ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - The ULM baseball team continues a four-game road trip with a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against the Ragin' Cajuns at M.L. Tigue Moore Field at Russo Park. The series begins at 6 p.m. Thursday and continues at 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday.
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Thursday's game is available to stream on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald (play-by-play) and Eric Mouton (analyst) on the call. There is no video stream available for Friday and Saturday's games. All three games of the series will air on 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB, KMLB.com and the TuneIn app with Mike Hammett on the call. Links to live stats for all three games are available on the baseball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.

Thursday's game is the 151st all-time meeting between the Warhawks and the Ragin' Cajuns, with the Cajuns leading the series, 96-54. The Ragin' Cajuns swept the three-game Sun Belt Conference weekend series from ULM at Warhawk Field last season on April 1-3, winning 9-5, 5-2 and 11-9. The two teams also played a non-conference midweek game in Lafayette, with ULM picking up a 7-6 win on April 27. The Cajuns have won five of the last six games against ULM. The Warhawks have not won a Sun Belt Conference game in Lafayette since 2012, when ULM swept the Cajuns on the final weekend of the regular season.

ULM (11-19-1 overall, 4-7-1 Sun Belt Conference) has lost three of its last four games and four consecutive Sun Belt Conference games entering Thursday's game in Lafayette. The Warhawks snapped a three-game slide by rallying for an 8-3 win over Jackson State Tuesday afternoon at Braddy Field in Jackson, Mississippi. ULM was swept by Troy last weekend. The Trojans limited ULM to two hits while striking out the Warhawks 15 times in a 7-2 win last Friday night. Troy then jumped out to a 10-0 lead last Saturday before ULM battled back, eventually falling, 12-7. The series ended with a wild affair last Sunday as Troy built an 8-2 lead after the top of the eighth inning. ULM picked up two runs in the bottom of the eighth, and then scored four runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings. ULM failed to score the winning run in both the bottom of the ninth and 10th despite having the run in scoring position. Troy scored five runs in the top of the 11th and held on for the 13-10 win. The Warhawks are hitting .261 as a team with 153 RBIs, while the pitching staff has posted an ERA of 5.84.

ULM head coach Michael Federico is in his fifth season with the Warhawks. After leading the club to an 11-win improvement in his first year and a two-win improvement in his second year, he led the Warhawks to their first .500-or-better season since 2012 with a 26-26 mark in 2021 as ULM finished third in the Sun Belt Conference West Division. Federico is 2-8 against the Ragin' Cajuns.

The Ragin' Cajuns (18-14 overall, 7-5 SBC) enters Friday's game on a season-high four-game winning streak after sweeping Arkansas State last weekend, 10-0, 5-3 and 7-4 in 10 innings. The Cajuns started the winning streak by taking the back end of a double midweek against Louisiana Tech, 8-6, on April 6. After suffering a sweep at Troy to open SBC play, the Cajuns have won each of their last three weekend series, taking two-of-three games from South Alabama and Georgia Southern. The Cajuns are hitting .252 as a team with 154 RBIs, while the pitching staff has posted a 4.27 ERA.

Ragin' Cajuns coach Matt Deggs is in his third year in Lafayette. Prior to returning to the Cajuns, he was the head coach at Sam Houston State for five seasons, taking the Bearkats to the NCAA Tournament twice. He served as an assistant coach with legendary Cajun coach Tony Robichaux from 2012-14. The Cajuns won the SBC West Division in 2021. Deggs is 3-4 against ULM, but is 3-1 as the head coach of the Cajuns.

WARHAWKS DISPLAY POWER POTENTIAL
Since the start of Sun Belt Conference play on March 18 at Coastal Carolina, ULM has hit 21 of its 30 home runs on the season in a span of 16 games. The Warhawks have hit at least one home run in 18 of the last 21 contests.

In the midweek game at Jackson State on Tuesday, senior Mason Holt belted a 2-run go-ahead home run in the top of the fifth inning, putting ULM ahead 3-1. He has hit all of his team-leading nine home runs in the last 17 games. The Warhawks went on to an 8-3 win.

In the weekend series against Troy, sophomore Caleb Sterling hit a solo homer in the third inning on Friday, Holt hit a 3-run blast in the fifth inning on Saturday and sophomore Carson Jones hit a 2-run homer to spark a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday.

Sophomores Chase DeJean and Jones got in on the action at SFA on April 4. DeJean hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning, while Jones added a 2-run blast in the sixth in ULM's 15-6 win.

Holt continued his tear with a solo home run in the third inning April 2 at UT Arlington. 

Holt hit a leadoff home run in the first inning for the second consecutive game March 29 at LSU. His blast to left center glanced off the video board to put the Warhawks out to the quick 1-0 lead. He later added a 2-run home run in the fourth inning, giving him six homers in 10 games. However, LSU controlled the contest as the No. 11 Tigers cruised to the 15-4 victory at Alex Box Stadium.

Over the weekend series against Georgia State, Holt and Colby Deaville hit solo home runs in the 8-5 loss on March 27. Sophomore Michelle Artzberger blasted a 2-run home run in the third inning on March 26 against the Panthers to extend ULM's lead to 3-0 en route to a 5-2 win. On March 25, junior Travis Washburn belted a 2-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give ULM a 5-3 win.

On March 23 vs. Stephen F. Austin, ULM hit three home runs for the second time this season. Senior Grant Schulz opened the game with a 3-run home run before Holt followed later that inning with a grand slam as the Warhawks claimed an 8-2 lead in the first inning. Sterling belted his first homer as a Warhawk, a 2-run shot, in the seventh inning. ULM picked up a 13-6 win.

In the series at Coastal Carolina, Artzberger hit a pair of 3-run home runs on March 20. His first 3-run home run highlighted a 5-run first inning, and his second 3-run blast in the fifth inning put the Warhawks back on top, 13-12. ULM went on to tie CCU, 17-17. Deaville hit a solo home run on March 19 in the second inning to put ULM on top, 1-0. Holt hit a 2-run shot in the seventh inning to cut the Chanticleer lead to 7-4. Coastal held on for a 9-4 win. On March 18, Washburn returned to the starting lineup for the first time in two weeks and hit a solo home run down the left field line to increase ULM's lead to 3-0. The Warhawks went on to win, 3-2.

HOLT LEADS THE WAY
Senior leadoff hitter Mason Holt leads ULM with a .333 batting average, .620 slugging percentage, 43 hits, 28 runs scored, 24 RBIs, eight doubles, nine home runs and 80 total bases. He joins fellow senior Grant Schulz as the only two players to start all 31 games in 2022. His nine homers are tied for third-most in the SBC, while he is fourth in the league in total bases.

The Coppell, Texas, native is slashing .333/.419/.620 at the plate, which all rank in the top three on the team. He is third on the team with five stolen bases.

Holt bashed his first home run of the season on March 13 at Nicholls. In the 18 games since, including the game at Nicholls, he is slashing .390/.466/.818 with all nine of his homers on the season, six of his eight doubles, 22 of his 24 RBIs and 20 of his 28 runs scored. He has hit safely in 16 of those 18 games with 10 multi-hit games.

Inside SBC play, Holt is slashing .392/.475/.725 with five doubles, four homers, 10 RBIs, 11 runs scored and eight walks. He is the only Warhawk hitting over .300 in conference play.

He had a four-RBI game against Stephen F. Austin on March 23, going 2-for-4 with a double and grand slam, all in the first inning. He had a career-high four hits March 27 vs. Georgia State, going 4-for-5 with a double, home run, RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. He belted a pair of home runs on March 29 at No. 11 LSU, driving in three of ULM's four runs. He has hit leadoff home runs in the first inning in consecutive games against Georgia State and LSU. He had three hits with a double and a home run at UT Arlington on April 2. He had two hits, including a 3-run home run, vs. Troy on April 9. He hit the go-ahead 2-run homer April 12 at Jackson State.

DEAVILLE PROVIDES OFFENSIVE BOOST
Senior Colby Deaville entered the starting lineup on Saturday, March 5, against New Orleans and provided an immediate boost to the ULM offense. Deaville, who started 31 games at shortstop in 2021, is slashing .319/.415/.495, all ranking inside the top three on the team.

He has hit safely in 17 of 23 games since rejoining the starting lineup, including nine multi-hit games. He had career highs with four hits and three RBIs to go with two doubles, two runs scored, a walk and a steal on March 5 vs. UNO. He added two hits in the series finale vs. the Privateers on March 6. On March 9 vs. Northwestern State, he tacked on two hits with a double, RBI and run scored. He opened the series at Nicholls on March 11 going 1-for-4 with a walk. On March 12, he had two hits, including a home run, with an RBI, a run scored and two stolen bases. On March 13 at Nicholls, he did not have a hit, but was hit by a pitch and scored from first base on an RBI single by Caleb Sterling to give ULM a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning. He had three hits, including a solo home run, with a walk and a stolen base at Coastal Carolina on March 19. He had two hits with an RBI single on March 25 vs. Georgia State before adding a solo home run on March 27. He tallied two hits with a double, was hit by a pitch and scored three runs at SFA on April 4. He was the only Warhawk to hit safely in all three games in the weekend series vs. Troy, collecting two hits in each of the last two games, going 5-for-16 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored vs. the Trojans from April 8-10.

WALK-OFF WASHBURN
ULM second baseman Travis Washburn brought an end to the March 25 5-3 ULM win over Georgia State, hitting a 2-run walk-off home run to right field in the bottom of the 11th inning. It was his third home run of the season and capped a two-hit, three-RBI night for the junior.

The Conroe, Texas, native returned to the starting lineup on March 18 at Coastal Carolina after being benched for two weeks. After struggling early in the season, he went 4-for-9 at CCU with a home run, three RBIs, a run scored, two walks, a stolen base and a strikeout. He had two hits with a solo home run and walk on March 18 at Coastal before adding two more hits with two RBIs, a walk and a stolen base in the series finale on March 20. He had a 2-RBI single in the seventh inning on April 1 at UT Arlington.

Washburn was a Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection at second base last year. He had opened the season 3-for-27 at the plate prior to losing his starting spot after the March 4 game vs. New Orleans. 

CHANCES ARE THAT CUPIT IS ON BASE
After spending two seasons as one of the first players off the bench for ULM, senior Ryan Cupit has taken over as the starting left fielder for the Warhawks.

The West Monroe, Louisiana, native ranks 33rd nationally while leading ULM and the Sun Belt Conference with a .508 on-base percentage. He also ranks 11th nationally and leads ULM and the SBC in base on balls (32), while ranking eighth nationally and leading the SBC in base on balls per game (1.07). His 32 walks are nine better than the next closest player in the SBC. He had a streak of nine consecutive games with at least one walk drawn snapped on April 4 at SFA, when he went 3-for-6 with a double, RBI and a run scored. He had a season-high four walks vs. New Orleans on March 5. In addition, he is hitting .307 at the plate (27-for-88) with five doubles, three triples, and is second on the team with 27 runs scored.

At Jackson State on Tuesday, he was 0-for-2 with two walks, was hit by a pitch and picked up an RBI, his seventh of the season.

Against Troy, he was 4-for-12 at the plate with two triples, two RBIs, four runs scored, four walks and two strikeouts from April 8-10.

He had a 3-for-5 day at the plate on March 20 at Coastal Carolina with a walk, was hit by a pitch and scored a career high five runs. Cupit has appeared in 26 of 27 games with 22 starts and has reached base safely 23 times. He had an 11-game reached base streak snapped on March 19 at Coastal Carolina.

SCHULZ NAMED PRESEASON ALL-SUN BELT CONFERENCE BY PERFECT GAME
ULM senior third baseman Grant Schulz was selected to Perfect Game's Sun Belt Conference Preseason Team at designated hitter.

Schulz led the Warhawks with a .333 batting average in 2021, 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.

Schulz had a career-best seven-game hitting streak and 22-game reached-base streak end on April 2 at UT Arlington. He has hit safely in 17 of the last 21 games, including 12 multi-hit games. He bounced back on April 4 at SFA with a 2-for-5 day at the plate with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. He had five hits in the series against Troy, including three hits with two RBIs and a walk on April 10. He added a two-out, 2-RBI single vs. Jackson State on April 12. He has 15 multi-hit games, including a season-high three hits on March 27 vs. Georgia State and April 10 vs. Troy. He is slashing .308/.343/.406 with eight doubles, one triple, one home run, 20 RBIs, 16 runs scored, eight walks and three stolen bases. He is second on the team with 41 hits and is tied for the team lead with eight doubles. He has reached base safely in 27 of 31 games in 2022.

LEE CATCHING ON
Sophomore Matthew Lee has started four of the last five games at catcher for ULM, and has come through at the plate as well. Lee had career highs with two hits and three RBIs, including a bases-loaded 2-RBI single on Tuesday at Jackson State. He also had base hits at SFA and last Saturday vs. Troy. He had two RBIs against SFA. He is 4-for-12 at the plate in the span with five RBIs, four runs scored, three walks and was hit by a pitch.

STARTING ROTATION REMAINS IN FLUX AHEAD OF SERIES WITH CAJUNS
ULM head coach Michael Federico has announced the first two starters of the weekend series with the Ragin' Cajuns in Lafayette and will determine Saturday's series finale starter following the conclusion of Friday night's game. Redshirt sophomore left-hander Cam Barlow will make his ninth series-opening start of the season while true sophomore right-hander Cole Cressend will start in the second game for the fifth-consecutive series.

Barlow is slated for his ninth series-opening start of the season. The Halls, Tennessee, native is 2-3 this season with a 3.80 ERA over 45 innings, allowing 23 runs, 19 earned, on 39 hits with 36 strikeouts and 18 walks. He pitched a career-high 7 1/3 innings and 100 pitches last Friday vs. Troy, allowing six runs, four earned, on nine hits with four strikeouts and one walk. He suffered the loss on April 1 at UT Arlington, allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits with five strikeouts and no walks in 4 1/3 innings. He took a no-decision in the March 25 5-3 win in 11 innings over Georgia State, pitching six innings while allowing three runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts. He earned back-to-back wins, throwing 5 2/3 innings March 18 at Coastal Carolina, allowing an unearned run on one hit with two strikeouts and a career-high six walks, but he induced three double play balls behind him to help get out of trouble. He gave up three runs in five innings for the win at Nicholls on March 11.

Cressend will make his fifth consecutive start in the second game of the weekend series. The Mandeville, Louisiana, native is 3-3 with a 7.26 ERA over 31 innings, allowing 27 runs, 25 earned, on 30 hits with 19 strikeouts and 16 walks. He struggled last week vs. Troy, allowing six runs, five earned, on four hits with two strikeouts and three walks in 3 1/3 innings. He picked up his second consecutive win on April 2 at UT Arlington, throwing five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks in a 5-2 win at UT Arlington. He earned the win on March 26 in a 5-2 victory against Georgia State, throwing a career-high six innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits with three strikeouts and one walk. In his first career weekend start on March 19 at Coastal, he suffered the loss after working 4 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on six hits with one strikeout and two walks. He allowed three runs in the first four innings before giving up three more runs in the fifth inning after he exited the game.

Federico will announce Saturday's probable starter following the conclusion of Friday's contest in Lafayette.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING
ULM enters Thursday night's game with one hitting streak of five-or-more games and four reached base streaks of five-or-more games.

Senior Colby Deaville has hit safely in a season-high five consecutive games and has reached base safely in each of the last eight games. He has a season-high reached base streak of 15 games. Senior Mason Holt has reached base safely in 10 consecutive games after having a seven-game hitting streak snapped last Friday vs. Troy. The 10-game stretch is his longest of the season. Sophomore Michelle Artzberger has reached safely in each of his last eight appearances. Sophomore Matthew Lee has reached safely in each of his last five appearances.

LOCAL CONNECTIONS
The 2022 ULM roster features seven players from inside Ouachita Parish. The Warhawks have four players who attended West Monroe High School (senior Ryan Cupit, sophomore Chase DeJean and Carson Jones and freshman Lane Little), two from Sterlington High School (redshirt freshman Adam Tubbs and true freshman William Perkins) and one from Ouachita Parish High School (true freshman Zach Shaw). Overall, the Warhawks have 17 players hailing from the state of Louisiana.

O CANADA!
The 2021 ULM baseball roster features two players from Canada: pitcher Tylor Jans (Edmonton, Alberta) and pitcher Lucas Wepf (Brampton, Ontario).