ARLINGTON, Texas – ULM scored three runs with two outs in the fourth inning to take the lead and went on to a 5-2 win over UT Arlington Saturday afternoon at Clay Gould Ballpark to even the series at a game apiece.
 
Mason Holt paced ULM with three hits, including a solo home run and a double, while scoring twice and added a walk. Landon Cato and Ryan Cupit also had two hits each.
 
Cole Cressend (3-2) battled through five innings on the mound for ULM (9-15-1 overall, 4-3-1 Sun Belt Conference), giving up two runs, both in the second inning, on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks to earn the win.
 
"It's something you think about playing series baseball," Cressend said. "You have to find a way to win two out of three. We were saying yesterday after the game that we weren't the better team today. The thing I said was that we've got to find a way to be a better team tomorrow. I wanted to come out and get a statement early and make sure that the other team knows that we're not backing down and that we're here to play."
 
Zach Shaw and Carson Orton each worked two scoreless innings of relief, with Orton working out of bases-loaded jams in the eighth and ninth innings to earn the save, his third.
 
UTA took the early 2-0 lead in the second inning. Matt Lumsden opened the inning with a drive to the left-center field gap as the ball rolled to the wall. The ball became lodged in the wall, but later dropped free, as Lumsden rounded the bases for an inside-the-park home run. Later in the inning, Tanner Rice hit a two-out RBI single to plate Cason Gregory to double the lead to 2-0.
 
"I just had to work around some tough plays behind us there at the beginning," Cressend said. "The mentality is never giving up and always keep going until coach takes the ball out of my hand. I'm just glad to be able to come through right there and get a good comeback win for the team. We needed one of those. It feels good. We're going to definitely enjoy this one."
 
Holt answered for ULM in the top of the third, belting a solo home run to left field. He leads the Warhawks with seven home runs on the season, all in the last 12 games.
 
Trailing 2-1 with the bases empty and two outs in the top of the fourth, Caleb Sterling, Trace Henry and Cupit hit three consecutive singles. Sterling scored on Cupit's single, and a throwing error on the play allowed Henry to score to give ULM a 3-2 lead. A wild pitch allowed Cupit to come home for the 4-2 advantage.
 
ULM had a chance to add to the lead in the fifth when Holt singled and Cato doubled to lead off the inning, but the Warhawks were unable to tack on any runs.
 
Cressend answered back for ULM in the bottom half of the inning, retiring the side with another zero on the board to end his outing.
 
"I thought the biggest inning was the fifth," ULM head coach Michael Federico said. "We don't score when we have runners at second and third and momentum there. We don't put a run across, but then Cole comes out there and hangs a zero in the fifth. I think UTA probably could have done some damage from a momentum standpoint. Cole was locked in right there."
 
The Warhawks added to the lead in the seventh when Holt doubled to lead off the inning, moved to third on Cato's sacrifice bunt and scored on Schulz's fielder's choice, going ahead 5-2.
 
Federico praised Holt's ability to ignite the Warhawk offense on Saturday.
 
"He's a true baseball player," Federico said. "The IQ that he has and the passion that he plays with, the energy, it's amazing. He has to play that way. He's a little undersized in some ways. We don't really play with some chips on our shoulders sometimes, but Mason, he does all the time. He's always out to prove people wrong. He doesn't back down from anyone."
 
UTA loaded the bases with two bases on balls and a hit batsmen in the eighth inning, but Orton picked up a strikeout and a groundout to retire the side. In the ninth, UTA loaded the bases again, this time with three singles off Orton, but a groundout to shortstop ended the game.
 
Michael Wong (1-3) took the loss for UTA, allowing four runs, two earned, on eight hits with four strikeouts and one walk in five innings. Lumsden, Oscar Ponce and Gregory had two hits each for the Mavericks.
 
The two teams wrap up the series with the rubber match at 1 p.m. Sunday at Clay Gould Ballpark.