ULM Warhawks

ULM (9-17 overall, 0-6 Sun Belt Conference) vs. Marshall (11-11 overall, 2-4 Sun Belt Conference)
Lou St. Amant Field (1,800) | Monroe, La.

4 p.m. Friday, March 31 | WATCH: ESPN+ | LISTEN: KMLB.com | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
ULM | Cam Barlow, 5-11, Jr., LHP (1-3, 4.75 ERA, 30 K, 10 BB) vs. MU | Patrick Copen, 6-6, Jr., RHP (1-2, 3.98 ERA, 49 K, 19 BB)        
            
2 p.m. Saturday, April 1 | WATCH: ESPN+ | LISTEN: 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
ULM | Hollis Huff, 6-2, Jr., LHP (1-1, 4.12 ERA, 18 K, 12 BB) vs. MU | Raymond Pacella, 6-3, R-Sr., LHP (0-2, 7.96 ERA, 23 K, 12 BB)

1 p.m. Sunday, April 2 | WATCH: ESPN+ | LISTEN: 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
ULM | Chipper Menard, 5-11, Jr., LHP (2-2, 5.79 ERA, 37 K, 14 BB) vs. MU | Zac Addkison, 6-4, Jr., RHP (1-4, 5.00 ERA, 25 K, 20 BB)

GAME NOTES

MONROE, La. - The ULM baseball team searches for its first Sun Belt Conference win of the season as the Warhawks return to Lou St. Amant Field for the first-ever meetings with the Marshall Thundering Herd. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

ULM moved to 9-17 overall as the Warhawks bounced back with a midweek win at Central Arkansas, 5-3, on Wednesday afternoon to snap an eight-game road losing streak. Ten different Warhawks had a hit in the game, including all nine starting players. Riley Davis had a double and a single as the lone Warhawk with multiple hits. Jake Haggard hit a 2-run home run and Chase DeJean added an RBI double in the ninth inning for insurance. ULM was swept at Troy, 7-5, 7-5 and 4-3 last weekend to drop to 0-6 in Sun Belt Conference action.

Marshall is 11-11 overall and 2-4 in Sun Belt Conference action. The Thundering Herd lost Tuesday's game at No. 24 West Virginia, 9-7. Last weekend, Marshall won the Friday night game at Old Dominion, 6-1, before losing Saturday's game, 21-5, and Sunday's contest, 12-2. Herd right-handed pitcher Patrick Copen was named Sun Belt Conference pitcher of the week after allowing just one run on three hits with 11 strikeouts and three walks over eight innings against the Monarchs last Friday night.

The first weekend of April is traditionally ULM Baseball Alumni weekend at "The Lou." The 1970 NAIA National Runner-Up Northeast Louisiana University team will have a reunion during Saturday's contest while the 1983 Southland Conference Champion NLU squad will have a reunion for Sunday's series finale. 

As of Thursday, ULM ranks in the Top 100 in several NCAA stat categories. The Warhawks are 30th in NCAA Division I and third in the Sun Belt Conference with 21 double plays, 49th nationally and fourth in the SBC with 40 stolen bases, 61st nationally and sixth in the SBC with 38 hit batsmen and 67th nationally and fifth in the SBC with 11 sacrifice bunts.

Individually, Shawn Dalton Weatherbee is second in the nation and leads the SBC after having been hit by a pitch 17 times. Cardell Thibodeaux is 12th nationally and third in the SBC with four sacrifice flies. Chipper Menard is 66th in the nation and sixth in the SBC with 11.89 strikeouts per nine innings. Riley Davis is 68th nationally and fifth in the SBC with nine doubles. Carson Jones and Davis Meche are tied for 99th nationally and sixth in the SBC with three sacrifice bunts.

All three games of the weekend series will stream on ESPN+. Friday's game will have a live audio stream on KMLB.com and the TuneIn app, while Saturday's and Sunday's games will also air on 105.7 FM/540 AM KMLB. Mike Hammett is on the call on both ESPN+ and the Warhawk Radio Network from Learfield. A link to live stats can be found on the baseball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.

ULM MEETS MARSHALL 
The ULM baseball team meets Marshall for the first time in program history at 4 p.m. Friday, with the series continuing at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Lou St. Amant Field. It marks the third time this season ULM is facing an opponent for the first time, joining Bradley and Old Dominion. Marshall, ODU, James Madison and Southern Miss all joined the SBC prior to the 2022-23 athletic season. ULM also has never played JMU, but has faced Southern Miss throughout its baseball history in nonconference action.

ALUMNI WEEKEND AT THE LOU
The first home weekend of April is traditionally ULM Baseball Alumni Weekend at Lou St. Amant Field. The 1970 and 1983 Northeast Louisiana University baseball teams will have reunions this weekend.

The 1970 team was led by Head Coach Bill Dotson. The club will have its recognition at Saturday's game against Marshall. The Indians finished 35-19 overall and 16-6 in the Gulf States Conference, winning the Gulf State Conference championship, NAIA District 30, NAIA Area 2 and finished as runner-up at the NAIA World Series, dropping the championship game to Eastern Michigan, 1-0. Pitchers Mike Thompson and Kenny Roussel, first baseman Wayne Burney, outfielder Larry Turner and third baseman Barry Amedee were all First-Team All-Gulf States Conference selections. Turner was named a NAIA Second-Team All-American and Burney signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after the season. The next season, pitcher Tom Brown was named a Second-Team NAIA All-American and First-Team All-Gulf States Conference before signing with the Kansas City Royals after the season. Outfielder David Harrell was named First-Team All-Conference and pitcher Woody Eppinette signed with the Chicago White Sox.

The 1983 team will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first NCAA Tournament bid in program history on Sunday. The team was led by Head Coach Lou St. Amant and finished 32-21 overall and 11-3 in the Southland Conference, winning a five-game series over Lamar to claim the 1983 Southland Conference title and advance to the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament in NLU's first season in the Southland. The Indians faced off against Roger Clemens and the Texas Longhorns in the Central Regional in Austin, but lost 15-0 to Texas and 9-8 to UT-Pan American to have their season come to an end. Third baseman Greg Cain and outfielder Frank Tornabene were named First-Team All-Southland Conference, while shortstop Brian LaBlanc was a Second-Team All-Southland selection. Outfielder John Schuessler was an Honorable Mention All-Southland selection. In addition, Cain was named a First-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American.

FLOYD LEADS THE WAY AT THE PLATE
ULM junior infielder/outfielder Zack Floyd leads the Warhawks with a .297 batting average (19-of-64). He returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday at Central Arkansas, going 1-for-4 at the plate. He saw only a pinch-hitting appearance over the three-game series at Troy due to injuries he suffered on March 21 vs. Louisiana Tech. He had started 16 consecutive games prior to his injuries against the Bulldogs. He did not join the regular lineup until Feb. 25 against SIUE, but his stellar play kept him in the starting nine until his injury. He has 19 hits with two doubles, one triple, two home runs, four RBIs, 14 runs scored, six walks and six stolen bases. Floyd had two hits, including a double, with two runs scored vs. Louisiana Tech on March 21. He had a pair of singles on March 14 at Northwestern State. He had a hit in each of the three games against Nicholls over the weekend, including an RBI in the eighth inning on March 12. He also made a back-handed stop on the foul line behind the third base bag in the March 12 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 SHOWCASES VERSATILITY
Red-shirt freshman Kade Dupont returned to second base for his start on Wednesday at Central Arkansas after starting the previous four games at third base. He started the first 21 games of the season at second base. He was 1-for-5 at the plate on Wednesday at UCA. He had two hits and two runs scored in the series at Troy. He made his first career start at third base on March 21, but made his biggest impact at the plate, matching his career high with three hits while driving in a career-best four runs in ULM's 10-6 win over Louisiana Tech. He hit a two-out, 2-RBI single in the bottom of the second inning and added a 2-RBI double in the sixth inning against the Bulldogs. He has hit in the top third of the lineup in each of the first 25 games of the season, joining Shawn Dalton Weatherbee as the only two Warhawks to start all 26 games. The Watson, Louisiana, native has hit safely in 19 of 26 games. He is tied for second on the team with Weatherbee with six multi-hit games and has three three-hit games, with the others coming in his collegiate debut vs. Bradley on Feb. 17 and at Mississippi State on Feb. 21. He also leads the team with 17 RBIs and is second on the team with 17 runs scored. He is second on the team in hitting at .275 (28-of-102) with six doubles and one home run.

He had two hits, including an RBI double, with a run scored at Northwestern State on March 14. He had two doubles in the March 10 game vs. Nicholls, hit an RBI single on March 11 and added an RBI double in the eighth inning on March 12 vs. the Colonels. He picked up ULM's only RBI with a single in the third inning on March 8 vs. Northwestern State. 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.

HIT HIM WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
ULM center fielder Shawn Dalton Weatherbee ranks second in NCAA Division I after being hit by a pitch 17 times through the first 26 games of the season. The Booneville, Mississippi, native was hit by a pitch in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at Troy to bring his season total to 17. He has been hit by a pitch twice against Bradley (Feb. 19), Memphis (March 7) and Louisiana Tech (March 21).

He is fourth on the team with a .266 (25-of-94) batting average, with three doubles, one home run, six RBIs and leads the team with 18 runs scored. His eight stolen bases on 10 attempts leads the team. He is tied with Dupont for second on the team with six multi-hit games after picking up three hits with a run scored in the first game of last Saturday's doubleheader at Troy. He also had three hits with a run scored at Northwestern State on March 14.

DAVIS CONTINUES AS A TOP OFFENSIVE THREAT
ULM junior catcher Riley Davis is third on the team with a .273 (24-of-88) batting average with a team-high nine doubles while adding 12 RBIs and 10 walks. He is ranked 68th in NCAA Division I and fifth in the Sun Belt Conference with his nine doubles. He is second on the team with 33 total bases. He leads the team with seven multi-hit games after picking up a single and double at Central Arkansas on Wednesday. He had a pair of hits in the series opener at Troy on March 24. He hit an RBI double on March 18 vs. Old Dominion before picking up an RBI on a fielder's choice in the series finale on March 19. He picked up an RBI single in the fourth inning on March 14 at Northwestern State. He closed the series against Nicholls with an RBI in each of the last two games of the series, including a double on the March 12 series finale. He tallied his team-leading fifth multi-hit game on March 8 vs. Northwestern State, going 2-for-4 with a double. 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. His early-season hot streak picked up steam 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 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs on Feb. 21 vs. Mississippi State for his first three hits as a Warhawk.  

THIBODEAUX MAKING BIG IMPACT AS FRESHMAN
Freshman left fielder Cardell Thibodeaux hit safely in each of the last four games and drove in at least one run in all three games of last weekend's series at Troy. Thibodeaux has hit safely in each of his last six starts, with seven hits and five RBIs in the stretch.

Thibodeaux is hitting .260 (20-of-77) with two doubles and one home run while scoring eight times. He ranks second on the team with 16 RBIs and six stolen bases. He is 12th in NCAA Division I and third in the Sun Belt Conference with four sacrifice flies. Over the last 10 games, Thibodeaux is second on the team, hitting .296 (8-for-27) with one double, five RBIs and two runs scored.

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 on March 8 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 March 10 and walked on March 11 for his streak to reach 29 games. He has missed the last 10 games with a wrist 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. 

BARLOW RETURNS TO FRIDAY NIGHT ROLE IN 2023
Junior left-handed pitcher Cam Barlow makes his seventh Friday start of the 2023 season vs. Marshall. Last week at Troy, he bounced back after allowing four first-inning runs to work four innings, allowing five runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He had no decision in the March 17 SBC opener against Old Dominion, allowing two runs on three hits with one walk and a season-high nine strikeouts over six innings. He took a tough-luck loss on March 10 against Nicholls, allowing one run on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings. He was efficient on March 3 at UIW, throwing just 58 pitches over five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts in a no-decision. He suffered the loss on Feb. 24 vs. SIUE, allowing six runs on seven hits with four walks and two strikeouts over four innings. In his 2023 debut, Barlow threw five innings to pick up the win against Bradley on Feb. 17, scattering four hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. He is 1-3 with a 4.75 ERA over 30 1/3 innings, allowing 16 runs on 28 hits with 10 walks and 30 strikeouts.

Barlow enters his fifth season at ULM in 2023. He joined the club and redshirted the 2019 season and received a COVID-eligibility waiver for the 2020 season, leaving him as the longest-tenured Warhawk. He has one more year of eligibility available for 2024.

Barlow started the series opener on the first 13 weekends of the 2022 season before sticking with his Friday spot in the final week of the regular season against Arkansas State. He made his first postseason appearance against Texas State in the Sun Belt Conference Championship quarterfinals on May 27. He suffered the loss against the Bobcats, allowing three runs, one earned, on four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. Last year vs. Troy, he threw a career-high 7 1/3 innings and 100 pitches on April 8, allowing six runs, four earned, on nine hits with four strikeouts and one walk.

The Halls, Tennessee, native finished the 2022 season at 2-7 with a 5.14 ERA over 77 innings, allowing 53 runs, 44 earned, on 82 hits with 69 strikeouts and 31 walks. He is scheduled to graduate with his master's degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in sport management in May.

HUFF MOVES INTO WEEKEND ROTATION
ULM head coach Michael Federico hands the ball to junior left-handed pitcher Hollis Huff for his second-straight weekend start on Saturday vs. Marshall. In his first weekend start of his ULM career last week at Troy, he threw three innings, allowing two runs on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts. He started the first four Tuesday games of the season for ULM. He made a long-relief appearance out of the bullpen on March 18 vs. Old Dominion, allowing six runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts over four innings.

In his last start on March 14 at Northwestern State, he threw two innings, allowing a solo home run among his two hits with one walk and three strikeouts. On March 7, 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.

LEFT-HANDER MENARD TAKES THE BALL SUNDAY
Junior left-handed pitcher Chipper Menard is slated for his seventh-straight Sunday start to begin the 2023 season to close out the series against Marshall. He is 2-2 with a 5.79 ERA over 28 innings, allowing 21 runs, 18 earned, on 24 hits with 14 walks and a team-high 37 strikeouts.

He allowed two runs on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts in three-plus innings last week at Troy in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. He battled through some traffic in his March 19 start vs. Old Dominion, allowing five runs, two earned, on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. He made an appearance on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays on ESPN on Sunday night after making a sliding catch in foul territory after the ball hit off the mitt of catcher Matt Abshire before falling to Menard. He bounced back in his March 12 start vs. Nicholls, firing six shutout innings with two hits, five walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts. He struggled on March 5 at UIW, giving up eight runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts in three innings after opening the season with two strong performances. He worked five scoreless innings before running into trouble in the sixth inning against SIUE on Feb. 26, allowing four runs on six hits with one walk and a career-high seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. Menard dazzled in his ULM debut on Feb. 19 against Bradley, working into the seventh inning before running into trouble. After allowing a leadoff single to Ryan Vogel, Menard retired the next 17 batters and faced the minimum through six innings. He allowed two runs on two hits with six strikeouts and two walks to pick up the win.

A transfer from the Ragin' Cajuns, Menard transitions into a starting role after serving primarily as a reliever in Lafayette. As a sophomore in 2022, he made 26 appearances for the Cajuns, going 5-1 with three saves and a 4.48 ERA over 26 1/3 innings with 30 strikeouts and 11 walks. He faced ULM twice, throwing 2 1/3 combined shutout innings against his future team, allowing four hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

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

Burrell, a transfer from LSU Eunice, leads qualifying bullpen pitchers with a 2.31 ERA over 11 2/3 innings, spread among seven appearances, allowing three runs on 14 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 March 5, 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. He threw a scoreless inning with three hits in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at Troy.

Derbyshire, a transfer from Mineral Area Community College, has pitched 10 2/3 innings over nineappearances, allowing three runs on 10 hits with five walks and nine strikeouts. He has made eight scoreless appearances, including seven of his last eight appearances and three straight. He made two appearances over the weekend at Troy, throwing a scoreless frame with two strikeouts and a walk on Friday and another scoreless inning in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. He threw a scoreless 1 1/3 innings with one strikeout vs. Louisiana Tech on March 21, 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 March 11 and 2/3 of an inning at Northwestern State with two strikeouts on March 14, stranding an inherited runner at third base.

Judice, who is in his fourth season at ULM, leads bullpen pitchers with 21 2/3 innings pitched over nine appearances out of the bullpen, posting a 3.32 ERA with a 1-0 record and one save, allowing eight runs on 16 hits with six walks and ranks tied for second on the team with 28 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 vs. Nicholls, on March 10 and 12, throwing a combined 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing three hits with five strikeouts and no walks. On March 17 against Old Dominion, he threw three innings, allowing one run on three hits with one walk and four strikeouts. He threw two innings, allowing a solo home run with two strikeouts vs. Louisiana Tech on Tuesday.

Robinson, a true freshman from Carriere, Mississippi, has made seven appearances with a save, posting a 3.00 ERA over nine innings, allowing three runs on four hits with six strikeouts and eight walks. He has made five consecutive scoreless appearances and has not allowed a run in six of his seven appearances. He threw a scoreless inning despite issuing a pair of walks in game two of Saturday's doubleheader at Troy. He fired a scoreless inning on seven pitches vs. Old Dominion on March 19. He pitched a scoreless inning with one hit and one strikeout at Northwestern State on March 14. He matched his season high with two innings, allowing no runs and no hits with one walk and one strikeout vs. Northwestern State on March 8. In his collegiate debut, he earned the save, throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings with two walks and two strikeouts vs. Bradley on Feb. 19.

TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Over the last 10 games, several Warhawks are showing improvement on their season stats.

Freshman Jake Haggard is hitting .270 (10-of-37) over the last 10 games with one double, one triple, two home runs, six RBIs, eight runs scored and six walks. Overall, he is hitting .234 (15-of-64) with one double, one triple, three home runs, 11 RBIs, 12 runs scored and 12 walks.

Junior Carson Jones is hitting .290 (9-of-31) over the last 10 games while sitting at .246 (17-of-69) on the season. He has four of his seven RBIs in the stretch and has scored five of his 13 runs.

Freshman Cardell Thibodeaux is hitting .296 (8-of-27) over the last 10 games and is at .260 (20-of-77) for the year. He has collected five of his 16 RBIs in the last 10 games.

Junior Jayson Zmejkoski has played in seven of the last 10 games, with five starts, including his first four appearances in right field over the last four games. He has six of his 10 hits on the season in his last seven appearances.

On the mound, junior right-hander Russell Derbyshire has made an appearance in five of the last 10 games, throwing five innings, allowing one run on three hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

Red-shirt junior right-hander Steve Owings has made four appearances in the last 10 games, throwing 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks. Prior to the last 10 games, he threw 2 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on 14 hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

Freshman right-hander Justin Robinson has made four appearances in the last 10 contests, pitching five scoreless innings, allowing one hit with two walks and four strikeouts. He has posted an ERA of 2.45 over 11 innings on the season with eight walks and nine strikeouts.

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.

P-40 SUNDAYS
ULM unveiled its P-40 Warhawk series uniforms on March 7, 2021, vs. Nicholls. The Warhawks wear the P-40 uniforms every Sunday, home or away. The Curtiss P-40 Warhawks constituted the principal armament of the U.S. Army Air Force (USAFF) fighter squadrons in the early 1940s. In the summer of 1941, Maj. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault, who grew up in Louisiana, began recruiting and training pilots for the American Volunteer Group, who became known as the "Flying Tigers" in China during World War II. The P-40 Warhawk served as inspiration for ULM's new nickname/mascot, adopted in 2006. The P-40 uniform series incorporates details of the fighter into its design. The ULM baseball team is the third Warhawk team to wear a P-40 Warhawk alternate uniform, joining football and men's basketball.

WELCOME TO "THE LOU"
ULM baseball is playing its first season at the school's baseball facility with its newly-appointed name: Lou St. Amant Field. The name change to honor the former baseball head coach and Northeast Louisiana University alumnus was approved by the Louisiana Board of Supervisors on Aug. 25, 2022.

St. Amant spent 18 seasons as the head coach of the NLU baseball team, picking up 414 career victories, and was instrumental in both the initial construction of the baseball facility in 1983 and the turf and Stadium Club renovation project, which culminated prior to the 2022 season.

There were several high points in St. Amant's career. His first feat came in his initial season as head coach. After spending two years as an assistant, the 1970 NLU graduate took over in 1976 and led Northeast to a 20-13 record, halting a string of four consecutive losing seasons.
 
His first victory as a head coach came in his very first game, 6-2 over Northwestern State.
 
Northeast was an NCAA Division I independent when the Norco, Louisiana, native took over. St. Amant's first three seasons were as an independent before NLU joined the Trans America Athletic Conference in 1979. The best finish for NLU in the TAAC was a tie for first in the West Division during the 1982 season.
 
Northeast joined the Southland Conference in 1983 and made a sudden impact. St. Amant led the Indians to their first conference title in any major men's sport in the SLC. The Indians also advanced to the NCAA playoffs for the first time. They had previously played in the NAIA playoffs four times, reaching the 1970 World Series, before becoming an NCAA member.

Prepping at Destrehan High School, St. Amant was an outstanding high school player who continued his career at LSU. Difficulties with his pitching arm ended his career at LSU. After leaving LSU, St. Amant started his teaching and coaching career at schools in south Louisiana. He spent time at Sacred Heart School in Norco (1960-64), St. Charles Boromeo in Destrehan (1964-66 and 1967-68) and St. Joan of Arc School in LaPlace (1966-67) before coming to Northeast as an assistant and completing his bachelor's and master's degrees.

After his graduation in 1970, St. Amant returned to the high school ranks. His greatest success came during five years as athletic director and head football coach at Lutcher High School, where he posted a 44-13 record, including LHSAA Class 3A state championship and runner-up teams. His 1975 squad went undefeated at 13-0-1 in taking the Class 3A title.

Returning to NLU in January of 1976, he was also an assistant football coach, but dropped those duties in 1979 to devote all of his time to baseball.
 
His wife Marilyn was a fixture at home games and enjoyed traveling and cheering on Lou and his teams. The couple was married for 58 years before her passing in July 2020.
 
St. Amant has also had his number retired by ULM baseball and was named a Warhawk Ambassador Award winner by the ULM Foundation in May of 2022.