ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - The ULM baseball team returns to Warhawk Field for a three-game weekend series against Troy. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
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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 contests are available on the baseball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com. Due to the Sun Belt Conference's exclusive contract with ESPN+, this weekend's series is not available on video stream. Six more ULM baseball home games will be available on ESPN+ later this season, with those dates indicated on the schedule at ULMWarhawks.com.
 
Friday's game is the 41st all-time meeting between ULM and Troy, with the Trojans leading 28-12. The two teams have not met since the 2019 season, when Troy took two of three games at Riddle-Pace Field in Troy. The Trojans won the first two games of the series, 15-4 and 10-4, before ULM salvaged the Sunday series finale, 14-6. In the last series at Warhawk Field, Troy swept the three-game series, 8-1, 7-2 and 4-2. ULM last won a series from Troy in 2016, winning two of three games at Troy.
 
ULM (10-16-1 overall, 4-4-1 Sun Belt Conference) has won two of its last three games after rolling to a 15-6 win at Stephen F. Austin on Monday in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Warhawks played four games in four days in a Texas road swing, dropping two of three games in a Sun Belt Conference series at UT Arlington over the weekend. All three games were decided by 5-2 margins, with ULM winning last Saturday. UTA had the early lead in all three games, which ULM was able to overcome with a two-out, three-run rally last Saturday. The Warhawks are hitting .264 as a team with 128 RBIs, while the pitching staff has posted an ERA of 5.74.
 
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 1-5 against Troy.
 
Troy (18-10 overall, 5-4 Sun Belt Conference) enters Friday's game after dropping three straight games, including Wednesday's 5-4 loss at Southeastern. The Trojans dropped the final two games of the weekend series to Little Rock and have dropped their last two SBC series to UT Arlington and Little Rock after sweeping the Ragin' Cajuns on the opening weekend of conference play. The Trojans are hitting .269 as a team with 164 RBIs while posting a team ERA of 3.84.
 
Troy head coach Skylar Meade is in his first season with the Trojans. He spent the previous four seasons as the pitching coach at South Carolina, and has previous stops at Michigan State, Middle Tennessee and Eastern Illinois. He played collegiately at Louisville and pitched in the College World Series. He has coached 28 players who have been selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft. Friday marks Meade's first meeting with ULM.

ULM CELEBRATES WARHAWK FIELD RENOVATIONS
ULM's Warhawk Field underwent major renovations in the 2021-22 offseason. 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. The ULM home locker room also saw upgrades in the process. Last season, the Warhawk baseball weight room was completed, immediately adjacent to the team's locker room.

WARHAWKS DISPLAY POWER POTENTIAL
Since the start of Sun Belt Conference play two weeks ago, on March 18 at Coastal Carolina, ULM has hit 17 of its 26 home runs on the season in a span of 12 games. The Warhawks have hit at least one home run in 14 of the last 17 contests.

Sophomores Chase DeJean and Carson Jones got in on the action at SFA on Monday. 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.

Senior Mason Holt continued his tear with a solo home run in the third inning Saturday at UT Arlington. He has hit all of his team-leading seven home runs in the last 13 games. 

Holt hit a leadoff home run in the first inning for the second consecutive game Tuesday night 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. Sophomore Caleb 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, .605 slugging percentage, 38 hits, 23 runs scored, 18 RBIs, eight doubles, seven home runs and 69 total bases. He joins fellow senior Grant Schulz as the only two players to start all 27 games in 2022.

The Coppell, Texas, native is slashing .333/.402/.605 at the plate, which all rank in the top three on the team. He is third on the team with five stolen bases.

He has hit safely in 13 of the last 14 games, including eight multi-hit games in that span. He has hit all seven of his home runs and six of his eight doubles in the last 14 games. 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.

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 second on the team with a .329 batting average and .447 on-base percentage.

He has hit safely in 13 of 19 games since rejoining the starting lineup, including seven 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 Monday.

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 38th nationally while leading ULM and ranking second in the Sun Belt Conference with a .505 on-base percentage. He also ranks 19th nationally and leads ULM and the SBC in base on balls (26), while ranking 13th nationally and leading the SBC in base on balls per game (1.00). He had a streak of nine consecutive games with at least one walk drawn snapped on Monday at SFA, when he went 3-for-6 with a double, RBI and a run scored. He has drawn at least one walk in 12 of the last 14 games. He had a season-high four walks vs. New Orleans on March 5. In addition, he is hitting .311 at the plate (23-for-74) with five doubles, one triple, and is second on the team with 22 runs scored.

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.

CATO DEVELOPING INTO MIDDLE OF THE ORDER FORCE
ULM sophomore designated hitter Landon Cato has steadily improved during the 2022 season, winning the DH and cleanup roles on a full-time basis over the last few weeks.

The Birmingham, Alabama, native is slashing .267/.325/.507, adding six doubles, four home runs, 12 RBIs, 12 runs scored and five walks. He had a career-best six-game hitting streak snapped on April 1 at UT Arlington. He has hit safely in 12 of the last 17 games. He had a career-high three this with three RBIs, including a 3-run home run, vs. Northwestern State on March 9. He added a career-high five RBIs in his first career two homer game on March 11 at Nicholls. He had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs at Coastal Carolina on March 20.  He tallied two doubles at UT Arlington on April 2. He has appeared in 23 games with 18 starts.

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 in Saturday's game at UT Arlington. He has hit safely in 14 of the last 17 games, including 10 multi-hit games. He bounced back Monday with a 2-for-5 day at the plate with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. He has 13 multi-hit games, including a season-high three hits on March 27 vs. Georgia State, including a double. He is slashing .310/.344/.425 with eight doubles, one triple, one home run, 16 RBIs, 15 runs scored, seven walks and three stolen bases. He is second on the team with 35 hits and is tied for the team lead with eight doubles. He has reached base safely in 24 of 27 games in 2022.

STARTING ROTATION CHANGES UP FOR TROY SERIES
ULM head coach Michael Federico has announced the Warhawks will make a change to Sunday's starting pitcher vs. Troy while continuing with redshirt sophomore left-hander Cam Barlow on Friday and sophomore right-hander Cole Cressend on Saturday.

Barlow is slated for his eighth Friday night start of the season. The Halls, Tennessee, native is 2-2 this season with a 3.58 ERA over 37 2/3 innings, allowing 17 runs, 15 earned, on 30 hits with 32 strikeouts and 17 walks. He suffered the loss last Friday 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 fourth consecutive Saturday start. The Mandeville, Louisiana, native is 3-2 with a 6.51 ERA over 27 2/3 innings, allowing 21 runs, 20 earned, on 26 hits with 17 strikeouts and 13 walks. He picked up his second consecutive win last Saturday 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 Sunday's probable starter following the conclusion of Saturday's contest at Warhawk Field.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING
ULM enters the Troy series with one active hitting streak of five-or-more games and three active reached base streaks of five-or-more games.

Senior Mason Holt has hit safely in each of the last six games, including four multi-hit games. He is joined by fellow seniors Ryan Cupit and Trace Henry as the only three players with an active reached base streak of more than five games. Cupit has reached base safely in 10 consecutive games and 20 of the last 21 contests. Henry has reached safely in five straight games.

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).