ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - The ULM baseball team opens a five-game road swing with a 6 p.m. game Tuesday against McNeese at Joe Miller Ballpark in Lake Charles. It is the second meeting between ULM and McNeese in six days after the Warhawks defeated the Cowboys, 4-3, in 10 innings on Wednesday at Warhawk Field.
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Tuesday's game will also air on 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB, KMLB.com and the TuneIn app with Mike Hammett on the call. A link to live stats can be found on the baseball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.

Tuesday's game marks the 198th all-time meeting between the Warhawks and Cowboys, making it the second-most played rivalry in ULM baseball history, behind only Northwestern State at 226 meetings. ULM leads the series, 102-94-1. Before last Wednesday, ULM and McNeese last met in the final weekend series of the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when ULM won two of three games in Lake Charles, taking the first two games, 8-2 and 5-3, before the Cowboys won the finale, 3-1. 

ULM (14-23-1 overall, 6-11-1 Sun Belt Conference) lost two of three games against App State over the weekend. The Warhawks lost Friday's game, 5-1, before the Mountaineers won again, 10-0, on Saturday. ULM's bats woke up in the final game of the series, putting up five runs in the second inning to build a 6-0 lead en route to an 8-5 win. The Warhawks are 5-4 in midweek games, including wins in four of its last five midweek contests. ULM is 7-9-1 on the road this season. The Warhawks are hitting .259 as a team with 174 RBIs, while the pitching staff has posted an ERA of 5.96.

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 5-4 against McNeese.

McNeese (23-17 overall, 9-6 Southland Conference) has won seven of its last eight games entering Tuesday's game at Joe Miller Ballpark. The Cowboys swept their second consecutive Southland Conference series over the weekend, taking three games from Southeastern, 7-3, 6-4 and 8-4, in Lake Charles.  are coming off a three-game weekend sweep of Incarnate Word, 9-3, 4-3 and 11-1, before defeating former Southland foe Sam Houston, 8-4, on Monday in Lake Charles. The Cowboys are 5-4 in midweek games this year and have won three of their last four midweeks. McNeese is hitting .283 as a team with 232 RBIs, while the pitching staff has posted a 3.94 ERA.

McNeese coach Justin Hill is in his ninth season leading the Cowboys. The West Monroe native has guided McNeese to each of the last two NCAA tournaments, playing in the Fort Worth Regional last season and the Nashville Regional in 2019. His teams have won 30 or more games six times in seven full seasons. He is eight wins away from tying the school record for wins at 263, held by the late Tony Robichaux. He was an assistant coach on ULM's 2012 NCAA Regional team under head coach Jeff Schexnaider. Hill is 7-8 against ULM. 

WARHAWKS DISPLAY POWER POTENTIAL
Since the start of Sun Belt Conference play on March 18 at Coastal Carolina, ULM has hit 23 of its 32 home runs on the season in a span of 23 games. The Warhawks have hit at least one home run in 20 of the last 28 contests.

Against App State, senior Mason Holt clubbed his team-leading 10th home run of the season, a solo shot to right-center field in the first inning on April 24. ULM went on to the 8-5 win. He has hit all of his 10 home runs in the last 25 games. The Warhawks went on to an 8-3 win.

In the series at UL Lafayette, junior Austin Beech hit his first career home run, a go-ahead 2-run homer to highlight a five-run top of the ninth rally for ULM in a 7-5 win on April 15 over the Ragin' Cajuns. It was ULM's first Sun Belt Conference win over the Cajuns in Lafayette since 2012, and just the third win over the Cajuns in the last 34 meetings.

In the midweek game at Jackson State on April 12, Holt belted a 2-run go-ahead home run in the top of the fifth inning, putting ULM ahead 3-1. 

In the weekend series against Troy, sophomore Caleb Sterling hit a solo homer in the third inning on April 8, Holt hit a 3-run blast in the fifth inning on April 9 and sophomore Carson Jones hit a 2-run homer to spark a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth on April 10.

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 .615 slugging percentage, 51 hits, 33 runs scored, 25 RBIs, 11 doubles, 10 home runs and 96 total bases. He is second on the team with a .327 batting average and 19 walks. He joins fellow senior Grant Schulz as the only two players to start all 36 games in 2022. He is third in the SBC in total bases, fourth in home runs, fifth in hits, tied for sixth in doubles, seventh in runs scored and eighth in slugging percentage.

The Coppell, Texas, native is slashing .327/.417/.615 at the plate, which all rank in the top two on the team. He is tied for second on the team with seven stolen bases.

Holt bashed his first home run of the season on March 13 at Nicholls. In the 25 games since, including the game at Nicholls, he is slashing .365/.450/.760 with all 10 of his homers on the season, nine of his 11 doubles, 23 of his 25 RBIs and 25 of his 33 runs scored. He has hit safely in 22 of those 25 games with 12 multi-hit games.

Inside SBC play, Holt is slashing .370/.465/.699 with seven doubles, one triple, five homers, 11 RBIs, 16 runs scored and 11 walks. He is the one of two Warhawks hitting over .300 in conference play (Ryan Cupit, .313).

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. He clubbed his 10th homer of the season with two hits and two runs scored vs. App State on April 24.

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 .316/.403/.470, all ranking inside the top three on the team.

He has hit safely in 23 of 30 games since rejoining the starting lineup, including 11 multi-hit games He had a nine-game hitting streak snapped on Friday vs. App State. 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. He tallied two hits in each of the final two games of the series vs. App State on April 23-24, including an RBI with a run scored in the series finale.

WARHAWK WALK-OFF
ULM has picked up two walk-off wins at this season.

The Warhawks picked up their second walk-off of the year last Wednesday night. In the 10th inning, sophomore Chase DeJean hit a sacrifice fly to deep left center, scoring senior Trace Henry to defeat McNeese, 4-3.

ULM junior 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.

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 18th nationally while leading ULM and the Sun Belt Conference with a .510 on-base percentage. He also ranks 12th nationally and leads ULM and the SBC in base on balls (37), while ranking sixth nationally and leading the SBC in base on balls per game (1.00). His 37 walks are 10 better than the next closest player in the SBC (Justin Thompson, Texas State, 27). 

In the last 10 games, Cupit is hitting a team-best .417 (15-for-36) with two triples, one double, six RBIs, five runs scored with 11 walks and one stolen base.

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 a team-best .333 at the plate (38-for-114) with six doubles, three triples, and is second on the team with 27 runs scored. He is currently riding a career-best seven-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in the last 10 contests.

Last Wednesday against McNeese, Cupit had three hits, including a double, with a walk as he reached safely in each of his first four trips to the plate. He had three hits with two RBIs and a walk in the weekend series vs. App State.

In the series at UL Lafayette, he had two hits with a walk on April 16; two hits, including a key RBI, with two walks on April 15; and was 1-for-4 on April 14.

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 37 of 38 games with 33 starts and has reached base safely in 33 games. 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 19 of the last 24 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 .277/.308/.358 with eight doubles, one triple, one home run, 24 RBIs, 17 runs scored, nine walks and three stolen bases. He is second on the team with 44 hits and is second on the team with eight doubles. 

LEE CATCHING ON
Sophomore Matthew Lee has started nine of the last 12 games at catcher for ULM and has come through at the plate as well. On April 20 vs. McNeese he went 1-for-3 with a walk to extend his hitting streak to four games and has reached base safely in seven consecutive games. In his two starts at UL Lafayette, he had two hits in each game and was also hit by a pitch on April 14. He had career highs with two hits and three RBIs, including a bases-loaded 2-RBI single on April 12 at Jackson State. He also had base hits at SFA and on April 9 vs. Troy. He had two RBIs against SFA. Since joining the starting lineup in a regular role on April 4 at SFA, he is second on the team in hitting at .375 (9-for-24) with seven RBIs, six runs scored, eight walks and nine strikeouts. He has reached base safely in nine of 10 games.

SHUFFLER GETS ANOTHER MIDWEEK NOD
Redshirt freshman Henry Shuffler is set for his seventh start of the season Tuesday night when ULM visits McNeese. Shuffler is 2-2 with a 6.05 ERA over 19 1/3 innings, allowing 14 runs, 13 earned, on 18 hits with 23 strikeouts to 16 walks. He faced McNeese last Wednesday, throwing career highs with five innings and 75 pitches, allowing one run on one hit with one walk while matching a career-high with five strikeouts. It is his third consecutive midweek start and third road start of the season, getting the nod on March 1 at No. 2 Ole Miss and April 12 at Jackson State.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING
ULM enters Wednesday's game with two hitting streaks of five-or-more games and three reached base streaks of five-or-more games.

Senior Ryan Cupit has hit safely in a career-high seven consecutive games and has reached base in 10 straight games. Fellow senior Mason Holt has a five-game hitting streak and has reached base in 17 consecutive games. He is one away from tying his career-high reached base streak.

Senior Colby Deaville has reached base safely in a career-high 15 games after having a nine-game hitting streak come to an end on Friday vs. App State.

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).