MONROE, La. – ULM finished off a seven-run eighth inning to post a 12-4 win in the completion of Thursday's suspended game, and then pulled away with two runs in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh inning to claim the series with a 6-1 win over Arkansas State on Friday at Lou St. Amant Field.
 
The season concludes for both teams at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lou St. Amant Field.
 
GAME 1
 
The two teams played in a steady rain throughout much of the first eight innings, including a 40-minute rain delay in the fifth inning, before the game was suspended due to weather in the bottom of the eighth inning. The final five outs of the game were recorded on Friday afternoon.
 
Arkansas State (21-31-1 overall, 7-21-1 Sun Belt Conference) took the early 2-0 lead in the second inning as Cason Campbell hit an RBI single to score Jared Toler and Wil French added a sacrifice fly to plate Daedrick Cail. ULM (24-30, 10-19) answered in the bottom half of the inning as Michelle Artzberger scored on Jack Clark's RBI groundout to make it 2-1.
 
The Red Wolves got a run back in the top of the third as Hunter Ryan hit an RBI single to bring in Brandon Hager for the 3-1 advantage.
 
As the rain increased in intensity in the fifth inning, Easton Winfield hit an RBI double to left center to score Carson Jones and cut the gap to 3-2. Bryce Blaser then hit a drive to deep left field, but Cross Jumper made a home run-saving catch to keep A-State in front as the game entered the weather delay.
 
After the first delay, A-State again increased the lead to two as Ryan picked up his second RBI single, driving in Hager again for the 4-2 lead.
 
ULM went to work in the bottom of the seventh inning to take the lead. Shawn Dalton Weatherbee hit an RBI double to plate Blaser and Michelle Artzberger followed with an RBI single to score Weatherbee to knot the game at 4. Jayson Zmejkoski's RBI single brought in Artzberger for the 5-4 Warhawk lead.
 
In the eighth inning, ULM increased the lead prior to the suspension. Winfield's 2-RBI single scored Carson Jones and Hasani Johnson to go up 7-4. Weatherbee added another RBI single to plate Winfield for the 8-4 lead when the game was suspended until Friday afternoon.
 
When the game resumed, Jake Haggard picked up where ULM left off, as his 2-RBI single up the middle brought in pinch-runner Cardell Thibodeaux and Artzberger. Johnson then earned a bases-loaded walk to drive in Haggard and Marcus Aranda scored on a wild pitch for the 12-4 lead.
 
Winfield had two hits and three RBIs, while Weatherbee and Haggard had two hits and two RBIs each for ULM. Ryan had two hits and two RBIs for A-State.
 
Zach Shaw (1-1) earned the win in relief for ULM, throwing 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Cam Barlow threw 5 1/3 innings in his program-record 55th-and-final career start, allowing three runs on six hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Barlow finishes his career fifth in program history with 264 2/3 innings pitched and seventh in program history with 221 strikeouts. Carson Orton threw a scoreless ninth to add to his program record with his 91st career pitching appearance, all out of the bullpen.
 
Arlon Butts (3-2) took the loss for A-State, allowing seven runs on eight hits with one strikeout in 2 1/3 innings.
 
GAME TWO
 
Arkansas State struck first in the second game of the series as well, as French hit a leadoff triple in the top of the first inning and Toler followed with an RBI single for the 1-0 lead.
 
ULM responded in the bottom of the third inning as Winfield's RBI single scored Aranda to tie the game at 1.
 
The Warhawk pitching duo of Joey Cirelli and Chipper Menard battled A-State starter Max Charlton into the sixth inning, when ULM broke through on the scoreboard.
 
Weatherbee belted a solo home run to right field to break the deadlock. His seventh homer of the season put ULM on top, 2-1.
 
After Weatherbee's blast, ULM continued to churn offensively. Haggard's RBI single up the middle brought in Artzberger, and Aranda's sacrifice fly plated Haggard to build the 4-1 lead.
 
The Warhawks added insurance in the seventh inning with Artzberger's 2-run homer to right, his seventh of the season.
 
Cirelli and Menard outdueled Charlton in the win. Menard (2-3) was nearly flawless out of the bullpen to earn the win, throwing 5 1/3 innings, allowing just one hit and one walk with a season-high 10 strikeouts in his final career outing. Cirelli threw 3 2/3 innings in the start, allowing one run on five hits with five strikeouts. Charlton (3-4) took a tough-luck loss for A-State, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts in five innings of work.
 
Winfield had two hits and an RBI for ULM while Clark added two hits. Artzberger paced the Warhawks with two RBIs. French was the only Red Wolf with two hits, a double and a triple.