CONWAY, S.C. – In a slugfest that took over four hours to play eight innings, ULM and Coastal Carolina played to a 17-17 tie Sunday afternoon after the eighth inning concluded after a curfew set to allow for the Warhawks to travel home. The two teams split the three-game series, 1-1-1.
 
It is the ninth tie in ULM baseball history and first since 1993, when then-Northeast Louisiana played to a 10-10 tie at Delta State on March 3. It is the first tie in a conference game for ULM since March 16, 1985, when NLU and McNeese played to a 5-5 tie in the second game of a doubleheader in Lake Charles.
 
With the wind blowing straight out to centerfield at 10 to 20 miles per hour, outs were at a premium in the rubber match of the series. ULM lost leads of seven and five runs, while also erasing a two-run deficit in the game.
 
The Warhawks (5-12-1, 1-1-1 Sun Belt Conference) opened the game on a high. ULM chased CCU starting pitcher Michael Knorr after just 2/3 of an inning. The Warhawks put five runs on the board in the first inning, highlighted by a moon-shot 3-run home run by sophomore Michelle Artzberger, an RBI groundout by senior Grant Schulz in which he reached base on an error and a two-out RBI single by junior Travis Washburn.
 
After Coastal picked up a run in the bottom of the first, ULM added three more in the second inning. Senior Grant Schulz brought home senior Mason Holt on a sacrifice fly, senior Ryan Cupit scored on a passed ball and sophomore Landon Cato came home when Washburn was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded as the Warhawks went up 8-1.
 
Coastal punched back in the bottom of the second, putting five on the board. Zack Beach and Matt McDermott each hit 2-run home runs in the inning, cutting the deficit to 8-6.
 
ULM added a pair of runs in the third when Schulz tripled off the left center field wall to plate Cupit and Cato hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Schulz, going up 10-6.
 
Coastal answered with two in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly and a fielder's choice.
 
After ULM came up empty in the top of the fourth, Coastal claimed its first lead. A passed ball allowed Nick Lucky to score, and a 2-RBI single by Cooper Weiss put the Chanticleers up 11-10. McDermott's RBI single doubled the lead to 12-10.
 
The lead didn't last long. In the top of the fifth, Artzberger clubbed his second 3-run homer of the game, this time to right center, putting ULM back up 13-12.
 
In a turn of events, both teams went scoreless until the seventh inning as ULM sophomore Carson Orton and Coastal's Riley Eikhoff brought some stability to the mound.
 
ULM put up four runs in the top of the seventh to expand the lead back to five. Cato hit an RBI double to score Cupit, while a throwing error on the back end of the play allowed Schulz to score. Henry's sacrifice bunt brought home junior pinch-runner Austin Beech. ULM capped the inning with sophomore Caleb Sterling's RBI single to score Deaville to lead 17-12.
 
Coastal chased Orton, who entered the game in the fourth inning, midway through the seventh. Eric Brown and Orlando Pena each picked up RBIs, while Tanner Garrison's 2-RBI single brought the Chants back within a run, 17-16.
 
After ULM went scoreless in the top of the eighth, Coastal tied the game in the bottom of the inning with the clock slowly approaching the drop-dead time of 3 p.m. EDT/2 p.m. CDT. Brown's RBI single to right tied the game, but Henry's throw to the infield was cut off by Artzberger, who tagged out Brown on the play for the second out. Just moments after the clock ticked to 3 p.m., senior Lucas Wepf struck out Pena to end the game due to curfew.
 
Cupit led ULM with three hits and five runs scored, while Artzberger had two hits and six RBIs. Six Warhawks had multi-hit games. Brown, Beach and McDermott had three hits each for CCU, with McDermott leading the team with four RBIs.
 
Due to the tie, there were no pitchers of record. Senior Tyler Lien lasted 1 1/3 innings in the start, giving up six runs, five earned, on seven hits with no walks an no strikeouts. Orton threw 3 2/3 innings out of the bullpen for the Warhawks, allowing four runs on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Reece Maniscalco was the longest lasting of Coastal's seven pitchers, tossing 2 2/3 innings, allowing five runs, two earned, on three hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
 
ULM returns to Warhawk Field for a five-game homestand, starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday vs. Jackson State.