By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow
MONROE, La. - Fall baseball activities are winding down this week and the "steaks" are high at ULM.
The Warhawks will play a one-game Fall World Series Final at "The Lou" at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9.
"The last day is just competing," ULM coach
Michael Federico said. "The captains pick the teams and they're playing for something. Winners eat steaks and the other ones eat hot dogs."
"Neither is bad," ULM infielder
Carson Jones said with a laugh. "But steak is a little bit better."
Added outfielder
Cardell Thibodeaux: "Our strength and conditioning coach always says, 'Lights, camera, action.' When it's time to go, you put everything else aside and focus on what is ahead of us."
ULM has conducted split-squad scrimmages throughout the fall, along with scrimmages against Grambling and Southeastern Louisiana.
"From a competitive at-bat standpoint, we took some walks and we took advantage of some mistakes," Federico said. "We created some mistakes with some speed and some diversity that we did from the offensive side of it.
"From the pitching side of it, we limited the number of walks on that day against Grambling. If you win the freebie war, you're probably going to be successful."
After finishing the 2023 season with a 17-37 overall, 6-23 Sun Belt record, a big focus during fall ball was learning how to push through difficult situations.
"Toughness was one of the biggest things," Federico said. "We had some tough moments last year and we really didn't get through them."
There were key injuries, which limited first baseman
Michelle Artzberger to 16 games and depleted ULM's catcher depth.
"We've got to overcome things," Federico said. "We're going to face hurdles. We've got to get through them. There are going to be speed bumps along the way. We've got to get that balance."
The Warhawks have to get better on the mound, where the staff posted a 7.34 ERA, walked 245 and hit 75 batters in 465 innings.
"I liked our pitching staff when the season started but we went through a lull there where we were walking and hitting too many people," Federico said. "That was detrimental to us at the end of the year."
One of the planned developments is to mix and match more pitchers.
"We've got some different angles, so we may use more arms this year," Federico said. "I feel like we've got really good depth there."
Despite losing pitchers
Nicholas Judice,
Cole Cressend and
Chris Kean to professional baseball, ULM returns the nucleus of a veteran staff including
Trey Lindsay,
Cam Barlow and
Chipper Menard, along with
Justin Robinson,
Aidan Haynes,
Carson Orton and
Dalton Burrell.
"I feel like we're elderly statesmen," Federico said. "It's the first time we've been that way. I think it's a great thing for us. When you look at college baseball, with the strike zone how small it is with TrackMan and the umpires, we've got guys who have been in the fire before. I'm excited about that."
Portal transfer pitchers Parker Seay, a fourth-year senior from South Florida and Beau Blanchard, a fourth-year senior from New Orleans, bring additional experience to the roster.
"I think those are guys who will be plug and play for us in some capacity on the mound," Federico said.
Numerous returnees are back to reclaim their lineup spots including outfielder
Shawn Dalton Weatherbee, the team's leading hitter last season. Cardell Thibodaux,
Jake Haggard and
Kade Dupont became mainstays as freshmen a year ago and are back to build on their early experiences.
"When you look at Cardell, and Haggard and Dupont, you have three guys who were in the lineup almost every day," Federico said. "To return those three guys, who received a lot of at-bats for themselves is huge."
Other position players back include Artzberger, Jones, who is recuperating from elbow surgery this fall, outfielder
Chenar Brown, catcher
Matt Abshire and infielder
Jayson Zmejkoski
"You've to keep working hard and keep grinding," Jones said. "It's never easy. They talk about it all the time. We'll probably be picked last, but it doesn't matter what everybody else thinks. We just have to go get it for ourselves."
There's also new blood creating additional competition for playing time.
"Colby Lunsford's been a nice addition on the infield," Federico said. "Jack Clark is a left-handed hitter who played for a national championship last year at Weatherford (Junior College). Ian Montz has been a fun guy to see. From a freshman standpoint, Easton Winfield has had a really, really productive fall. Those four guys have stood out from the offensive side.
"We've got some other nice pieces as well in Hasani Johnson, who is a super athletic infielder and Bryce Blaser, an outfielder from North Carolina who can run."
ULM begins the 2024 season with a three-game home series against Missouri State on Feb. 16-18 at The Lou. The Warhawks are scheduled to play 36 games at home, including a visit from Ole Miss on March 12.
"This is an extremely difficult league, and 56 games is difficult," Federico said. "We've got to be prepared for that."
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