MONROE, La. – Chipper Menard threw six strong innings in his ULM debut, while the Warhawk defense and pitching staff made key plays when it was needed down the stretch to secure an 8-4 win over Bradley Sunday afternoon at Lou St. Amant Field and take the weekend series, two games to one.
 
Menard (1-0) allowed a base hit to Ryan Vogel to lead off the game and then retired the next 17 Bradley hitters in order. He threw six-plus innings, allowing two runs on two hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
 
"Poise and confidence," ULM head coach Michael Federico said. "That's the things you get with Chipper. I'm excited to have him on Sunday. He kind of calls his own game. He's kind of unique with different arm slots and throws from different places. I thought (Matt) Abshire did a great job of calling some things and Coach (Ryan McClaran) did some good things.
 
"Chipper is going to be one of those Sunday guys that gets to watch two games, and he's kind of like a quarterback. He gets to dissect them a little bit. He was dynamic. It was neat to see that for us. We needed that, for him to get a little bit deep into the game."
 
With ULM (2-1) leading 5-0 after six innings, Menard walked the first two batters of the top of the seventh before allowing an RBI single to Peter Hansen to bring home Ryan Vogel, cutting the lead to 5-1. Right-hander Zach Shaw entered in relief of Menard. After giving up an RBI double to Connor Manthey to bring the Braves (1-2) within 5-2, Shaw struck out Michael Mylott and got Easton Harris to line into an inning-ending double play, with freshman third baseman Jake Haggard making a diving catch and throw back to second base to double off Manthey.
 
Bradley struck for two more runs in the top of the eighth inning when TJ Manteufel hit a 2-run home run to get within a run at 5-4. Vogel followed with a double to chase Shaw from the game, with Federico opting for true freshman Justin Robinson out of the bullpen. Robinson struck out Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference selection Connor O'Brien and pinch-hitter Cal McGinnis to retire the side and keep ULM in front.
 
"He's one of those guys that doesn't have a pulse," Federico said of Robinson. "I don't think he probably knew that it was the best hitter for Bradley or the guy that hit the home run yesterday or anything else. I think he just saw the signs that Abshire was putting down and was just trying to execute the pitches. Ultimately, that's what we need guys to do. I felt good in that moment with him."
 
The Warhawks took advantage of a hit batter and an error to open the bottom of the eighth inning. After a bunt single by Shawn Dalton Weatherbee to load the bases, Michelle Artzberger hit a slow chopper on the infield. A throwing error allowed Matt Abshire and Carson Jones to score to push the lead back to three, 7-4. An RBI groundout by Chenar Brown extended the lead to 8-4.
 
Robinson issued a pair of two-out walks in the top of the ninth before fellow freshman Cardell Thibodeaux made a leaping catch while crashing into the left field wall to save a potential 3-run home run from Adam Brian, handing the Warhawks the 8-4 win, and giving Robinson his first-career save.
 
Robinson threw 1 2/3 innings out of the bullpen, allowing two walks with two strikeouts. Shaw pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on three hits with one strikeout.
 
Both starting pitchers threw four scoreless inning to open the game. Bradley's Dalton Mall was wildly effective, walking four batters and hitting two others without allowing a run through four innings.
 
ULM finally broke through in the fifth inning when Abshire led off with a single to left field and Jones followed with a bloop single to left. Kade Dupont picked up an RBI single to left, bringing home Abshire for the 1-0 lead. Artzberger doubled the lead moments later, hitting a ground-rule RBI double to left, scoring Jones. Brown added a sacrifice fly to plate Dupont for the 3-0 advantage.
 
The Warhawks continued to build the lead in the sixth inning, as Weatherbee hit an RBI single to right, scoring Haggard, and Artzberger collected a bases-loaded walk to drive in Travis Washburn for the 5-0 lead.
 
Mall (0-1) took the loss on the mound, firing 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts.
 
Weatherbee was the only Warhawk with two hits on the day while also driving in a run and scoring a run. Artzberger had three RBIs while Brown had two. Vogel led Bradley with two hits and Manteufel had two RBIs.
 
"I think it's huge to win the series," Federico said. "We sit there and talk about it in an intersquad game in September when we start playing. We try to play a three-game series in our intersquads, but guys don't really understand how difficult it is to win a series. That's why we talk about Championship Sunday. That's why we wear the P-40 Warhawk uniforms, because we want every Sunday to be special for our guys, whether we've got a chance to sweep or we're 1-1 or 0-2. Sunday baseball is huge. To get that series win was enormous for us."
 
ULM plays its first mid-week series of the season starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Mississippi State.