MONROE, La. – Cole Cressend allowed just one run over six innings on the mound, while Zack Floyd added three hits in his first start at ULM, including a triple and a home run, as the Warhawks scored in four consecutive innings in the middle of the game to top SIUE, 7-1, Saturday afternoon and even the series at one game apiece.
 
"I think it started with Cole on the mound," ULM head coach Michael Federico said. "They came out swinging the bats quick and early, and he kind of needs that. He was forcing some early contact and got some ground balls. He got a few more fly balls than he normally does. That was the name of the game for us is getting in the strike zone early with Cole."
 
Cressend (1-1) allowed just one run, on Brady Bunten's RBI single in the top of the sixth inning, while giving up five hits with one walk and four strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. Nicholas Judice did not allow a run or a hit over the final three innings, with one walk and four strikeouts, to earn his first save. Starting pitcher Hayden Cooper (0-2) suffered the loss for SIUE, allowing four runs, two earned, on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks over four innings.
 
"For (Cole) to go six was huge for him, just for his whole demeanor," Federico said. "He talked about the mental side of it. He allowed his team to help him and ended up having a really good start."
 
ULM (4-3 overall) jumped on SIUE (4-2 overall) starting pitcher Hayden Cooper in the third inning. In his first-career start, Jayson Zmejkoski singled up the middle to open the inning and stole second base. Shawn Dalton Weatherbee hit a hard ground ball to first base, which resulted in a fielding error, allowing Zmejkoski to score for the 1-0 lead. After Weatherbee stole second, Kade Dupont hit an RBI single to center to bring home Weatherbee for the 2-0 lead. After Matt Abshire walked, Riley Davis hit an RBI double off the left-field wall to score Dupont, while Abshire was injured trying to stop after rounding third base to head back to the bag, and was tagged out for the final out of the inning.
 
The Warhawks added to the lead in the fourth as Floyd tripled off the left-center field wall. Zmejkoski followed with a sacrifice bunt up the first base line to score Floyd for the 4-0 lead.
 
The bats stayed hot against Cougar reliever Tyler DeLong in the fifth inning. With Dupont on second and Artzberger on first and one out, Abshire, who played through his injury, hit a ground ball into right field in a well-executed hit-and-run, plating Dupont. Abshire hopped on one leg to first base for the single, and was lifted from the game for pinch-runner Davis Meche. Artzberger scored later in the inning on Davis' RBI groundout for the 6-0 lead.
 
After SIUE struck for a run on Bunten's RBI single in the sixth, Floyd answered on the first pitch of the bottom half of the inning, hitting a solo home run to right field for the 7-1 lead.
 
In addition to Floyd's three-hit day, Zmejkoski had two hits with an RBI and a run scored, as the duo combined to go 5-for-8 with a triple, home run, two RBIs and three runs scored in the bottom two spots in the lineup.
 
"I've always felt confident in those guys from the defensive side of it," Federico said. "Offensively, there's been some ups and downs through the fall and in the early spring with them, but I felt like they deserved an opportunity with it."
 
Dupont added two hits and Davis had two RBIs.
 
"I'm proud of the win, and that's the most important thing," Federico said. "Now we go to Championship Sunday tomorrow."
 
ULM and SIUE decide the series at 1 p.m. Sunday at Lou St. Amant Field.