ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - The ULM baseball team opens the 2022 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship at 12 p.m. Tuesday when they meet Georgia State at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama. It is the second consecutive year for ULM and Georgia State to meet in their first contest at the SBC Championship. Tuesday's game is a single-elimination game with the winner advancing to the double-elimination bracket, which begins on Wednesday.

Every game of the SBC Championship will stream on ESPN+ with Matt Stewart (play-by-play) and Ty Harrington (analyst) on the call. Tuesday's ULM game will be broadcast on 1680 AM KRJO, 997thelegend.com and the TuneIn app with Mike Hammett on the call. A link to live stats is available on the baseball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.

Tuesday's game is the 26th all-time meeting between the Warhawks and Panthers with ULM leading the series, 15-10. The Warhawks have won 10 of the last 13 meetings with Georgia State. ULM won two-out-of-three games against the Panthers in Monroe from March 25-27 this season, winning the series-opener, 5-3 in 11 innings, on Travis Washburn's 2-run walk-off home run. The Warhawks took the middle game of the series, 5-2, before GSU salvaged a game from the series on March 27, 8-5. GSU won last year's meeting at the SBC Championship, 9-6, on May 25. 

ULM (19-34-1 overall, 9-20-1 Sun Belt Conference) snapped a nine-game losing streak in SBC play with a three-game sweep of Arkansas State to secure the 10th-and-final spot in this week's SBC Championship. The Warhawks belted five home runs and put up an eight-run fourth inning to pull away for a 16-9 win on Thursday to snap the skid and move back past UT Arlington for the final spot in the SBC Championship field. ULM rallied from a 5-0 first inning deficit for a 13-7 win on Friday to clinch a spot in the field in Montgomery. The Warhawks wrapped up the regular season with a 6-3 win on Sunday. Mason Holt homered in all three games of the series. The Warhawks are hitting .268 as a team with 266 RBIs, while the pitching staff has posted an ERA of 6.05.

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 10-3 against GSU.

Georgia State (30-25, 15-15) was swept at home over the weekend by SBC regular season champion Texas State, falling 8-7 on Thursday, 5-4 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday as the Bobcats completed a road sweep of their SBC schedule. Georgia State has been involved in eight sweeps in Sun Belt Conference play, picking up four sweeps (Little Rock, South Alabama, Coastal Carolina and Arkansas State) while getting swept four times (Georgia Southern, Ragin' Cajuns, Troy and Texas State). Max Ryerson set the GSU single-season home run record with 22 home runs, which leads the SBC and ranks eighth nationally. Griffin Cheney's 16 home runs are tied for second most in the SBC. The Panthers rank second in the SBC and 48th nationally with 74 home runs. GSU is hitting .288 as a team with 316 RBIs, while the pitching staff has posted a 5.16 ERA.

Georgia State head coach Brad Stromdahl is in his third season with the Panthers. After winning nine games in the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he led GSU to 18 wins in 2021. He started the baseball program at Georgia Gwinett College, posting a 328-104 record in seven seasons, with four 50-win seasons. Stromdahl is 3-4 against ULM.

WARHAWKS EARN FIRST SWEEP OF 2022 VS. ARKANSAS STATE
ULM won all three games in the weekend series vs. Arkansas State, taking Thursday's game, 16-9, Friday's contest, 13-7 and Saturday's finale, 6-3, to record the first sweep for the Warhawks this season and first against a Sun Belt Conference opponent since sweeping Georgia State in Atlanta in 2019.
 
On Thursday, ULM bashed five home runs as a team and every player in the starting lineup picked up at least one hit as the Warhawks opened the final series of the regular season with a 16-9 win over Arkansas State at Warhawk Field. Colby Deaville (solo), Mason Holt (solo), Matthew Lee (2-run), Carson Jones (solo) and Michelle Artzberger (grand slam) hit the home runs for ULM. The two teams combined for eight home runs on the night. Nicholas Judice (3-1) fired a season-high five innings out of the bullpen for the win, allowing two runs on four hits with six strikeouts and one walk.
 
On Friday, ULM scored 13 unanswered runs and turned four double plays as the Warhawks rallied from an early 5-0 deficit for a 13-7 win on Senior Night to claim the series victory. The win secured ULM's spot in the Sun Belt Conference Championship, which begins Tuesday at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama. Grant Schulz hit a solo home run and Holt belted a 3-run home run. Tylor Jans (2-4) followed behind Cam Barlow with 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just two hits with two strikeouts and one walk to earn the win. He used a pair of double plays, one in the sixth and another in the seventh, to help keep A-State off the board.
 
On Saturday, in their final home game, senior Trace Henry had three hits, including two RBI doubles, and two walks, Holt had two hits, including his 16th home run of the season, and senior Lucas Wepf threw four shutout innings out of the bullpen for the win as ULM completed its only sweep of the 2022 season with a 6-3 win over Arkansas State.
 
WARHAWKS VS. GEORGIA STATE IN 2022
ULM won two-out-of-three games from Georgia State from March 25-27 at Warhawk Field in Monroe.
 
On Friday, March 25, junior Travis Washburn belted a walk-off 2-run home run to right field in the bottom of the 11th inning, giving ULM its first walk-off win of 2022, rallying for a 5-3 win over Georgia State. Sophomore Carson Orton (1-0) came out of the bullpen with two outs and a runner on first base in the eighth inning and proceeded to throw the final 3 1/3 shutout innings, allowing just two hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
 
On Saturday, March 26, sophomore pitcher Cole Cressend allowed just two runs, one earned, in six innings, while freshman Zach Shaw followed with three shutout innings as ULM held off Georgia State, 5-2. Cressend (2-2) allowed just three hits with one walk and three strikeouts. Shaw did not allow a hit or walk while posting two strikeouts in earning his first career save. Senior Grant Schulz had two of ULM's six hits and scored three times.
 
On Sunday, March 27, Georgia State's bullpen slowed ULM's offense as the Panthers held off the Warhawks for an 8-5 win. Senior Mason Holt matched a career-high with four hits, including a double and home run. Schulz had a season-high three hits.
 
Offensively, ULM was led in the series by Schulz with six hits, including two doubles, and Holt with five hits, including two doubles, one home run and an RBI. Washburn had three hits, including the walk-off homer, with four RBIs while Michelle Artzberger homered among his three hits and had three RBIs. The Warhawk bullpen allowed just two earned runs in 17 innings in the series.
 
HOLT NAMED FIRST-TEAM ALL-SUN BELT
Senior Mason Holt was named First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference Monday afternoon following a vote of the conference's head coaches. He is the first Warhawk to be named First-Team All-SBC since Chad Bell in 2019.
 
The Coppell, Texas, native is the fourth ULM player to hit 15 or more home runs while stealing 10 or more bases in a single season, marking the fifth such occurrence in program history. Corey Taylor accomplished the feat twice, in 1996 (15 home runs, 22 stolen bases) and 1998 (19 home runs, 29 stolen bases). Ben Soignier joined the club in 2008 (16 home runs, 13 stolen bases) and Jon Prevost was the last player to accomplish the feat in 2009 (15 home runs, 20 stolen bases).
 
He finished the regular season slashing .326/.424/.638 with 16 home runs, 14 doubles, three triples, 39 RBIs, 49 runs scored, 31 walks and 14 stolen bases. His 16 home runs rank tied for third in a single season in ULM history. He leads ULM in batting average, slugging percentage, hits (71), runs scored, doubles, home runs and total bases (139). He is tied for second in the SBC in home runs, third in total bases, seventh in hits, tied for seventh in triples, eighth in slugging percentage and 10th in stolen bases.
 
Inside SBC play, his slash line improves to .347/.444/.719 with 11 of his 16 homers, eight of his 14 doubles, two of his three triples, 23 of his 39 RBIs, 28 of his 49 runs, 19 of his 31 walks and eight of his 14 stolen bases. He is one of four players in the SBC to have 10 or more home runs and 10 or more stolen bases.
 
He has 22 multi-hit games and had a 23-game reached base streak. He is one of two Warhawks (Grant Schulz) to start all 54 games.
 
In his last 10 games, Holt is hitting .342/.457/.816 with five home runs, three doubles, nine RBIs, 12 runs scored, seven walks and four stolen bases.
 
SCHULZ GETTING HOT AT THE PLATE
After a bit of a mid-season slump, ULM senior third baseman Grant Schulz is finding his stroke at the plate down the stretch.
 
Schulz has hit safely in 15 of the last 17 games after having a 12-game hitting streak broken up on May 14 at South Alabama. Over the last 10 games, he is hitting .341 (14-for-41) with two home runs, 11 RBIs, nine runs scored, four walks and five stolen bases.
 
In the series against Arkansas State, he had two hits with an RBI and two runs scored on Friday before adding three hits, with a home run, and matched a career-high with four RBIs while scoring twice on Saturday. Despite going 0-for-4 on Sunday, he added an RBI. He has at least one RBI in eight of the last nine games.
 
Schulz had three hits with an RBI in the 13-2 win over Jackson State at Warhawk Field on May 11. From May 6-8 vs. Texas State, he led the team going 5-for-12 (.417) with three RBIs, one run scored and two walks. He hit a solo home run and added a walk at Northwestern State on May 10.
 
He is slashing .293/.333/.409 on the season. He leads the team in RBIs (42) and sacrifice flies (five). He is second on the team in hits (71), doubles (nine), home runs (five) and total bases (92).
 
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.
 
HENRY PICKING UP THE PACE
Senior outfielder Trace Henry has broken out at the plate over the last three weeks for ULM. Over the last 10 games for the Warhawks, Henry is hitting .333 (12-for-36) with three doubles, six RBIs, four runs scored, six walks and five stolen bases.
 
His batting average dipped to .231 on April 15 and has since rebounded to .289. He has seven multi-hit games over the last 17 contests, including three hits on Saturday with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored vs. Arkansas State.
 
He has reached base safely in 19 of the last 20 games after having a 14-game reached base streak snapped May 13 at South Alabama. He then had three hits May 14 to resume his hot streak.
 
Henry is tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference with 21 stolen bases.
 
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 .305/.411/.439, all ranking inside the top three on the team.
 
He has 14 multi-hit games after posting just five such games in the previous two seasons combined. 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. On March 12 at Nicholls, he had two hits, including a home run, with an RBI, a run scored and two stolen bases. 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. He had three hits for the third time this season and scored three runs with a walk and two stolen bases at Little Rock on April 30. He collected two hits, including a double, and scored twice at Northwestern State on May 11. He opened the series against Arkansas State on Thursday with two hits, an home run, RBI and three runs scored.
 
RYAN CUPIT DOING RYAN CUPIT THINGS
After walking six times in the weekend series vs. Arkansas State, senior Ryan Cupit sits one walk away from tying Terry Mathews school record for base on balls in a single season.
 
Cupit has walked 56 times in 2022, one away from Mathews' record of 57, set in 1987. They are the only two ULM/NLU players to walk more than 50 times in a single season. Cupit has walked 18 times over the last 14 games.
 
After spending two seasons as one of the first players off the bench for ULM, Cupit has taken over as the starting left fielder for the Warhawks.
 
The West Monroe, Louisiana, native ranks 40th nationally while leading ULM and ranking second in the Sun Belt Conference with a .487 on-base percentage. He also ranks third nationally and leads ULM and the SBC in base on balls (56), while ranking third nationally and leading the SBC in base on balls per game (1.06). His 56 walks are 18 more than the next closest player in the SBC (Justin Thompson, Texas State, 38).
 
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.
 
He is hitting .308 at the plate (53-for-172), which ranks second on the team, with eight doubles, three triples, 16 RBIs, 40 runs scored, six stolen bases and has been hit by a pitch four times.
 
He tallied his 14th multi-hit game with two hits, an RBI, run scored and two walks on Thursday vs. Arkansas State. He was 1-for-2 with three walks, three runs scored and two stolen bases on Friday against the Red Wolves. He added a walk in Saturday's series finale.
 
Cupit had his 13th multi-hit game of the season with two hits, including a double, with a run scored and a sacrifice bunt on May 14 at South Alabama.
 
Against Jackson State on May 11, he was 2-for-5 at the plate with his second two-RBI game of the season, driving in both runs on a base hit in the eighth inning to invoke the run-rule. He also added a walk and a stolen base.
 
At Louisiana Tech, he hit an RBI double in the first inning and added an RBI ground in the fourth inning for his first multi-RBI game of the season and second 2-RBI game of his career (at App State, 2021).
 
In the series at Little Rock, he walked five times, including going 1-for-2 with three walks and two runs scored on May 1. He had his second 11-game reached base streak of the season snapped in the series opener on April 29.
 
Cupit has appeared in 53 of 54 games with 49 starts and has reached base safely in 48 games.
 
ORTON SLAMS THE DOOR
Redshirt sophomore right-hander Carson Orton earned his sixth save of the season on April 26 at McNeese, pitching a scoreless ninth inning, allowing a hit with two strikeouts. It marked the 15th save of his career, moving him into third place on the career saves list at ULM, passing Bobby Carro with 14 saves from 2001-02. He trails Anthony Herrera's 23 saves from 2015-17 and Mark Wisniewski's 20 saves from 1982-85.
 
His nine saves last season ranks third in a single season in ULM history, tied with Carro's 2001 season. With one more save, Orton will become the second pitcher with two seasons ranking inside the Top 10 in saves in program history, joining Anthony Herrera.
 
The Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, native is 1-1 with six saves in 2022 with a 3.98 ERA over 31 2/3 innings, spread across 23 appearances. He has allowed 18 runs, 14 earned, on 40 hits with 31 strikeouts to 15 walks.
 
CRESSEND GETS THE CALL FOR SBC CHAMPIONSHIP OPENER
ULM head coach Michael Federico has decided to start sophomore right-hander Cole Cressend in Tuesday's win-or-go-home game against Georgia State at the SBC Championship. It marks the second consecutive game for Cressend to start, after firing two perfect innings with two strikeouts on 16 pitches on Saturday against Arkansas State. In his last three starts, he is 0-2 with a 4.05 ERA over 13 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on 10 hits with 10 strikeouts and four walks. 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.
 
Cressend made a weekend start in all 10 SBC weekend series. The Mandeville, Louisiana, native is 3-6 with a 7.22 ERA over 57 1/3 innings, allowing 50 runs, 46 earned, on 62 hits with 37 strikeouts and 22 walks. On May 14 at South Alabama, he allowed three runs on five hits with no strikeouts and two walks in 4 1/3 innings in taking the loss. On May 7 vs. No. 15 Texas State, he turned in his best start of the season, firing a career-high seven innings and 107 pitches, allowing three runs on five hits with a career-best eight strikeouts and two walks, but suffered a tough-luck loss. Against the Ragin' Cajuns on April 15, he threw six innings, allowing five runs, four earned, on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk. He struggled on April 9 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. 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.
 
WE'RE GOING STREAKING
ULM enters Tuesday's game against Georgia State with one hitting streak of five-or-more games and four reached base streaks of five-or-more games.
 
Senior Trace Henry is riding a five-game hitting streak, including three hits in his final game at Warhawk Field on Saturday against Arkansas State.
 
Sophomore Michelle Artzberger has reached base safely in 11 consecutive games, marking his second reached base streak of 10-or-more games this year (12). Seniors Ryan Cupit and Mason Holt have each reached base safely in each of the last nine games.
 
SEVEN WARHAWKS PLAYING IN FINAL SBC CHAMPIONSHIP
ULM's 2022 roster features seven seniors that are playing in their final SBC Championship. Ryan Cupit, Colby Deaville, Trace Henry, Mason Holt, Tyler Lien, Grant Schulz and Lucas Wepf are each set for their final appearance at the SBC Championship this week.
 
Four of the seven graduated with bachelors degrees in the fall of 2021. Cupit received a bachelors degree in kinesiology with an emphasis on sports management, Henry earned a bachelors degree in ag business, while Holt and Wepf graduated with bachelors degrees in general studies. Deaville and Schulz graduated this spring, with Deaville earning a bachelors degree in business administration and Schulz in general studies. Tyler Lien earned his Master of Business Administration.
 
Cupit, Deaville, Henry, Holt, Schulz and Wepf each played three seasons at ULM, while Lien played four seasons at ULM.
 
WARHAWK WALK-OFF
ULM has picked up three walk-off wins this season.
 
ULM posted its first walk-off by run-rule of the season on May 11 vs. Jackson State. Ryan Cupit hit a 2-RBI single up the middle to put the Warhawks ahead 13-2 in the eighth inning, ending the contest.
 
The Warhawks picked up their second walk-off of the year on April 20. 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.
 
LOCAL CONNECTIONS
The 2022 ULM roster features seven players from inside Ouachita (WAH-shuh-tah) 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).