Week and LSWA Hitter of the Week honors last season, joining
Grant Schulz (April 20-25).
SCHULZ NAMED SUN BELT PLAYER OF THE WEEK AND LSWA HITTER OF THE WEEK (APRIL 20-25)
ULM third baseman
Grant Schulz was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week and the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Hitter of the Week on April 27 following his play from April 20-25. The Meraux, Louisiana, native had an incredible week for ULM at the plate after sitting out since April 3. He went 8-for-11 at the plate with a double, grand slam, seven RBIs, five runs scored, four walks and a steal to increase his batting average by 92 points on the season as the Warhawks won four of five games in the stretch. After playing as a defensive sub at LSU, Schulz took advantage of another late-game opportunity on April 21 vs. Jackson State, hitting a grand slam and taking a walk. He earned the starting nod at third base in all three games of the series vs. Southern. On April 23, Schulz had a career-high four hits, including a double, while driving in a run, scoring twice and picking up a steal. In the first game of the April 25 doubleheader, Schulz walked twice. In the series finale, Schulz was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, driving in a pair of runs while scoring twice and walking once.
LINDSAY NAMED SUN BELT CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Trey Lindsay had a fantastic week against Louisiana Tech and Ole Miss from March 9-March 14, pitching four innings combined over three outings to earn Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week honors. Lindsay started his week by coming on to record the final two outs of a big seventh inning by Louisiana Tech, both on strikeouts. On March 13, Lindsay entered the game at Ole Miss with two runners on base and no outs in the bottom of the fourth inning and proceeded to retire the next three batters to strand the inherited runners and keep ULM within three runs. Lindsay worked another 1 2/3 innings of shut-out baseball, allowing just one walk and two hits. In March 14's 8-3 upset of the Rebels, ULM's first Top-5 win in 12 years, Lindsay was called in to pitch with runners on the corners and one out in the bottom of the ninth and immediately induced the game-ending double play ball to seal the win. Lindsay entered all three games with two runners on base, allowing just one of six inherited runners to score on the week while not allowing any runs of his own with just three hits, one walk and four strikeouts over four combined innings.
O CANADA!
The 2021 ULM baseball roster features two players from Canada: pitcher
Tylor Jans (Edmonton, Alberta) and pitcher
Lucas Wepf (Brampton, Ontario). It is the fifth consecutive season ULM has had at least one Canadian on the roster and the third consecutive season the Warhawks have had two or more Canadians on the team.
