ULM Warhawks

ULM (7-10 overall, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference) at Northwestern State (9-6 overall, 0-0 Southland Conference)
Hollis Huff, 6-2, Jr., LHP (1-0, 1.20 ERA, 9 K, 6 BB) vs. Chase Prestwich, 5-11, So., RHP (2-0, 2.00 ERA, 21 K, 1 BB)
6 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, 2023 | Brown-Stroud Field | Natchitoches, La.
WATCH: ESPN+ | LISTEN: 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB | LIVE STATS
GAME NOTES

MONROE, La. - The ULM baseball team plays its only road game in a stretch of nine out of 10 games at Lou St. Amant Field when it visits Brown-Stroud Field in Natchitoches, Louisiana, to take on Northwestern State for the second time in six days. First pitch is at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Wednesday's game is the 229th all-time meeting between the Warhawks and Demons, with the Demons holding a narrow 115-113 advantage in the series. NSU has won the last two meetings after last Wednesday's 3-1 win at Lou St. Amant Field in Monroe. The Warhawks have lost eight-straight games to NSU at Brown-Stroud Field, last defeating the Demons on their home field on March 26, 2013, 5-4. The series is the most-played rivalry in Warhawk baseball history, with McNeese in second with 198 meetings and Louisiana Tech in third at 186 meetings.

ULM dropped Wednesday's game vs. Northwestern State, 3-1. The Warhawks were limited to five hits, but still had a chance to extend the game in the ninth inning, using a single by Michelle Artzberger and a double by Riley Davis to put runners on second and third with one out. However, a strikeout and a pop out ended the game. Chase Prestwich (2-0) fired seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits with seven strikeouts and no walks for NSU, while Kyle Froehlich threw the final two innings, allowing two hits with two strikeouts to earn his second save. Brandt Corley (0-2) suffered the tough-luck loss, throwing five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Russell Derbyshire and Justin Robinson combined to throw three shutout innings from the bullpen.

Hollis Huff is scheduled for his fourth-straight Tuesday start for ULM at Northwestern State. The junior left-hander from Norman, Oklahoma, is 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA over 15 innings in three starts, allowing two runs on eight hits with six walks and nine strikeouts. Last Tuesday, Huff allowed one run on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings against Memphis. He earned his first win at ULM on Feb. 28 vs. Grambling, allowing one run on one hit with one walk and two strikeouts over six innings. He made his Warhawk debut in an emergency start at Mississippi State on Feb. 21, an 11-5 Warhawk win, throwing 4 2/3 shutout innings, allowing one hit with two walks and three strikeouts.

Junior first baseman Michelle Artzberger has reached base safely in 29 consecutive games dating back to the 2022 season. He kept his streak alive last Wednesday vs. Northwestern State with a ninth-inning single. He did not play in Sunday's series finale vs. Nicholls due to injury.

ULM head coach Michael Federico is in his sixth 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. In 2022, Federico led the Warhawks to their third consecutive appearance in the SBC Championship, including a first-round win against Georgia State before falling to eventual regional-finalist team Texas State in the rain-altered single-elimination quarterfinals.

Tuesday's game will stream on ESPN+. The game will air on 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB, KMLB.com and the TuneIn app with Mike Hammett on the call. A link to live stats can be found on the baseball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.

WARHAWKS, DEMONS RENEW MOST-PLAYED RIVALRY IN ULM HISTORY
Wednesday's game is the 229th all-time meeting between the Warhawks and Demons, with the Demons holding a narrow 115-113 advantage in the series. NSU won the first meeting this season, 3-1, at Lou St. Amant Field for its first win in Monroe since 2017. The Demons have won the last two games in the series. The two teams split last year's meetings. ULM won in Monroe, 6-2, on March 9, while NSU returned the favor in Natchitoches on May 10, 10-5. The Warhawks have lost eight-straight games to NSU at Brown-Stroud Field, last defeating the Demons on their home field on March 26, 2013, 5-4. The series is the most-played rivalry in Warhawk baseball history, with McNeese in second with 198 meetings and Louisiana Tech in third at 186 meetings.

DAVIS BECOMES IRONMAN BEHIND THE PLATE
ULM junior catcher Riley Davis has started each of the last 14 games, including the last 10 at catcher. He has collected all of his team-high 17 hits in that span. He leads the team with a .309 batting average (17-for-55) with a team-high six doubles with nine RBIs and five walks. He tallied his team-leading fifth multi-hit game last Wednesday vs. Northwestern State, going 2-for-4 with a double. He went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs on Feb. 21 vs. Mississippi State for his first three hits as a Warhawk. He continued the hot streak by hitting safely in all three games of the weekend series against SIUE. He picked up two hits, including a double, on Feb. 24 against the Cougars. On Feb. 25, he picked up another double with a pair of RBIs and a walk. He wrapped up the series on Feb. 26 with two more hits, including another double, with an RBI. He went 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored with two walks on Feb. 28 vs. Grambling for his fourth multi-hit and third-multi-RBI game. He closed the series against Nicholls with an RBI in each of the last two games of the series, including a double in Sunday's series finale.

FLOYD JOINS LINEUP WITH HOT START
ULM junior infielder/outfielder Zack Floyd did not join the regular lineup until Feb. 25 against SIUE, but his stellar play has kept him in the starting nine ever since. He is second on the team in batting average at .293 (12-for-41) and with six stolen bases. He has added a double, triple and two home runs with four RBIs, 12 runs scored, four walks and a team-best six stolen bases. He has started each of the last 11 games, splitting time at third base, right field and designated hitter. He had a hit in each of the three games against Nicholls over the weekend, including an RBI in the eighth inning on Sunday. He also made a back-handed stop on the foul line behind the third base bag in Sunday's game, leapt in the air and threw out the batter at first base to help keep the shutout of the Colonels intact. Floyd had two hits, including a double, with a run scored to become a qualifier in team-leading categories on March 7 vs. Memphis. He had two hits, including a solo home run, on March 5 at UIW. He had three hits, including a triple and a solo home run, in his first-career start vs. SIUE on Feb. 25.

DUPONT OFF TO QUICK START FOR WARHAWKS
Red-shirt freshman Kade Dupont has started at second base and hit in the top third of the lineup in each of the first 17 games of the season, joining Shawn Dalton Weatherbee as the only two Warhawks to start all 17 games. The Watson, Louisiana, native has hit safely in 13 of 17 games, including four-consecutive games entering Tuesday's game at Northwestern State. He picked up ULM's only RBI with a single in the third inning last Wednesday vs. Northwestern State. He had a pair of three hit games coming against Bradley (Feb. 17) and at Mississippi State (Feb. 21). He added two hits with an RBI on Feb. 25 vs. SIUE. 

He had two doubles in Friday's game vs. Nicholls, hit an RBI single on Saturday and added an RBI double in the eighth inning on Sunday vs. the Colonels.

He hit his first-career home run and picked up his first multi-RBI game in the process, driving in two runs at UIW on March 3.

He hit safely in all three games of the weekend series against SIUE. He was 1-for-3 on Feb. 26 against the Cougars with a walk and a run scored. He had two hits on Feb. 25 while adding an RBI, two runs scored and a walk. He opened the series on Feb. 24 with a 1-for-5 day at the plate with a run scored.

He picked up a hit in both games at Mississippi State. After opening the midweek set with a 3-for-5 game with a double, RBI and three runs scored, he went 1-for-3 at the plate on Feb. 22.

In his collegiate debut against Bradley on Feb. 17, he had three hits, scored twice and stole a base. He closed out the series with Bradley on Feb. 19 by going 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Despite going 0-for-3 at the plate on Feb. 18, he picked up an RBI on his first sacrifice fly.

ARTZBERGER MAKES THE MOST OF HIS EARLY SEASON HITS
ULM junior first baseman Michelle Artzberger has reached base safely in 29 consecutive games dating back to the 2022 season. His streak was in jeopardy entering his final at bat of the night last Wednesday night vs. Northwestern State. In the bottom of the ninth inning, he hit a bouncing-ball single back through the middle to push the streak to 27 games. He hit a double and added a walk on Friday and walked on Saturday for his streak to reach 29 games before sitting out Sunday's game with an injury.

His streak was on the line entering his final at bat on March 5 at UIW, but he belted a solo home run, his third of the season, to extend the streak. 

He is hitting .246 at the plate, going 14-for-57 with four doubles and three home runs. He leads the team with 15 RBIs and 13 walks. He has hit safely in five of his last six games.

He picked up four hits in the weekend series against SIUE, adding three RBIs with four runs scored and a walk. He opened the series on Feb. 24 with two hits, an RBI and a run scored. On Feb. 25, he picked up a walk with a run scored. He closed the series on Feb. 26 with two more hits, driving in two runs while scoring twice.

On Feb. 21 at Mississippi State, he hit a 2-run home run in the fifth inning to give ULM a 3-0 lead, and then belted a 3-run home run in the sixth inning to push the lead to 7-0 as the Warhawks went on to the 11-5 win. 

He opened the season with a double and an RBI on Feb. 17 vs. Bradley before adding a hit and an RBI on Feb. 18. He had a ground-rule double and also drove in three runs in the series-clinching win on Feb. 19. 

RUNNIN' DOWN A DREAM
ULM junior outfielder Shawn Dalton Weatherbee leads the team with seven stolen bases on eight attempts, which ranks tied for fifth most in the Sun Belt Conference. He swiped a base on Sunday vs. Nicholls, which directly led to ULM's second run of the game against the Colonels. 

Junior infielder/outfielder Zack Floyd has stolen six bases to rank second on the team and tied for eighth in the SBC. All six of his steals came from Feb. 28 to March 7.

Freshman outfielder Cardell Thibodeaux is third on the team with five stolen bases, while junior infielder/outfielder Davis Meche and junior first baseman Michelle Artzberger are tied for fourth with four steals.

HUFF MAKES FOURTH CONSECUTIVE MIDWEEK START
ULM head coach Michael Federico hands the ball to junior left-handed pitcher Hollis Huff for his fourth-consecutive Tuesday start as a Warhawk against Northwestern State. Last week, he allowed one run on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision vs. Memphis.

He earned the win by throwing six innings, allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts and one walk on Feb. 28 vs. Grambling. He made his first appearance and start as a Warhawk on Feb. 21 at Mississippi State, throwing 4 2/3 shutout innings, allowing just one hit with two walks and three strikeouts. 

Huff is a transfer from Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kansas. The Norman, Oklahoma, native appeared in eight games as a red-shirt second-year freshman in 2022, going 1-1 while throwing 9 2/3 innings, allowing 11 runs with 10 strikeouts and nine walks. He did not pitch in 2021 after having elbow surgery. As a true freshman in 2020, he appeared in six games for the Cougars, going 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA over 7 2/3 innings before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He originally committed to Wichita State out of high school. Huff helped Norman North High School win district and regional championships, going 9-1 with a 1.00 ERA on the mound as a senior.

BURRELL, DERBYSHIRE, JUDICE, ORTON STRONG OUT OF BULLPEN
Junior right-handed pitchers Dalton Burrell, Russell Derbyshire, Nicholas Judice and Carson Orton have been bright spots out of the bullpen so far in 2023. 

Burrell, a transfer from LSU Eunice, leads qualifying bullpen pitchers with a 2.53 ERA over 10 2/3 innings, spread among six appearances, allowing three runs on 11 hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. He made his ULM debut against Bradley on Feb. 18, throwing three innings, allowing one run on four this with one walk and two strikeouts. He threw two perfect innings against SIUE on Feb. 24 before throwing another scoreless inning with one hit and one walk on Feb. 26 against SIUE. He settled down UIW's bats on Sunday, throwing a shutout inning, allowing two hits with one strikeout. He stranded a pair of inherited runners on March 7 vs. Memphis, pitching 1 2/3 perfect innings with three strikeouts.

Derbyshire, a transfer from Mineral Area Community College, has pitched 5 2/3 innings over six appearances, allowing two runs on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts. He has made four scoreless appearances, including three straight. He threw scoreless innings against Bradley (Feb. 17), at UIW (March 5), Northwestern State (March 8) and tossed 2/3 of an inning with a strikeout vs. Nicholls on Saturday.

Judice, who is in his fourth season at ULM, ranks fourth on the team with 16 2/3 innings pitched over seven appearances out of the bullpen, posting a 3.24 ERA with a 1-0 record and one save, allowing six runs on 12 hits with five walks and ranks second on the team with 22 strikeouts. He threw three scoreless innings in the season opener against Bradley on Feb. 17, allowing one hit with one walk and five strikeouts. After giving up two runs on two hits with a walk and a strikeout while pitching the ninth inning of ULM's 11-5 win at Mississippi State on Feb. 21, he bounced back by throwing the final three shutout innings on Feb. 25 vs. SIUE to earn the save, allowing one walk with four strikeouts. He pitched four innings vs. UIW on March 3, allowing two runs on three hits with one walk and five strikeouts. He picked up his first win on March 7 vs. Memphis, allowing two runs on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts over two innings.He made two appearances over the weekend vs. Nicholls, throwing a combined 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing three hits with five strikeouts and no walks. 

Orton, who is in his third season at ULM, has a 1-1 record with one save and a 5.40 ERA over 11 2/3 innings, spread over seven appearances out of the bullpen. He has allowed 11 runs, seven earned, on 12 hits with six walks and 14 strikeouts. He picked up his first save of 2023 on March 7 vs. Memphis, pitching a scoreless and hitless ninth inning, allowing one walk with two strikeouts. His 16 career saves rank as the second most in program history. He pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts vs. SIUE on Feb. 24. He fired the final 3 2/3 innings at UIW on March 3, all in extra innings, allowing one run on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts. He threw a scoreless ninth inning with one hit and two strikeouts vs. Nicholls on March 12.

LOCAL CONNECTIONS
The 2023 ULM baseball roster includes six players who played high school baseball inside Ouachita (wah-shuh-tah) Parish. The roster includes three players from Sterlington High School in senior outfielder Jarrett McDonald, freshman infielder Seaver Sheets and sophomore left-handed pitcher Adam Tubbs; two players from West Monroe High School in junior infielder and right-handed pitcher Chase DeJean and junior infielder Carson Jones; and one player from Ouachita High School in sophomore right-handed pitcher Zach Shaw.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
The 2023 ULM baseball roster features both a Canadian and an Australian. Pitcher Russell Derbyshire (Leamington, Ontario) represents Canada on the roster. It marks the sixth consecutive season ULM has had at least one Canadian on the roster. Pitcher Maxim Mrakovcic (Sydney, Australia) is the lone Australian on the roster.

ULM PICKED 11TH IN NEW-LOOK SUN BELT CONFERENCE
The ULM baseball team was selected to finish 11th in the Sun Belt Conference in the preseason SBC Coaches' Poll, announced Feb. 8 by the SBC office.

The Warhawks finished with 58 points, sitting behind 10th-place James Madison at 73 points and ahead of App State at 43 points. Southern Miss earned 11 first-place votes and was picked to win the league with 192 points, ahead of Georgia Southern and Texas State, who tied for second. 

Seven different SBC programs were noted in at least one of the five major national preseason polls.

Southern Miss, which hosted a NCAA Baseball Regional and Super Regional a year ago, was ranked among the Top 25 in every major preseason poll. The Golden Eagles were listed as high as No. 18 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and D1Baseball, while also earning nods in the USA Today Sports Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll (No. 19), the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason Poll (No. 20) and the Baseball America Preseason Top 25 (No. 21). 
 
2022 NCAA Baseball Regional host Georgia Southern was also listed at No. 35 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, which ranks the Top 50 teams in its preseason edition, and received votes in both the NCBWA and USA Today Sports Baseball Coaches preseason ledgers. 
 
The Sun Belt Conference fell one game short of sending a team to a Super Regional for the fourth and fifth time since 2014 a year ago—with both Coastal Carolina and Texas State reaching their respective regional finals. 
 
Both the Chanticleers and Bobcats received votes in all three preseason polls that publish a receiving votes category—Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, NCBWA and USA Today Sports Baseball Coaches. 
 
The Ragin' Cajuns, the Sun Belt's fourth postseason participant from 2022, earned preseason mention from both Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and NCBWA. 
 
Old Dominion—which was among the last four teams left out of last year's NCAA field—and Troy—which advanced to last year's Sun Belt Baseball Championship semifinals—received votes in the NCBWA preseason publication. 
 
The Sun Belt boasted the No. 6 conference RPI in the nation in 2022—trailing only the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and Conference USA. Four current Sun Belt programs were listed among the Top 30 in the final RPI in 2022—No. 20 Texas State, No. 22 Southern Miss, No. 25 Georgia Southern and No. 29 Coastal Carolina. 
 
No. 46 Old Dominion, No. 54 Ragin' Cajuns, No. 73 South Alabama, No. 97 Georgia State and No. 100 Troy gave the new-look Sun Belt nine teams among the Top 100 at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign. 
 
Sun Belt baseball programs have earned 18 NCAA berths over the past 10 seasons.